? overlap ramps to improve angle ?

Persiman · Jan 25, 2020

JD 2210 with JD 54 blower on JD QuickHitch and 210# rear weights and rear tires ballasted. 46" from the front tire, the blower has 9-1/4" ground clearance. That means a trailer loading ramp needs to be less than 11.4 degrees. 37" from the front tire, the ground clearance is only 7-3/8. This works out to a loading ramp of 11.3 degrees. My new CTA 60" blade is worse - 8.4 degrees with skids on, 10.7 degrees with skids off. I'm ordering a PJ 7716 utility trailer with a bed height of 21", improved to 18" with a 2 ft dovetail.
I like spreadsheets, and my leedle charts show that I need 7 to 8 ft ramps to get my load angle. That's expensive, harder to store, and takes more space to unload. But hey - The trailer will come with the removable front sides which function as 51" x 9-3/4 ramps. I can also order 60 x 12 ramps that stow under the dovetail. So. I could put the 60" ramps from ground to dovetail. Then I could put the 51" ramps from the ground to the 60" ramps overlapping by about 24". That puts the first 51" ramp at 8 degrees, which is easy. The second 60" ramp is at 17.5 degrees, but since I'm already up on the 51" ramps, the transition difference is less than 10 degrees. The math all works out pretty well. I'd need to make a bracket to assure the overlapping ramps are locked together. No big deal. The bracket could include a foot to support the point load on the long ramp.
Even though I'm working with 4 shorter ramps instead of 2 long ones, I like that the ramps are easily stored on the trailer and reasonable weight to carry. And I can use a single pair when I'm not using the challenging attachments.
So, is this a crazy idea, and why?
Tractor weighs 1440 empty, entire front snowblower assembly is about 350#, tractor wheelbase is 57".
Any discussion is appreciated.

farmeratheart · Jan 25, 2020

As long as any bracket you fashion locks the 2 portions securely, I don’t see a problem. Personally, I would be worried with one ramp sliding sideways off of the other unless the loading zone was perfectly flat laterally.

bigtiller · Jan 25, 2020

Why such a big trailer?
A 12' trailer would be long enough.
Unless it will be a high mileage use, the trailer you have picked out will be a little overkill for a jd 2210.

Slowpoke Slim · Jan 25, 2020

Or just put a floor jack underneath the trailer jack and jack up the front of the trailer (while it's hitched to your truck) enough to decrease the approach angle at the ramps and load/unload the dang tractor.

It doesn't always have to be hard.

Peter 315 · Jan 25, 2020

Slowpoke Slim said:
Or just put a floor jack underneath the trailer jack and jack up the front of the trailer (while it's hitched to your truck) enough to decrease the approach angle at the ramps and load/unload the dang tractor.

It doesn't always have to be hard.

I like it redneck math lol :thumbsup:

Persiman · Jan 25, 2020

Hey, thanks for the comments. The snowblower set-up will put me just over 12'; a rear blade would add more length. The reason for the 16' is the 48" BrushBull. It is actually longer than the tractor. Total set-up with RC and front weights is a bit over 16', but I'll remove the front weights when trailering to reduce tongue weight. Trips with the RC will also have the cultipacker, rake, sprayer... Believe me, I spent a lot of time trying to make a shorter trailer work. The 16' can also haul cars.

Yeah, I'm used to raising the front of the trailer to improve loading angle. To start with, I put my car service ramps under the tow vehicle rear axle. According to my math, raising the ball 6" will lower the rear 2" - changing the load height from 18 to 16". That means 7' ramps instead of 8'. It helps, but still doesn't put me in range of the standard 5' ramps.

Agreed any bracket needs to hold it in all dimensions. Steel on steel is way too slick. I'm old enough to have seen many bad examples of setting up ramps. Overall, it seems easy to me. Just trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something.

bcp · Jan 25, 2020

You might work from this idea for four ramps.

4-Bunk Load Leveller/Ramp Kit | Iconic MetalGear

Bruce

CoyPatton · Jan 25, 2020

Persiman said:
Hey, thanks for the comments. The snowblower set-up will put me just over 12'; a rear blade would add more length. The reason for the 16' is the 48" BrushBull. It is actually longer than the tractor. Total set-up with RC and front weights is a bit over 16', but I'll remove the front weights when trailering to reduce tongue weight. Trips with the RC will also have the cultipacker, rake, sprayer... Believe me, I spent a lot of time trying to make a shorter trailer work. The 16' can also haul cars.

Yeah, I'm used to raising the front of the trailer to improve loading angle. To start with, I put my car service ramps under the tow vehicle rear axle. According to my math, raising the ball 6" will lower the rear 2" - changing the load height from 18 to 16". That means 7' ramps instead of 8'. It helps, but still doesn't put me in range of the standard 5' ramps.

