Can't load my tractor!

[Chuck K.]

OK All - it's done. 4@ 2x10 planks made into a sub ramp, that reduce in 6" increments from 5.5' to 4' long. Blamo. I put handles on the ramps so that I can lift/carry them too. Thanks for all the suggestions and spirited debate.

JayC

Looks great and with a simple solution!!.. I am sure you securly fastened all the boards together? If not I would definately do that ASAP..

I found balanced center of my sub ramps took some 1/4" or 3/8" rope and fasten the rope to the sides making some rope handles this made handling and moving them much easier probably similair to what you did...

 

[JoelD]

Hey JayC we are right down the road from eachother.

Glad it all worked out.

Seems like a great solution. I probably would've used the backhoe to raise the rear of the tractor (not optimal for the hoe, but not the end of the world either).

I have an 18 foot, tilt bed, beaver tail, tri-axle which makes loading and unloading just about anything very easy. I've used for my LK as well as a dozer. As long as what ever it is I'm loading is heavy enough to tilt the trailer I'm good. She also has ramps.

Maybe we can commute to Rick's picknic next summer.

Joel

 

[JoelD]

Woops, sorry JayC, just noticed you've got a Kubota, thinking you may not be overly interested in Rick's cookout, invite still stands though.



Joel

 

[tlbuser]

OK All - it's done. 4@ 2x10 planks made into a sub ramp, that reduce in 6" increments from 5.5' to 4' long. Blamo. I put handles on the ramps so that I can lift/carry them too. Thanks for all the suggestions and spirited debate.

Looks like a good solution. Same as lengthening the ramps, doesn't require steel or a welder though.

What's the house on wheels purpose?

 

[radioman]

AHHHH!! finally!!! you got er done! now you can do it properly. is that your future home on wheels behind the kubota ?!

 

[Jay4200]

AHHHH!! finally!!! you got er done! now you can do it properly. is that your future home on wheels behind the kubota ?!

What, you don't like my house?

Actually, that's what I like to call my mobile camp - I built it to haul to a piece of land I own in the western part of the state. I had an old 35' park model trailer that I tore down to the frame, then built the new building on it. Unfortunately, I got busy with other projects and never finished it, so never got it moved. I never quite figured out how to register it for the road either (never stopped me before...). Now it just serves to irritate ****-retentive neighbors and be in the way all the time. Not as effective as an old Tuna boat, but pretty good none the less.

Well, I just bought a house on almost as big of a parcel as my land (which is where my tractor lives, as of yesterday), so odds of finishing the mobile-camp project are growing slim. I've been thinking of putting it on sonotubes in the back yard and call it a shed if I give up on getting it there, but I would like to get it up there some day.

A couple of innie shots (while framing before the roof):

JayC

 

[Iplayfarmer]

A couple of innie shots (while framing before the roof):

JayC

That would be a nice shed.

Did you build the trusses yourself?

 

[Jay4200]

I have an 18 foot, tilt bed, beaver tail, tri-axle which makes loading and unloading just about anything very easy. I've used for my LK as well as a dozer. As long as what ever it is I'm loading is heavy enough to tilt the trailer I'm good. She also has ramps.

Maybe we can commute to Rick's picknic next summer.l

Howdy neighbor -

Yea - once I got the ramps put together enough to get the tractor's back wheels onto the metal ramps, I got an amazing amount of drop in the back. If I could've figured out how to make the trailer do that earlier, I wouldn't have needed the extra stuff!

Who is Rick? Is he the guy with the Kioti shop over on the Vermont side? My land (of mobile-camp fame) is right near there.

You never know, I'm not entirely brand-faithful, and after the beating I gave my Kubota yesterday just starting the work I have to do at the new place, I might be in the market sooner rather than later .

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

That would be a nice shed.

Did you build the trusses yourself?

Yes - it didn't take long. The front half is a tray-ceiling, the back half is flat. I pre-built the roof trusses, then framed/sheathed it up over a weekend. I actually had to build the deck three times - the first time I used an interior grade birch plywood (thinking I could keep it dry until building was complete - bad plan, didn't work) - then I rebuilt it with exterior decking that turned out to be defective (completely blew apart after first rain). Everything is the building is glued and ring-shanked in an effort to survive the open road trip - especially the last part - once the pavement ends, the road up to my land is ~1 3/4 miles and it's pretty rugged in spots. The trailer doesn't have the necessary ground clearance by a long shot, so I've devised a portable-ramp scheme (not dissimilar to what I did with the tractor/trailer) to get the building up and over obstacles. It would almost be worth the effort of moving the thing just for the challenge. Eh, maybe next summer...

JayC

 

[Jay4200]

Looks great and with a simple solution!!.. I am sure you securly fastened all the boards together? If not I would definately do that ASAP..

I found balanced center of my sub ramps took some 1/4" or 3/8" rope and fasten the rope to the sides making some rope handles this made handling and moving them much easier probably similair to what you did...

All of the boards are nailed together. I bought 4 chest-handles (fold down flat) on sale from Lowes and mounted them on the same side of each ramp. I grab both handles and hold the the ramps across a thigh (they DO weigh roughly a million pounds each).

JayC

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...The front half is a tray-ceiling, the back half is flat.

Oh. Now I get it.

I was trying to figure out how they were built. I was assuming they would all be the same, but some were unfinished. Now that I know they are supposed to be different it all makes sense. I like the look of the tray ceiling. It's a clever way to get more head room without taller walls. Are there any limits on the stregth of tray ceiling trusses?

 

[radioman]

nice home! As for regisering it, not sure how it works for you in your state, but here we just fill out a form for a homemade trailer, take it to the nearest truck scale and get a scale ticket and go back to DMV and complete the registration. Since your trailer wasa mobile home before, you should already have a vin number, if not just get a new one issued from DMV when registering.

 

[Jay4200]

Are there any limits on the stregth of tray ceiling trusses?

The top triangle is a truss, so it is primarily limited by the 2x4 span, which is ~3 feet on a side. The supporting joist section is a 2x6, and is less than 2' long. The total span is a little under 8', so there is basically no problem with any type of loading. As it is with the truss structures I designed, you could land a helicopter on the roof if you wanted to.

JayC