I'm thinking about making a ramp out of wood to back my truck up to for loading and unloading riding mowers and stuff. I had a tractor push an aluminum ramp off the tailgate last week and the RF wheel hang in mid air off the tailgate while the LF tire was still on one ramp. How wide should I make this ramp? I will add wheels to it so I can move it in and outside of the storage barn. Its going to have a curve to it like many aluminum ramps.
Boyd
id just build a pile of dirt quicker
thats going to take up alot of floor space and then with wheels might tip roll ect
thats going to take up alot of floor space and then with wheels might tip roll ect
I would build a dirt ramp about 5 foot wide at the edge of the end of your driveway. Make a slope as little as possible given space you have available for length.
I have a set of homemade ramps made from (2) 12' long PT 2x12's that have a 8' long PT 4x4 attached underneath with a series of bolts. One end has a 2x2x1/4 aluminum angle that can engage the space between the tailgate and truck bed when the tailgate is down past horizontal (with the support cables removed). The length makes for a shallow climb, the 12" width makes it easy to stay on track, and the aluminum angles keep the ramps from moving for and aft more than 1".
The weak points are that they are heavy and don't fold up, and they get pretty slippery with any kind of moisture. I plan to remedy that with traction strips, material TBD. As for the length, they sit on top of the rear wheel wells and hang out the back.
I would prefer a proper set of folding aluminum ramps, but to get a pair that are 10' or longer costs $300 and up. My ramps were free (material from a friend's demolition), and took about 30 minutes to make.
The weak points are that they are heavy and don't fold up, and they get pretty slippery with any kind of moisture. I plan to remedy that with traction strips, material TBD. As for the length, they sit on top of the rear wheel wells and hang out the back.
I would prefer a proper set of folding aluminum ramps, but to get a pair that are 10' or longer costs $300 and up. My ramps were free (material from a friend's demolition), and took about 30 minutes to make.
I have aluminum ramps also. Mine have cables attached to the ramps with hooks on them that I hook to the loops on the hitch on my truck(where trailer safety chains would hook to), it keeps the ramps from sliding away.
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4 ft. wide 3/4" plywood. Just visit your home center. They will have plenty that's already curved.:thThumbsU
4 ft. wide 3/4" plywood. Just visit your home center. They will have plenty that's already curved.:thThumbsU
Good aluminum ramps, securely fastened to the rear of the truck. That way you have a way to unload at your destination. We load, unload ATVs and motorcycles all the time this way. Any time you can use a ditch or bank it is a big plus:fing32:
I have ramps I made from some peices of metal flooring that is used on the upper floors of metal buildings,also as fire escape stairs--it looks a lot like the aluminum ramps you can buy ,but are made from 16 ga.galvanized steel instead-they are about 8" wide and very sturdy,and do not weigh a ton either...they have punched holes and slotted areas on the top surface for traction,and the edges have a "U" shape so they resist bending quite well..
I was lucky to find several 8' sections in the metal pile at the local dump, when they renovated the highway department garage and had leftover peices from the new fire escape they had to make to bring it up to code,and they had just tossed them out!.(our tax dollars at work,eh?)..
I cut slots in the sides of them about 2' from one end and bent them into an arch shape, and used angle iron to bridge that area and welded the slots shut to strengthen them,then bolted some 1-1/2" angle iron to one end, that fits in the space between the trucks bed and tailgate to prevent them from being yanked out by a spinning wheel when you drive up on them..
(nothing sucks more than having the ramp on one side get chucked out when your 3/4 of the way up the ramp,and a 600+ lb tractor and YOU go crashing to the ground!--I busted a transaxle right in two once when that happened,and my leg darn near got busted in the process! )..I hate driving OR backing a tractor up ramps into a truck bed,even if the ramps are long and the angle isn't too steep..letting one creep up in low gear,while you stand beside it and try to steer it,is dangerous too,it can slide off and crush you in a heartbeat..
The ramps work well,the arch makes it easier to drive up without having the deck botom out on them,and get hung up---but I find it a pain to carry them in the truck bed,being a inch or so longer than my stepside bed is,and they wont lie flat as a result--the bed is already very limited for space,I have a tool box that "robs" 2' ,leaving only about 6' of length..I need to leave the tailgate open and chain it level ,to let the rear wheels sit on it..not my prefered method ,I'd much rather be able to close the tail gate..