Agreed any bracket needs to hold it in all dimensions. Steel on steel is way too slick. I'm old enough to have seen many bad examples of setting up ramps. Overall, it seems easy to me. Just trying to make sure I'm not overlooking something.

It will will work at least until the day it fails. What will promote failure is a long list, but the big one I would expect you will encounter quick will be an uneven surface where you need to unload be it a pothole or a sloping lane. On this uneven surface your connecting bracket will experience lots of stress under a force wanting to lean with the uneven surface.
My suggestion is to have ramps built to mount onto the trailer semi permanently that fold and lock together. Baring them locking together, have your rear ramps attached not just hooked to the trailer, then the second set of ramps could hook as the would to the trailer.

4570Man · Jan 25, 2020

I really doubt you need 8 foot ramps to load on an 18” high trailer. If so the tractor would be close to junk because it would bottom out on every little dip.

the old grind · Jan 25, 2020

Slowpoke Slim said:
Or just put a floor jack underneath the trailer jack and jack up the front of the trailer (while it's hitched to your truck) enough to decrease the approach angle at the ramps and load/unload the dang tractor. .. It doesn't always (ever) have to be hard.

.. also bottle jack under the receiver or ball platform ..

Peter 315 said:
I like it redneck math lol :thumbsup:

Some of the most clever 'engineers' rely on it.

Oh, and not to mention backing the tow vehicle onto ramps (eg: any HFT, ergonomic 3-ton, etc) My favorite safe alt to cranking the trailer or hitch to improve load angle. .. "when the buyer shows up with s__ for a trailer .."

dodge man · Jan 26, 2020

I posted quite a while a post about “ramps for my ramps”. I had the same problem loading a Dodge Challenger on my trailer. I put drive up ramps you use for changing oil for a car under the my trailer ramps and that reduced the angle for me to load it. They got a little squirrely when I loaded and unloaded the car. They also bit into the plastic of the second set of ramps with the angle iron of the trailer ramps. Not a great setup. I’ve seen people do a similar thing with lumbar by staking 2x12 together and cutting them at an angle.

4570Man · Jan 26, 2020

I had issues backing my L3800 with a box blade off my deck over trailer. If I could load with the trailer wheels in a dip it was fine but with a worse angle on the truck the box blade was sticking in the ground. The solution was to lay the ramps of my car hauler trailer on the ramps of the deck over trailer to extend them out farther.

Persiman · Jan 27, 2020

Thanks for all the discussion and good advice / warnings. I see there's a company selling "Lay-over Trailer Ramp Extensions" which is exactly what I asked about. So, yeah, the same thing is commercially available.
Now I need to decide if I go with the PJ 60" rear ramps that store under the dovetail - thereby reducing ground clearance. There's 13" clearance under the dovetail without the ramp brackets. I'd rather preserve the ground clearance and get 72-77" ramps that store across the front of the trailer.

dodge man · Jan 27, 2020

What kind of ramps come with the PJ trailer? Are they the ones made out of angles welded together? If so they will be pretty heavy. I don't know how long mine are, maybe 5 feet long, and they store under the back of the trailer. They are almost to heavy to handle at that length. I saw on Amazon a product called "Race Ramps" which is what I had in mind when I was talking about a solution. They make some shorter ones and longer ones. The long ones are pretty spendy. If I ever need something like that again I will make s set out of lumber.

Persiman · Jan 31, 2020

Good comment about the weight. The removable sides / ATV ramps are 51 x 9-3/4, welded angle with about 6" open space between rungs. The weight is noticable, but no problem. But their 5' rear stowable ramps would be 12" wide and certainly built stronger. I also learned the ramp storage under the rear reduces the clearance from 13" to 10". So I'm definitely going to buy my own aluminum ramps. I see some are listed at 77". Maybe I could rig one to be my tailgate since the trailer is 77 i.d. wide. 70-77" aluminum is available with plenty of strength, a hooked end to hang on my rub rail, wider if I want them, and still easier to carry.
I also saw the Race Ramps. Could have made something out of 2x s, but they would have to be 48" long to handle the snow blower overhang.
I'm really impressed with the PJ trailers. Mine won't deliver until March-ish.

dodge man · Jan 31, 2020

I say some nice alum. ramps on Amazon, pretty long but pretty pricey, like $700 or more depending on length.

kevinwak · Feb 7, 2020

When I load my JD2520 with front blower onto my car hauler type trailer the blower rubs the ramps for about 2” and then the front tires pop up onto the ramps and the blower lifts off again. I’ve never thought this to be an issue as the blower can take the tractor weight, I am able to lift the front tires of the tractor off the ground with the blower.
I just make sure to line e slid shoes up so they don’t snag in one of the spaces between the ramp angle irons.

Good call on not getting the ramps that hang under the rear. My ramp hanger got so bent from hitting and rubbing the ground that I cut it off and just tie the ramps to the trailer deck. I am tired of lugging around the heavy ramps and tying them down. I dream of a tilt deck in my future.