Which do you prefer? Ramps or drive-on gate?

kebo · May 26, 2009

I guess this is like Ford or Chevy, but which do you like the best?....

I have a 16ft trailer with a drive-on ramp. Mine is spring loaded to assist you when raising or lowering the ramp. I like this arrangement the best because it's quick and easy to drive on/drive off the tractor. Plus, being the full width of the deck, the ramp gives me a feeling of a little more security because I don't have to make sure the tires are centered on two narrow ramps.

I think that once you get up to a certain size of trailer though, heavy duty ramps are pretty much standard but with my 3000lb max load I carry, I'm not to that point yet. I know some really heavy duty trailers have the hydraulic assist to raise/lower the ramps but that's usually for moving really heavy equipment.

There's also the drve on gates like mine, but only they are "split" in the middle which cuts the weight in half to raise/lower them. That's not too bad of an arrangement. I've also seen the removable ramps that lock into a slide out compartment under the trailer. That would be my least preferred way to do it. Knowing me, I would forget to pin the ramp back in place and drive off and have it slide out and hit someones car!

Not only that, those things can be HEAVY!!

I guess there may be some trailers that are made with a tilt design, but I don't think I've seen any for the size that most folks use hauling tractors. Anyone ever used a tilt trailer to haul a tractor? How was it???

What is your preference?

MossRoad · May 26, 2009

I have a car hauler trailer. It has the ramps that store under it and pull out from the side. I doubt each ramp weighs 25 pounds. I like them better than a full width drive on gate for a couple reasons. They don't stick up like a gate, so they are not a speed brake in the wind. They are heavier duty than most gates. They are super easy to adjust for width and I can use them on other equipment, like a pickup truck bed.

Downsides are you have to place them inline with the wheels of the machine you are loading. They just hang on an angle iron, so, if you are not careful, you could pop them off while driving up and down them. Also, when backing a trailer, you can see a gate and therefore you can tell where the rear of the trailer is. With the removable ramps, it is harder to judge where the corner of the trailer is that is out of mirror view.

Diamondpilot · May 26, 2009

I am a ramp guy. Gates cause a tremendous amount of drag. They do have their place though for guys like commercial landscapers who are on and off the trailer 8 times a day.

Chris

George2615 · May 26, 2009

My preference is no ramps (but you didn't mention that). One benefit of a tilt bed trailer. For lighter trailers, your drive on full width ramp is probably best. With heavier duty trailers a full width ramp needs to be very strong to support what is driving up on them which makes for a very heavy ramp that would need a spring assist to lift it. Even fold down individual ramps are heavy on a higher rated trailer.

Willl · May 26, 2009

Ramps or drive-on gate?

Neither, tilt.

wkpoor · May 29, 2009

We were just talking ramps yesterday at the fab shop were the owner said he cut his full width ramps down to 2 16" pieces. The reason why he did make me think a little about my own situation and realize with a deckover quite often the middle of a vehicle front or rear would hit the ramp if it were in the middle too. Being open in the middle gives a relief spot to get started from. There is always a reason for everything.

Iplayfarmer · May 29, 2009

wkpoor said:
We were just talking ramps yesterday at the fab shop were the owner said he cut his full width ramps down to 2 16" pieces. The reason why he did make me think a little about my own situation and realize with a deckover quite often the middle of a vehicle front or rear would hit the ramp if it were in the middle too. Being open in the middle gives a relief spot to get started from. There is always a reason for everything.

Help me understand what you mean by "with a deckover quite often the middle of a vehicle front or rear would hit the ramp if it were in the middle too."

wkpoor · May 29, 2009

I have loaded countless and all kinds of cars on my trailer. If my ramps were full width when I pull a car up to the ramp they would hit the bumper or something in the middle on the ramp first before the tires come in contact with the ramp because of the steepness. The split ramps even enable me to load my tractor with the plow for the same reason. The plow has a relief area between the ramps that allows the wheels to get started up then the plow will clear the rest of the way. My buddy nearly tore the front weights off his pulling truck one day forgetting they would contact the ramp and needed to be removed first. With the split ramps he can drive right in. So at least on a deck over there are some situations where the split works to my advantage. I still use when needed a set of cheeter ramps made from 6x6'es to get the tires moving up to clear the body and then if the wheel base vs ground clearance is sill an issue some cheeter blocks to keep from rubbing the bottom when transitioning to the deck.

dodge man · May 29, 2009

I have the ramps that slide in under the trailer, and yeah they are heavy. I'm just guessing but maybe 30-40lbs each. For my BX, it would be easier just to have a single gate that folded down, but I think it would be to light duty for a car or something heavier. I do worry about the ramps coming out, so I always do a walk around and make sure everything is secure.

Hematite · May 29, 2009

I went with a 9990 GVWR trailer and the only options with it were slide under ramps or the option of fold up spring assisted ramps. I went with the fold up ramps for a couple of reasons.

I tried to pull out and lift the very heavy 18""x 5' steel angle ramps. Decided right then and there it was too much work and too much back strain lifting from that height. Also, as someone mentioned, it would be my luck and I'd be in a hurry and forget to put the pin in correctly and have a ramp launch out and smash someones car.

The fold up ramp is easier to use but, and a very important but, it also has a stand built in. When you put the fold up ramps down, the rear of the trailer is supported so there is no dive in the trailer rear and rise in the front. Makes the loading process MUCH more stable. A very, very nice feature.