(my MTD tractor wont even FIT in my truck bed,the deck is too wide,my bed is only 50" wide,and my 46" deck chute sticks out too far--that forces me to drive it way up onto the side rails on the top of the bed, and use plywood to brigde across the bed,if I want to transort it with the deck on it!--makes it topheavy and unstable,and it sucks!)...
So I only use the ramps when I have too--I have a retaining wall made of 2x4' concrete blocks I can back right up too and drive the tractor right in along side of my driveway,so I do that most of the time--but I often need the ramps to UNLOAD the tractor when I get where I'm taking it too,if the place has no hill or similar wall to use in tha fashion....
The setup I liked best was on my old GMC,I had a homebuilt flat bed 6'6" wide and 8'3" long that had no wheel wells,and a electric winch powered crane setup I made to lift heavy items..I used a nylon "tree saver" winch strap sling with two "eyes" wrapped around the tractor,and I'd lift it straight up, and swing it into the bed easy as pie with the crane..and I could load two tractors side by side,plenty of room--I often put 3 or 4 at a time in it when I used to fix them for customers..I've contemplated putting that bed/crane on my current truck,but its in need of much "restoring",it's gotten very rusty, and will probably need new plywood decking..its 12 years old and has been sitting out in the weather..
It was much safer than driving,pushing,or winching a tractor up the ramps ,and was priceless when you were offered a "dead" tractor sitting in the weeds in someone's back yard or woods,with 4 flats,or frozen to the ground !..I got many "freebie" tractors that way, because most other folks who wanted them didn't feel up to the task of geting them into their truck manually...
I was lucky to find several 8' sections in the metal pile at the local dump, when they renovated the highway department garage and had leftover peices from the new fire escape they had to make to bring it up to code,and they had just tossed them out!.(our tax dollars at work,eh?)..
I cut slots in the sides of them about 2' from one end and bent them into an arch shape, and used angle iron to bridge that area and welded the slots shut to strengthen them,then bolted some 1-1/2" angle iron to one end, that fits in the space between the trucks bed and tailgate to prevent them from being yanked out by a spinning wheel when you drive up on them..
(nothing sucks more than having the ramp on one side get chucked out when your 3/4 of the way up the ramp,and a 600+ lb tractor and YOU go crashing to the ground!--I busted a transaxle right in two once when that happened,and my leg darn near got busted in the process! )..I hate driving OR backing a tractor up ramps into a truck bed,even if the ramps are long and the angle isn't too steep..letting one creep up in low gear,while you stand beside it and try to steer it,is dangerous too,it can slide off and crush you in a heartbeat..
The ramps work well,the arch makes it easier to drive up without having the deck botom out on them,and get hung up---but I find it a pain to carry them in the truck bed,being a inch or so longer than my stepside bed is,and they wont lie flat as a result--the bed is already very limited for space,I have a tool box that "robs" 2' ,leaving only about 6' of length..I need to leave the tailgate open and chain it level ,to let the rear wheels sit on it..not my prefered method ,I'd much rather be able to close the tail gate..
(my MTD tractor wont even FIT in my truck bed,the deck is too wide,my bed is only 50" wide,and my 46" deck chute sticks out too far--that forces me to drive it way up onto the side rails on the top of the bed, and use plywood to brigde across the bed,if I want to transort it with the deck on it!--makes it topheavy and unstable,and it sucks!)...
So I only use the ramps when I have too--I have a retaining wall made of 2x4' concrete blocks I can back right up too and drive the tractor right in along side of my driveway,so I do that most of the time--but I often need the ramps to UNLOAD the tractor when I get where I'm taking it too,if the place has no hill or similar wall to use in tha fashion....
The setup I liked best was on my old GMC,I had a homebuilt flat bed 6'6" wide and 8'3" long that had no wheel wells,and a electric winch powered crane setup I made to lift heavy items..I used a nylon "tree saver" winch strap sling with two "eyes" wrapped around the tractor,and I'd lift it straight up, and swing it into the bed easy as pie with the crane..and I could load two tractors side by side,plenty of room--I often put 3 or 4 at a time in it when I used to fix them for customers..I've contemplated putting that bed/crane on my current truck,but its in need of much "restoring",it's gotten very rusty, and will probably need new plywood decking..its 12 years old and has been sitting out in the weather..
