Thread: Securing Loading Ramps

I think going along the Slot System with another 50 X 50 RHS to border the slott and carry the floor sheet. Moving the wiring might have to be done but in the scheme of things the slot will give you positive location of the ramps. To beef up that area for loading with the second RHS can only be a good thing too

I wouldn't cut the trailer floor. What about drilling one or two 13mm vertical holes through checkerplate and the rear RHS and weld matching piece/s of rod on the ramps. Alternatively, drill right through RHS then just drop a bolt through matching holes in ramps. Cheers

Do your ramps get used at the one width or are they varied for multiple pieces of equipment?
If only a couple of positions then a pin and hole arrangement would be both simple and effective. Cutting slots in the floor will lead to leakage of dirt etc if you cart such materials.
I am partial to an angle iron running width ways across the back of the trailer that the ramps can slot into, but your current tailgate hinge position precludes that design.
If you load heavy items, then a couple of fold down props at the rear are a good idea too.

I can see you have existing ramps...BUT..if the ramps are made the right size thay can be stowed on edge, on the drawbar in front of the headboard.

Remember the authorities are red hot on load restraint these days, so however you do it they need to be positivlt restrained.


cheers

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was reluctant to go down the slot in the chekerplate route, as I think I'd have to flip the trailer over to do a decent job of welding in a new support. The upside is that the slots would allow the ramps to be moved to match different machines, and I do carry a variety of things on it. Then again, I hadn't considered the issue of material dropping out the slots.

The bolt option could work, I think, if I had a few holes to allow different widths. The ramps are reasonably wide, so that adds some leeway. I think I'd have to modify the end to make it sit flat, and I think I'd probably want to put the holes just through the floor sheet, not the rear crosspiece, as at the moment the SHS is sealed (capped on the ends), and I imagine adding holes through it is going to promote rust.

I did think about a bit of angle on the back - I hired a mobile work platform last week and it came on a car trailer with that setup, as well as little legs you added on the back, and a tilting floor. Most of the machines I load aren't very heavy - a tonne at the most, but once in a while something bigger (technically, probably too big) gets loaded, and at that point I guess some little legs would take the stress off the side rails.

As for the ramps, I've kind of been looking for an excuse to replace them with aluminium ones, as at 46Kg each, they're not the lightest things to move around. That said, they do the job, and I suspect can support far more weight than I'm ever going to put on the trailer.

Goodness gracious me...terribly sorry, I was not standing under.......(for those who dont get this, say it in a punjabi accent)

you are concerned with the ramps sliding off the back of the trailer during loading, not during transport.

Oh well then many options.

I notice you have tiedown points at the back of the tray.

you could simply cut a length of RHS the inside width of the trailer long and either put it behind the errect tiedown points or put it behind and attach thru or arround the tiedown points......hook over this with the lip on the ramps....or attache by other devious means.



OH...OH ..OH

If you cut that length of RHS...welded a piece of flat big enough and the right length for each end......cut a hole the right size.

lift up tiedown points.....slip flats over errect tiedown points.....insert bolt or pin thru tie down points......job done ,hello uncle bob

cheers

what about using a chain from the ramp to the tie down

Seeings as I had a bit of 50x5 flat bar hanging about, I decided to go with the pin and hole option. It also had the attraction of not seeming like much work

Three holes in the ramp plate, one hole in the deck, which should cover me for what I plan to roll on there.

I was tempted by Soundman's idea of something spanning the back and using the lashing points for retention, but didn't have any candidate steel laying about. I think his solution would work best with unequal angle...

The pins are 1/2" , 'cos that's what I found (well, I did find some 3/4" Cat1 top pins, but while I have a 19mm MT bit for the drill press, I don't have a bit that'll go in a hand drill for doing the hole in the floor).

I'm also showing the Trailer Manoeuvring Mower - so much easier than using a car, even if the ball's a bit low

Ramps1.jpgRamps2.jpgCubTrailer.jpg