Do you like slide under ramps?

[bdeboer]

I have an 18' dovetail with ramps that slide in a rack behind the rear trailer tires. They connect to the trailer with a solid steel rod and will not come off. They seem to be time consuming when hauling the tractor or whatever a couple miles up the road. I could drive that distance but always seems like I need more tools or whatever than I can carry on the tractor. Alot of times I will back the dovetail up to a small incline in the driveway and back the tractor up on the dovetail when at home.

If I was loading the tractor several times daily, I would look for a tilt trailer of some sort.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yes, ramps stored under the trailer are wonderful if you love RUST. The more rusty they get the more difficult they are to use. They also do a great job of gouging driveways because of reduced undertrailer clearance at the rear.

Never had either one of these issues. I do live in Indiana though where its fairly flat but my trailer is a 2003 and the paint is still good. I do touch it up about once a year with a rattle can of black.

Chris

 

[timswi]

I did, until they got too heavy to handle! Mine were 5' extra heavy duty, to hold an 8,000# tractor, at first they were no problem. Then, after cancer treatments, they just got too heavy for me. I went back to the builder & had them put on a ramp/gate. Coil springs on the pins, then later I added garage door springs to the sides. Can always put on a winch, if needed. ~~ grnspot

I'm going to be buying a trailer in a couple of weeks..Will definitley get a gate too. I put anything from garden tractors, atv, UTV's, rototillers etc on trailers.
Ramps just aren't practical for me...I've put cars on borrowed gated trailers with no problems.

I don't have enough confidence to back "blind" vehicles on and off using ramps. I like to have a guide for that, and one isn't always available. Open cab stuff is no problem, but my RTV1100 and cars are another story. ...Just me.

Gas mileage and wind drag isn't an issue. I'm more concerned with ease of use and having a true multi-purpose trailer. I'm going with a fully railed 82" or 86" unit. That way I have unlimited tie points for moving furniture and misc stuff.

Moved into my house using nothing but a trailer like this, and it was perfect. Brought all of the household stuff along with 2 cars and a full garage worth of tools. It had a split gate, so taking it off when needed was no big deal.

 

[sandman2234]

One of the problems I have noticed with the gates that aren't secured to the trailer, is loosing them. Somebody must forget to put the retaining pins in, or something because I see them around the highways reasonably often. Usually just one at a time, but that can ruin a weekend of tractor riding if you can't find one ramp when it's time to unload.
I use aluminum ramps purchased from the scrapyard (actually traded for).They appeared to come off of car haulers, that were being scrapped out (wrecked?) and I was hauling in a lot of aluminum scrap (machine shop chips mostly). They would exchange 2 pounds of chips for one pound of aluminum going back out the gate. I think I still have 3 sets left, after all these years (people love to borrow them, and forget where they came from)
David from jax

 

[Diamondpilot]

I think what it all comes down to is each has different needs. I had a GN but really never want another one again. I like ramps. I will also never have another deck over if I can help it. Gate will not work for me due to the length of the stuff I haul.

Guy #2 has totally different needs. May need a gate because he is a commercial mower.

Guy #3 may need a deck over due to a wide load.

Ect, ect, ect.

Same thing goes with trucks.

If not the world, or at least TBN, would be boring. We would have nothing to argue.

Chris

 

[timswi]

One of the problems I have noticed with the gates that aren't secured to the trailer, is loosing them. Somebody must forget to put the retaining pins in, or something because I see them around the highways reasonably often. Usually just one at a time, but that can ruin a weekend of tractor riding if you can't find one ramp when it's time to unload.
I use aluminum ramps purchased from the scrapyard (actually traded for).They appeared to come off of car haulers, that were being scrapped out (wrecked?) and I was hauling in a lot of aluminum scrap (machine shop chips mostly). They would exchange 2 pounds of chips for one pound of aluminum going back out the gate. I think I still have 3 sets left, after all these years (people love to borrow them, and forget where they came from)
David from jax

The gates I've been looking at are pinned and locked, so it would be next to impossible for a gate to fall off....I'm sure someone could lose one if they tried hard enough though.

 

[Diamondpilot]

The gates I've been looking at are pinned and locked, so it would be next to impossible for a gate to fall off....I'm sure someone could lose one if they tried hard enough though.

I have never seen a gate fall off but seen one dragging and also seen a flip up ramp dragging.

Before I had my trailer I borrowed one to go about 150miles to pick up my tractor. It had slide in ramps that did not come all the way out when extended. You simply pulled them out and that was it. Anyway I heard a weird noise so I pulled over and sure enough one was dragging and the other was 2/3 the way out. The guy I borrowed it from forgot to put the pins back in them last time he had used it. I had a extra hitch pin I put in one to hold it and put a few bungee cords on the other till I could get to a TSC and get some hitch pins.

When I took it back that night the pins were laying right next to the trailer on top of a 55 gallon drum of oil.

