Great replies! I've been gone all day, so I'm seeing them all at once. I went to the storage yard to see the trailers, and followed Gary's exact procedure to see if they looked watertight. Another test was that they had been sitting on the lot through both hurricanes; one was damp inside from the wind-driven rain; the others were dry.
A problem arose with this local office, however; they're part of a larger company, and it turns out the fellow I spoke to on the phone is new, and didn't realize he had little room to negotiate. When I arrived today, they called the home office and got some prices, and they were higher than I had been led to believe. A trailer with a rollup door was $3,000 plus tax and delivery; with double barn doors (like a container) they had one for $2,200 plus tax and delivery. The delivery was $130 and the tax is 7%, so the total would be $2,484, which was almost 25% higher than I had expected to pay. They are also higher than others on their container prices, so I've gone back to the drawing board. I may end up getting one from them anyway if the prices from others are within a couple of hundred dollars, because this outfit is the closest and their freight is lower -- $130 instead of around $350. It just takes me a littke time to get my tongue around a higher than expected price; my CFO has turned me into a miser. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Of all the ideas, the best combination for me is digging a sloping trench for the axle wheels about 30" deep and using that dirt, plus more if necessary, to build an earthen ramp. The best idea to make that work is the 3-sided bulkhead, especially when you consider that I have a supply of used PT wood that I can use for the bulkhead. I had considered making some sort of trestle ramp from my wood, but I trust the earthen ramp a lot more than any engineered ramp that I would design, /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif and it should take less wood.
We will want to drive the tractor up the ramp, so full width is good, eliminating the furniture ramps, although they were a good tip.
The ramp should end up being about 30" high or so, which means that it will only have to be 15' or so long. This is do-able. Flooding hasn't gone much above 6" to 12", so that will be high enough.
Thanks, guys, I feel much better about it, now. No one came up with any negatives, and I have a solid plan for a solid ramp (pun intended). Best part of it is, my son-in-law will have to do the work while I sit and superviise -- these health problems have certain advantages /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
A problem arose with this local office, however; they're part of a larger company, and it turns out the fellow I spoke to on the phone is new, and didn't realize he had little room to negotiate. When I arrived today, they called the home office and got some prices, and they were higher than I had been led to believe. A trailer with a rollup door was $3,000 plus tax and delivery; with double barn doors (like a container) they had one for $2,200 plus tax and delivery. The delivery was $130 and the tax is 7%, so the total would be $2,484, which was almost 25% higher than I had expected to pay. They are also higher than others on their container prices, so I've gone back to the drawing board. I may end up getting one from them anyway if the prices from others are within a couple of hundred dollars, because this outfit is the closest and their freight is lower -- $130 instead of around $350. It just takes me a littke time to get my tongue around a higher than expected price; my CFO has turned me into a miser. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Of all the ideas, the best combination for me is digging a sloping trench for the axle wheels about 30" deep and using that dirt, plus more if necessary, to build an earthen ramp. The best idea to make that work is the 3-sided bulkhead, especially when you consider that I have a supply of used PT wood that I can use for the bulkhead. I had considered making some sort of trestle ramp from my wood, but I trust the earthen ramp a lot more than any engineered ramp that I would design, /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif and it should take less wood.
We will want to drive the tractor up the ramp, so full width is good, eliminating the furniture ramps, although they were a good tip.
The ramp should end up being about 30" high or so, which means that it will only have to be 15' or so long. This is do-able. Flooding hasn't gone much above 6" to 12", so that will be high enough.
Thanks, guys, I feel much better about it, now. No one came up with any negatives, and I have a solid plan for a solid ramp (pun intended). Best part of it is, my son-in-law will have to do the work while I sit and superviise -- these health problems have certain advantages /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif.
. Glad it was of use to you.