How much will a 3 foot long ramp made from 2x2, 1/4 inch wall angle iron support.

[RjCorazza]

Really hard to hazard a guess with pictures. I used to load my previous L3410 with a standard landscape trailer ramp (full width with angle iron / extruded metal). I used bottle jacks and 4x4’s midway on the ramp to prevent (again!) crushing the ramp.
I have zero experience with tracks. I was surprised to learn big equipment with metal tracks slide sideways so easily.

 

[Jstpssng]

Really hard to hazard a guess with pictures. I used to load my previous L3410 with a standard landscape trailer ramp (full width with angle iron / extruded metal). I used bottle jacks and 4x4’s midway on the ramp to prevent (again!) crushing the ramp.
I have zero experience with tracks. I was surprised to learn big equipment with metal tracks slide sideways so easily.

I've seen contractors cover the trailer decks with heavy (1/4" +-) rubber from paper mills to help keep them from sliding. And as mentioned before, a little mud on wood can be slick.

 

[Silvic]

The ramps designed for my smaller 10 K trailer are better designed than those. Your SVL 95-2 empty is about 11K. Those ramps are built with "C" channel steel and the aforementioned angle iron cross pieces. The cross pieces are spaced about 10" apart so guessing from the picture I would say there are three times as many cross pieces as are on the pictured ramp. Hard to tell the spacing distance that your picture depicts however. The cross pieces add significant structural strength to any ramp but it is hard to see if those in the picture are angle or flat plat due to the shadow cast. Flat plate cross pieces would not be sufficient structural strength for the use. The other issue are the welds in the picture. I would not load my JD 4720 with an implement weighing less than 7000# trusting a ramp constructed with that design and the apparent weld quality shown in the picture.

Just reread and saw the 3 ft ramp note in the title. From the cross member count and the 36 inch ramp length that puts the spacing at about 5-6 inches which the picture clearly shows to not be accurate. Either the ramp is longer than than 36 inches or the cross members and the sides are not made of 2" wide material.

Still question the ramp construction and I would not use but if it is only 3 ft I don't see how it is useful unless the trailer is really really close to the ground or the ramp is really really steep.

 

[4570Man]

The back of the trailer is only about 18” off the ground. The cross pieces are 1.5” angle. I didn’t build the ramps to hold the CTL. If I did I would have built them much heavier.

 

[4570Man]

If I was actually planning on loading the CTL I’d have probably used 3” channel with 3/8 wall and 2” angle for the cross members. Since the trailer to these ramps is only a 7000 pound trailer I’m pretty sure they’ll work.

 

[bdog]

I would never drive a tracked machine up an all metal ramp. You need to bolt boards to it. Metal on metal might as well be metal on ice....it's incredibly slippery. You might be able to do it if the tracks are long enough but if more of the machine weight ends up on the ramp than the trailer the machine will slide to the bottom fast enough that you'll stain your seat.

I have a JD 350C dozer and though it can be fun to get it sideways on a hill with ice, it can also be bad. The grousers on the tracks are as good as ice skates when facing down a hill and it happens fast.

I own six tracked machines and only haul them on trailers with steel ramps and do it often. Five of the machines have rubber tracks like op’s 95 and are piece of cake. My dozer you have to be careful with. The rubber tracks though grip fine.

To the OP why not try it. It is only 18”. I doubt it would be catastrophic if the ramps failed except for the ramps. With an 11k machine and two ramps each would only see 5500 lb. further as you said the front of the machine will be on the trailer before the back of the tracks are all the way on the ramps. I think they would hold. Might deflect and bend a bit but should be fine. 5500 lb on a three foot span isn’t horribly large and it it further spread on the two angle irons.

 

[4570Man]

I’m not going to actually try it because it’s only a 7000 pound trailer. I’d have to block the rear and the middle of the trailer to attempt it without bending the trailer. Even it the ramps held I’ve gained nothing except the knowledge that they did hold. I have a 10 ton gooseneck with a lot heavier ramps for actually hauling the CTL. This is purely an engineering discussion.