How do ramps calculate their load?

[Stimw]

I have been thinking about a set of these- Shop Reese 1-ft x 7.5-ft 1500 -lb Capacity Arched Aluminum Loading Ramp at Lowes.com
Reese products are usually well made.

 

[DarkBlack]

If your wheelbase is longer than the ramps, as you describe, then the ramps will only see a portion of the vehicle weight.

 

[txdon]

You can chain an attached ramp at the same level as the trailer deck. It doesn't get in the way of hauling longer stuff.

Ok, I can see that working. If I can get the trailer side wall straight again, maybe. Have you seen any good plans for an add on ramp?

 

[txdon]

I have been thinking about a set of these- Shop Reese 1-ft x 7.5-ft 1500 -lb Capacity Arched Aluminum Loading Ramp at Lowes.com
Reese products are usually well made.

I saw those but I like the idea of the two ramps connected and wider, the rear tires on my Hustler Fastrack are 13" wide. I also like the idea of the spaces on the ramp close because of the smaller front tires of the ZRT.

 

[txdon]

If your wheelbase is longer than the ramps, as you describe, then the ramps will only see a portion of the vehicle weight.

That's what I was thinking, but the weight limit at any specific point on the ramp is not listed. I would think the 1200 limit would be in the center and the limit going toward each end could be increased before failure. Any engineers out there?

 

[newbury]

I have been thinking about a set of these- Shop Reese 1-ft x 7.5-ft 1500 -lb Capacity Arched Aluminum Loading Ramp at Lowes.com
Reese products are usually well made.

Just remember an arched ramp is usually not conducive for unloading with a hand truck or nything with small wheels

 

[bdog]

With a 16" deck height a failure isn't exactly going to be catastrophic. I would try it and see what happens. You will quickly find out if you will need new ramps or not. You could even use the trailer jack to lift the tongue and make the rear lower if you wanted. You can even do this with the trailer attached to the truck and get a few inches which helps. We had to do this when loading a low mustang on a trailer.

That being said I got some defective aluminum ramps once. I was loading a four wheeler in the back of a tall dodge 4x4 truck. It weighed maybe 500lbs and I was 180lbs. I got a little over halfway up and one ramp busted. I was very lucky it didn't flip over backwards on me. They were 1,000 lb ramps. The bed was over 3' tall so it was scary.

 

[4570Man]

Failure at 16" wouldn't be catastrophic, but why would you try it? At the very least you trash a set of ramps and then have to buy a proper set.

 

[bdog]

Failure at 16" wouldn't be catastrophic, but why would you try it? At the very least you trash a set of ramps and then have to buy a proper set.

Maybe he is and maybe he isn't. I am sure that rating is for something totally on the ramps. With his long wheelbase on the golf cart I don't think he will apply all that weight to the ramps at once. I guess it depends on how long the ramps are but even if they are 6' his wheel base is is 75" so his front tires will be on the trailer before the rears touch the ramp so he will never be applying 100% of that weight to the ramps. For no taller then he is trying to go up I would get some shorter ramps maybe 4-5' unless the golf cart was super low profile.

 

[dstig1]

I got my aluminum ramps from discountramps.com. They are awesome. Light and much less flex than the beaten old angle iron ramps that came with my used trailer. I recommend those guys for sure. Good product, good price, and shipped fast.

 

[bdog]

I got my aluminum ramps from discountramps.com. They are awesome. Light and much less flex than the beaten old angle iron ramps that came with my used trailer. I recommend those guys for sure. Good product, good price, and shipped fast.

Great link. Look at these op. Straight Aluminum ATV Trailer Ramps - 5' Long | DiscountRamps.com

$109 5' long and 2000lb capacity

 

[txdon]

dstig1, The owners manual on the ZRT says the ramp should not be two separate ramps but one, that's why I'm looking for a tri-fold at least 50" wide. I found a lot on the link you provided and there is a 10% off black Friday sale! Thanks for the link. I have a lot of comparison to do.

 

[lonestar6]

I'm looking at a try fold ramp that is rated at 1200 lbs for my golf cart to go into my trailer. The golf cart is 1300 lbs. the wheel base of the cart is 75" so there will mostly be 2 wheels either in the trailer or on the ground and never 1200 lbs at the center. Do ramps calculate the max load at the center, and will the ramps be ok?

How to Load a Golf Cart Into a Truck | DiscountRamps.com You might consider checking out this website...it has a ramp calculator about the middle of the page...

 

[Ford850]

txdon, So far we gave you 3 links to websites, and they are all the same site.
I like sites like that, which have a lot of good technical info to back up their products.

 

[txdon]

txdon, So far we gave you 3 links to websites, and they are all the same site.
I like sites like that, which have a lot of good technical info to back up their products.

Yep, I realized that too after I posted, I thought it looked familiar. Excellent site.

 

[txdon]

txdon, So far we gave you 3 links to websites, and they are all the same site.
I like sites like that, which have a lot of good technical info to back up their products.

Yep, I realized that too after I posted, I thought it looked familiar. Excellent site.

 

[4570Man]

Maybe he is and maybe he isn't. I am sure that rating is for something totally on the ramps. With his long wheelbase on the golf cart I don't think he will apply all that weight to the ramps at once. I guess it depends on how long the ramps are but even if they are 6' his wheel base is is 75" so his front tires will be on the trailer before the rears touch the ramp so he will never be applying 100% of that weight to the ramps. For no taller then he is trying to go up I would get some shorter ramps maybe 4-5' unless the golf cart was super low profile.

I agree it would probably work, but why would you buy ramps that you know are too light? The cost difference between 1200 pound ramps and 1500 pound ramps is marginal. If he already had 1200 pound ramps I would say try it and see what happens, but he has to buy a set of ramps. IMO it is pretty dumb to buy something you know is is not rated to carry the load you plan on carrying.

 

[bdog]

I agree it would probably work, but why would you buy ramps that you know are too light? The cost difference between 1200 pound ramps and 1500 pound ramps is marginal. If he already had 1200 pound ramps I would say try it and see what happens, but he has to buy a set of ramps. IMO it is pretty dumb to buy something you know is is not rated to carry the load you plan on carrying.

I agree 100%. I missed that in the original post. I thought he already had some ramps. Yes if you are buying some by all means get the heavier ones but if you already had the smaller ones they likely would have worked.

 

[txdon]

I think I have it narrowed down to this one.

Tri-Fold Aluminum ATV Pickup Truck Ramps | DiscountRamps.com

Criteria: wider than 50" but less than 60", spaces in ramp 3" or less (for front wheels of ZRT), at least 5' long, minimum 1500 lbs. weight limit, trifold.


If I bypass the tri-fold these would work.

Ride Master Arched UTV Trailer Ramps 5'5" Long | DiscountRamps.com

Do I need tri-fold for the ZRT mower?

 

[Ford850]

Both of those look like very nice options. I think the tri fold ramps are recommended for z-turns due to the independent drive wheels and the nature of the beast. Z-turns can be turned off a ramp easily compared to most other mowers/4wheelers/etc. A solid platform (tri-fold) provides a safer and more stable ramp. And that trifold you selected looks nice with the semi solid surface. It would also work well for loading 2 wheel carts, and smaller things like tillers etc. However, if you might need to load heavier things in the future, I would go with your other choice. They are rated higher, and you are only using these short ramps on a trailer, not a pickup. To me, that makes things much safer as far as the z-turn and trifold concerns go.