Chris

 

[JakeBrake]

Would blocks help? I had a beaver tail with slide in ramps. I would lay some blocks under the back of the trailer to minimize the deck dropping and stabilize it. Keep an inch or so of air space between the trailer and the blocks so you don't get too hung up once the weight is on.

Re: Ramps. Only issue with the ramps is that they were kind of heavy and awkward to slide in on the trailer I had. Nothing you could not live with if you did not want the ramps in the way.

Your other optioin would be a tilt deck.

I have slide-in ramps. I use a bottle jack at the rear of the trailer to firm things up while loading and unloading. This is the same jack that I keep with the trailer at all times to change flat tires. I usually work alone. A long way from any help.

 

[BandRRanch]

Look at Triton's line. I have a 14 ft triton with slide under ramp. All aluminum trailers, very light compared to steel, but strong and don't rust. Hardly know I am towing the thing sometimes. The car hauler series uses the ramps as rock guards for the front when not in use. pretty trick.
http://www.tritontrailers.com/content/CarHaulerSlideShow.pdf

Triton aluminum car and powersport open trailers

 

[timswi]

Look at Triton's line. I have a 14 ft triton with slide under ramp. All aluminum trailers, very light compared to steel, but strong and don't rust. Hardly know I am towing the thing sometimes. The car hauler series uses the ramps as rock guards for the front when not in use. pretty trick.
http://www.tritontrailers.com/content/CarHaulerSlideShow.pdf

Triton aluminum car and powersport open trailers

I like that, a lot....The cost would probably chase me away though.

 

[BandRRanch]

Yea timswi, they aren't cheap. But they will last thru your kid's kids, so it is in some form, a trade off. I have taken mine from the back back ridges of the Colorado mountains elk hunting, to the sand dunes of Glamis in Arizona hauling quads and Rhino's, and I hose it off when I get home and store it.

 

[timswi]

Yea timswi, they aren't cheap. But they will last thru your kid's kids, so it is in some form, a trade off. I have taken mine from the back back ridges of the Colorado mountains elk hunting, to the sand dunes of Glamis in Arizona hauling quads and Rhino's, and I hose it off when I get home and store it.

That's the advantage for sure, in addition to the definite lack of weight...From what I've seen, they run around 2X the cost of a regular trailer...It is a tradeoff and I'm not totally scared away yet.

Have to put some serious thought into this purchase and aluminum is on the short list. I have a "high-end" 5x10 steel utility trailer that needs sandblasted and repainted, again, because it rusts around the welds and D-rings..No big deal since I can do it in the shop...Just a pain.

 

[buck12]

I like my flip up ramps. A friend of mine has slide in ramps. When we tow tractors to the hunting camp I can unload faster because he has to slide ramps out, position, and block the back of the trailer. I pull two pins and drop the ramps. For my uses I like the flip up ramps. To date I have only hauled my tractor with my 18' trailer. I have a 10' trailer with a removable tailgate that I use for general hauling. I leave the tailgate off it most of the time because the tailgate is usually in the way. It's up to each user to decide what works best for their primary application.

 

[jk96]

I have slide-in ramps. I use a bottle jack at the rear of the trailer to firm things up while loading and unloading. This is the same jack that I keep with the trailer at all times to change flat tires. I usually work alone. A long way from any help.

You may find a set of jack stands to be easier and faster than using a bottle jack.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Before I had my trailer I borrowed one to go about 150miles to pick up my tractor. It had slide in ramps that did not come all the way out when extended. You simply pulled them out and that was it. Anyway I heard a weird noise so I pulled over and sure enough one was dragging and the other was 2/3 the way out. The guy I borrowed it from forgot to put the pins back in them last time he had used it. I had a extra hitch pin I put in one to hold it and put a few bungee cords on the other till I could get to a TSC and get some hitch pins.

When I took it back that night the pins were laying right next to the trailer on top of a 55 gallon drum of oil.

Chris

This is the way my ramps work, no lifting or struggling with them, also don't have to worry about them lifting up and falling off when starting up on them. Also the retaining pins are spring loaded and mounted to the trailer , just hold pin out while sliding the ramp out about two inches and then you can release the pin and slide the ramp out till it stops. When done just slide ramps all the way back in until spring pins lock into place securing ramps.

 

[mojoinco]

My slide outs are apparently pretty crudely mounted: you pull them out too far and they fall on the ground. Would like to see pics of how yours operate.

I was thinking that if I were to slightly extend the angle iron rails (that the ramps sit on) and add a horizontal catch (another piece of angle iron) then they would pull out just far enough and could be lifted into position from there.

I usually have a couple of firewood logs that are too knotted to want to split. I leave one in the trailer and use it under the end of the trailer. If the load really squats the trailer it will sit on it. To remove it I just pull the truck a bit forward. It's all good -- there isn't anything that gets hurt. On the far end, just park it over a low spot (there's always a spot). I do hate the lack of ramp connection (a piece of angle iron hanging over a piece of square tubing set at a 45 degree rotation).