OK, I looked in the search and didn't find much. I'm rebuilding my 16' car hauler and need some ideas. The Richard noggins that built this trailer made the ramps to fit behind the rear of the fenders on each side. Only problem is they made the ramps to fit nose to nose under the trailer making them only about 3 1/2 feet long each. Loading a car is like climbing Everest! I can buy some of the aluminum ramps and bolt or chain them to the front of the trailer, or I can get inventive and come up with something else to solve my problem. The alloy ramps are kind of pricey, but it's not about the money, it's more about something that functions well, I use the trailer alot. You guys always come through with good advice, anybody had to solve this problem? A friend of mine advised that I build ramps to come straight out the back of the "whaletail" of the trailer. Seems like they would be too low under there. But hell, I'm asking you guys for ideas, so what do I know!?! Thanks, Mike
No answer.. but funny. Came back from lunch today, waiting to turn into traffic and a truck with a loaded U-haul car trailer comes by, and it's making a hell of a lot of noise.. I could hear it well before I saw it. They left the ramps out on the trailer and were driving down the street with it.. lot's of noise, sparks and some good ruts in the concrete road deck. The car on the trailer was a late model ford station wagon of some sort. When I saw then they were doing about 40mph and I could see them turning onto the highway going north on 75 about 300 feet past me. Wonder how far they made it.
If you can make them slide out the back, that setup is ***s. I had a goldrush that was built out of 2X4X.120 tubing. Each wheel track had 2 pieces joined by a piece of diamondplate on top. The rear end was open, and a ramp slid out the back between the 2X4s. There were straps welded under the 2X4s lengthwise sticking out slightly to carry the ramps. A 1/2 PiP pin secured the ramp in place when stored, and a 5/16 bolt kept the ramp from sliding all the way out and falling off the trailer when loading the car. The ramps themselves were just sheet steel bent in a press brake, about 8 feet long. Not having to lift and/or carry the ramps made using the trailer easy and quick. I didn't have a tail on the trailer, it was straight, but as long as you have the rear end the lowest part, nothing else will drag, right? Edit - attached a photo of one like it, hope this helps.
Mine is a 16' with the last 4' dove tail. (its an Appilacian I think ?) My ramps are built like a ladder out of 2x2x0.25 Angle IRON. They slide into a slot behind the trailer, lock with a pin and slicker than really nice. no loose pieces, flat deck. nice.
Extend the ramps and throw em on the trailer deck when you're done. They'll be so heavy they'll ride there just fine. Leash em with a bicycle cable lock if you're concerned with theft. 6ft is a great length. Good luck
One way, 6' x 18" wide aluminum diamond plate reinforced with aluminum channel. Note the pivots welded to the back of the frame. 1 3/8" DOM tubing inside 1 5/8"DOM tubing, both with .120 wall thickness. Drilled for quick release retainer pins. Ramps are held to the trailer floor with one 3/8" bolt each. Ramps from a Fresno aluminum surplus place near Cherry. Cost = going rate per pound of aluminum. Originally they were deck plates for a steam plant or some such place. The front pivot is steel channel welded to a 1 5/8" DOM pivot piece that fits between the welded pieces on the trailer. Here's another way with the same ramps. Note the 1" square brace. It also has a tab on the trailer rail to take the square brace in the forward stowed position. Convenient around town, but an aerodynamic ***** on the highway. Hauling the trailer empty, it took a couple of miles to get up to 55 mph on the flat freeway. Something along the lines of a welded expanded metal with cross braces would be better.
i see lots of trailer now with the ramps that just stay attached, they just swing up into the air and are held there by side braces, they do limit your car from hanging out over the back though, i like the ramps that slip in under the trailer as well, they can be long and if you have a low car you want long, my trailer has this dumb *** ramp thats full width and about 4ft long, just stands up straight when not in use, heavy as hell, i have pulled my back twice now, going to cut it apart and make two 6ft ramps that pivot in the middle, they will fold up to 3ft and make a place for them at the front of the trailer, just be sitting on the tongue. funny as i was typeing the pic above showed up
You could always add a hinge to your ramps to keep 'em short for storage - a 6ft ramp would only take up 3ft.
Mine slide up into the rear of the trailer, side-by-side, between the taillights and the center marker lights. I do not like side-load ramps - why pick them up and carry them when you do not have to? Plus, the way your trailer is set up, you are going to have a shorter ramp than most - mine are 5-1/2' feet long and store nicely. Side-loaded ramp storage works on a trailer that does not have a dovetail/beavertail (first I've heard the "whaletail" term). The pic shows the ramp doors that drop down, and they are padlocked, so I never have to worry about them getting loose from a forgotten or missing pin, and makes them very hard for someone to steal! Plus, the reamps are adjustable the entire width of the trailer, unlike those that deploy out and are fixed in width, or the ramps that are stuck up in the air!
I like the ramps that slide out ... My open trailer is a 16 footer and the last few feet are dove tailed ... and that is where the ramps slide up into the trailer. Of course ... the enclosed trailer ( behind the house ) has a lay down back door.
