Ramp to go from back of trailer to truck.

[GregFreeman]

I have a two place Trailtech flatdeck tilt trailer. This morning I made a ramps out of 3/4" treated plywood. It is hinged in two pieces the piece that bridges between the trailer and the endgate is 45" wide x 44" long and the other piece lays flat on the tailgate 45" wide x the width of the tailgate. I made this all out of scrap wood. I put pieces of 1/2" thick wood x 24" long x 1.5" wide on the plywood to act as traction going up the ramp. I made a hook underneath so I can put a strap from the ramp to the truck I have 3 sleds and will likely use this to load the wifes Polaris in the back of my truck. Do you think this will be strong enough?

[retiredpop]

To be on the safe side I would put 2 pieces of 2x4 on edge under the ramp for the trailer to truck piece. They would also double as a stop to keep the ramp from sliding forward when you are loading into the truck by butting up against the tail gate.

[GregFreeman]

Here is a picture of it.

[GregFreeman]

Ski Stance on the Shift IQ600 is 42.5" so should be just wide enough. It is a very slight incline from the deck of my trailer to the back of my truck. I have also added two 2 x 4 under the plywood for strength and I have also put on much stronger hinges. I have also made it so I can ratchet strap it underneath to the truck to secure it.

[retiredpop]

Do you have a way of tieing the ramp to the trailer so the ramp can't be pushed into the truck box once the skis hit the ramp? I've seen that happen before. Also you might want to add a couple more hinges. That's a lot of weight on just two hinges that are likely just fastened to the plywood with screws. Otherwise it looks good.

[GregFreeman]

The two 2 x 4 underneath will butt up against the tailgate of the truck and prevent it from being pushed up.

[retiredpop]

That's good. That's what I was getting at in my first reply.

[GregFreeman]

Thanks for the advice. I never thought of that until you mentioned it.

[TheBearAK]

I agree about the 2 hinges. The hinges will need to support up to 600 to 800 LBs due to the initial hit.

If you just add more hinges, I think I'd bolt them on. Either use rounded bolts or the counter-sink nuts (forget the actual name). Screws won't last long with negative force on them.

Piano hinge would be better.

Few more screws in the treads would be good. 2 screws may easily be ripped out.

I like the idea. I might build one myself. At home I have a ramp, but when I'm not there it is 2 man lift...unless I can find an appropriate ditch.