It was much safer than driving,pushing,or winching a tractor up the ramps ,and was priceless when you were offered a "dead" tractor sitting in the weeds in someone's back yard or woods,with 4 flats,or frozen to the ground !..I got many "freebie" tractors that way, because most other folks who wanted them didn't feel up to the task of geting them into their truck manually...
The place where I store my mowers is at an old farm and I doubt he would let me build a dirt ramp to back up to. No ditch nearby to back the truck into. The ramp I have drawn is curved with a frame under it and legs on it. I have a couple of other ideas for it but I'm keeping them secret in case I want to make and sell these.
I forgot to answer the original question--as for how wide,I prefer using a ramp made of 3/4" 4'x8' sheet of plywood that has some angle iron or wooden "stiffeners" under it,so it wont fold into a bananna when the tractor drives up on it--it's nice to have a full "deck" under it ,so there is no way the wheels can drop into an "empty" space ,and cause it to flip or crash!..lets you use it on any width wheelbase,or for quads and cycles too..
But the disadvantages are this--it'll be awkward to handle,hard to store in the truck bed after the tractor is in it, and heavy as heck,and most likely your tractor's mower deck will get hung up on it when it goes to enter the truck bed too,making loading a bit difficult..(that is when the rear wheels tend to "spit out" a ramp,when your driving up and the deck bottoms out!)..best to chain it to the truck so that wont happen somehow..
I'd look into making some kind of a crane setup instead,it's much more useful for other chores as well as loading your tractor and many other things into the bed,and they sell some for about 100-150 bucks in Harbour Frieght or Northern Tool catalogs,if your not into fabbing one up yourself.....you could adapt one to slide into a reciever style trailer hitch,so it could be only used when needed too,but I never wanted my truck to be without the crane, once I mounted it!.It was way too handy to be without!..
But the disadvantages are this--it'll be awkward to handle,hard to store in the truck bed after the tractor is in it, and heavy as heck,and most likely your tractor's mower deck will get hung up on it when it goes to enter the truck bed too,making loading a bit difficult..(that is when the rear wheels tend to "spit out" a ramp,when your driving up and the deck bottoms out!)..best to chain it to the truck so that wont happen somehow..
I'd look into making some kind of a crane setup instead,it's much more useful for other chores as well as loading your tractor and many other things into the bed,and they sell some for about 100-150 bucks in Harbour Frieght or Northern Tool catalogs,if your not into fabbing one up yourself.....you could adapt one to slide into a reciever style trailer hitch,so it could be only used when needed too,but I never wanted my truck to be without the crane, once I mounted it!.It was way too handy to be without!..
I would build a ramp as wide as the tailgate using landscape ties and earthen berm. Dig out a swale for the rear tires to drop into and the berm needn't be as large.
Later, you can park the truck a few feet away from the berm and build a bridge with the existing ramps to park the tractor on to service the underside of the mower deck.
Later, you can park the truck a few feet away from the berm and build a bridge with the existing ramps to park the tractor on to service the underside of the mower deck.
Iv got this great thing, its got two wheels one per side, a big drop down ramp, and a nice 5x10 wood deck! it tows great and makes it easy to take the JD,wheel horse, ATV, scrap, wood and other items on road trips! well worth every penny spent on it it leave the bed free for blowers, chain saw etc... I dont know what id do with out a trailer now days!
I wouldn't try to load any of my Bolens into the bed of my F150.
First off, one of them, an 1886 with FEL, just BARELY fits on a 12' trailer. I have a 1256 that has a dethatcher on the front an EZ-VAC blower on the rear that is just as long. I doubt that the HT20D with the front blade would fit in 8' either.
The others, a 1256, G10, and 3 G11s are just heavy enough that I'd be leery of having that much weight that high.
I'll stick with a trailer. A lot easier, and a lot safer.
First off, one of them, an 1886 with FEL, just BARELY fits on a 12' trailer. I have a 1256 that has a dethatcher on the front an EZ-VAC blower on the rear that is just as long. I doubt that the HT20D with the front blade would fit in 8' either.
The others, a 1256, G10, and 3 G11s are just heavy enough that I'd be leery of having that much weight that high.
I'll stick with a trailer. A lot easier, and a lot safer.
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