Sliding in under the back is what I have and they work nice. Having them hinged and upright when not in use severely limits the length of vehicle you can haul. With a 16 ft trailer it would exclude a lot of vehicles
Thanks for the ideas! I think you guys have talked me into running my ramps out the back even if it means major surgery. There have been a few times I was "cramped up" in a parking lot and struggled to get my ramps out from the side, even as short as they are. Thanks, Mike
Correct a mundo. The roadsters, both with bobbed rear frame horns are 12' long. My 50 Plymouth coupe is/was (sold) 16' long. The deck on the trailer shown above is 16'. No pics, but I had a 3rd option for storing the wide aluminum ramps. Inside the rails/fence on edge and they bolted to a welded tab. And the 4th option, the pickup bed. Kinda handy sometimes since an overhanging car or other stuff hauled on the trailer behind the roadster impinged on the ramps floor storage area. The floor area, hard to get to with a long car as well. If I ever got another open trailer, storage in the tail end would be my choice.
Mine's got the side store ramps, and if I wasn't such a cheap SOB, I would fix 'em. Trouble is, I have too many projects now, and the trailer was cheap, so you do what you have to do... I DO have the removable driver's side fender. I can even open the race car door, and that ****er is low. While you are re-engineering the trailer, think about the whole process. Backing up to attach, lowering it onto the ball, connecting the wiring, storing the equipment, getting the car on, tieing it down, safety, and security. A little thought before hand can make 5 more minutes or 50 bucks more make the trailer the envy of all your friends.
On our 24' dovetail it didn't have ramps. And no ramp storage. So we made 8' long by 14" wide ramps from 2x2 Angle Iron for the sides, 1.75 angle on the cross bars, then skinned with 12ga diamond plate steel. For storage we welded 2.25" Channel to the floor next to the fenders and dropped the ramps down between the fender and the vehicle. Even with a fullsize truck, there was plenty of room between the body and the ramps. then to keep the ramps from falling inward, a nut was welded to the inner part of the fender, and a bolt ran through a hole in the ramp and secured it to the fender. The ramps were long enough to get low cars on, strong enough for a heavy tractor, and stored in a place where we can see them from the rear view mirror to make sure everything is secure. Redneck ingenuity, but it worked well and didn't have to worry about them rattling around in their slots like our other flatbed.
I had exactly the same problem. The short ramps work fine for high clearance vehicles, like trucks, but WILL NOT work for low slung cars. I made up some six footers from 2"x10" oak and an angle iron at the top end to hook on the trailer. They get stowed crossways at the front of the trailer. I have loaded very heavy cars with them and no problems. Also have loaded Vettes and lowered hotrods. Oak is tough.
Having done this towing thing a while now (a LONG while at that), and used every manner of ramp on many different types of rigs all the way up to and including a 12 car, in all kinds of weather, I feel qualified to make the following comments; Steel ones, especially those made up from angle iron are heavy and ***bersome. Making them slide into pockets sounds real neat too, UNTIL they get wedged in with ice and snow, and a stiff wind kicks up, knocking the chill factor down below zero. I agree with the above poster. A couple of six footer aluminum ones lashed down to the center of the deck with a couple of ratchet straps would be definitely be the quick and dirty way out, and just about the easiest to use. Welding lugs or eye bolts in the deck to padlock them to will help ***ure they stay yours. Or cut to the chase and do like me, get rid of what you've got and get a tilt deck.
I'll try to get some pics of mine tomorrow. What I did was take a couple of those long aluminum ramps you find that slide out from under the tailgate of a bigger U-Haul or furniture delivery truck. I welded some channel iron "tracks" under the rear portion of my trailer, and slid the ramps into them. I now have some nice and very strong ramps that I can simply slide out from under the trailer "tailgate" area. No more hand-carrying heavy ramps around or having them clutter and bounce around on the cargo bed. I'll try to remember to take some daylight pics.
I know one. She does this little dance before we start to mess arou.... Oops, you said ramps, never mind.
I saw this at the SEMA show and took a photo so I could steal the idea later on! Probably works better for Motorcycles and ATV's than cars
I had slide in ramps on mine but I loaned the trailer out all the time and had to replace 4 ramps in 2 years. Idiots kept leaving the locking pins out that even had small chains welded to frame and the pins. Now, trailer has tilt-up ramps. Haven't lost another ramp in 25 years.
Probly to the tow yard more than likely it was a repo and they were running before they got shot by texas law.Shot first ask questions later.
Of couse the "traditional" way can't be used anymore, before they started paving parking lots, one could dig a couple of holes to drop the trailer's wheels into. That was the way in the day, and still is on the farm. Blocks of wood to pull the tow vehicle's rear wheels up on, consequently lowering the rear of the trailer?
I use 6 ft golf cart Alum ramps they are arched up because under my car only has a about 3 " clearance plus my cars has a long wheel base 215 and on the other 169 , so I cary a set of car ramps and pull the rear tires of my truck up on them and that lowers the back of the trailor and keeps me from unhooking the trailor from the truck my box trailor is 24 ft and my flat bed was 16 and I made it a 20 ft I use the same ramps for both trailors.. Also I have corner jacks on the back of flat bed trailor cause the weight of the car will pick up the back of my dodge 1500 off the ground but not my ford Dualie 6 ft ramps will do that if you have enough weight on the back END of the trailor. PS Dont load you car on a Hill side like I did you might go for a ride of your life...
I had the same problem what I did was made a sliding insert that fit into the original ramps. The insert extends out and adds about 3' when loading a car. After the car is on I push the insert into the original ramps and store them behind the wheels. I will try to get you a better picture if you would like. I have used these ramps for years and have had not problems. If that old buick didn't fold them nothing will.
I built seven foot long ramps out of 1/4 inch aluminum checkerplate they just hook on the back of my trailer and when done they just lay on top of the deck secured with a ratchet strap to keep them from moving around around about 40 to 50 pounds each.
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