need help with trailer ramps

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Im not in the welding business but can stick weld but i need some help from folks that know,   i bought a 5th wheel trailer that is a flatbed and no dovetail, the floor is 44" off the ground in back,   floor is 34 ft long, i need to be able to load cars-1 ton trucks on it but has no ramps at all, it has 3 7000lb axels,    i dont know how long i need them and what materials to use to make them with to be strong enough to holdup the frontend of a 1 ton since id think only one set wheels at a time be on the ramps, im guessing 2500lbs if loading a 1 ton when the front axel goes up,   would i be right in thinking that if 2500lbs at a time on two ramps then each ramp would need to support at least 1500lbs? or more.  i can add rear jacks to support the trailers rear while loading if needed. Please pardon any mispelling.
Reply:wedge542With deep consideration to your first post . . . "Please pardon any mispelling [sic]" - and the WW will.Per chance: were you one of the purged due to this failure?http://people.tamu.edu/~v-buenger/658/Hubble.pdfIf not - ask a refined/specific question.Opus
Reply:ok, how long do ramps need to be?        what materials to use?
Reply:Originally Posted by OPUS FERROwedge542With deep consideration to your first post . . . "Please pardon any mispelling [sic]" - and the WW will.Per chance: were you one of the purged due to this failure?http://people.tamu.edu/~v-buenger/658/Hubble.pdfIf not - ask a refined/specific question.Opus
Reply:Trailer ramp angles are tricky.   My  design manual says you should have 10 degree ramp angles.  That would make your ramp length 20 feet.   You can go steeper than the but if yo are loading cars the will bottom out at the top of the ramp.    This is the raespn car trailers are low to the ground with dove tails.  It shortens the ramp length and allows for flatter ramp angles.    Yow really do not see any trailers with a 44 inch deck with ramps on it.    Even my equiptment trailer with a 22 inch deck really should have a dove tail on the backThermal Arc  Power-Tech 10/270  stick welderLincoln buzz-boxPurox O/A setupNothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool
Reply:I,m with you Brian.Depending on the slip resistance of your ramps, you need a ramp no steeper than 20%. If slippery, or ladder style, less steep. They will be heavy! I would suggest a two stage ramp system. The taller set could have a leg at each end. Hinge it down, the leg at the hinge end would support the rear of the trailer while loading. the leg at the other would hold the end of the ramp 22" off the ground. A second set would latch in to the first extending them to the ground. If well designed from mild steel, they will require at least two people, or a gorilla to move. I saw a fellow with a very tall box truck carrying antique John Deere tractors. His ramps were three stage, the upper two, hydraulic. The third stage were a factory built aluminum weighing maybe 70 pounds apiece.In any case figure on the full weight of a one ton, (7000 LB.) they will exceed the wheelbase of the biggest truck you'll load.
Reply:Approach and departure angles will affect if you scrape the front and rear during loading.   Break over angle is the bottoming out at top of the ramp Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Originally Posted by Blue-JeepersTrailer ramp angles are tricky.   My  design manual says you should have 10 degree ramp angles.  That would make your ramp length 20 feet.   You can go steeper than the but if yo are loading cars the will bottom out at the top of the ramp.    This is the raespn car trailers are low to the ground with dove tails.  It shortens the ramp length and allows for flatter ramp angles.    Yow really do not see any trailers with a 44 inch deck with ramps on it.    Even my equiptment trailer with a 22 inch deck really should have a dove tail on the back
Reply:Something else to think about is that the front of a 1 ton truck weighs more than 2,500 lbs. My 1/2 ton 4wd Chevy weighs right at 5,000 lbs. A typical dually weighs about 7,000 lbs and more.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by BrianCOn behalf of most of us, please excuse this idiot, he has very useful info to help any on this forum.
Reply:Originally Posted by BubbanSCThat made me lmao
Reply:I'm pretty sure anything that's strong enough to do the job will be heavy enough to require a forklift for placement.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:I would see if your trailer manufacture has the same trailer with ramps. It saves many headaches duplicating what the manufactures have done. I'm sure you may find a trailer manufacture that might even have that info in trailer specs.
Reply:If you set your ramps at a 14 degree angle you will need a fifteen foot ramp to get up to the 44'' deck height.    You can load trucks on a ramp that steep but you will probably have a problem with cars.  You are going to need to take measurements and draw pictures.   That's how I came up with the fifteen foot ramp lengthThermal Arc  Power-Tech 10/270  stick welderLincoln buzz-boxPurox O/A setupNothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool
Reply:Don't forget to consider how you will lower and lift the ramps. Is their space for the ramps to slide under the trailer deck? Like a u-haul truck loading ramp. Does the trailer have airbags? Maybe you can lower the rear to decrease deck to ramp angle. The bi-folding idea is a good one, it will be heavy. You may be able to use an electric winch or two, I place of hydraulics.Thermal arc 211iCk flex-loc 150 & 130Clamps, saws & grindersHarbor freight 80 amp inverter
Reply:Originally Posted by OPUS FERROwedge542With deep consideration to your first post . . . "Please pardon any mispelling [sic]" - and the WW will.Per chance: were you one of the purged due to this failure?http://people.tamu.edu/~v-buenger/658/Hubble.pdfIf not - ask a refined/specific question.Opus
Reply:With a trailer that high what you need is a loading dock.
Reply:misread tape, its 28" from the ground,,,,,,would 10ft be ok and not scrub cars?
Reply:Originally Posted by wedge542misread tape, its 28" from the ground,,,,,,would 10ft be ok and not scrub cars?
Reply:no, i had to level the 5th whl hitch up front so its level on my truck now but i had to of misread the tape the first time.
Reply:I'd shoot for a total length of 12 feet, or consider a winch to pull them on. There is less risk of slipping that way. As for break over angle, what's the ground clearance and wheelbase of the vehicles you will load?I think most states are like VT and 13'6" is legal height limit without permits.
Reply:may haul anything from a vw to a lincoln to a tractor,   ill have a 10k winch as well.
Reply:RAMPS???????????????  DID SOMEONE SAY RAMPS?????????????Low approach angle so's not to turn a tractor over on top of your headLightweight (720lbs)Four easy to handle sections (180lbs each)AND SAFE AS HOUSES, I GUAR-ON-TEE ITLast edited by farmersamm; 08-04-2014 at 05:29 PM."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:When yer wife sees you MANHANDLING these babies, she'll rape you at the front door when you come in the house  (She'll know she has a REAL stud on her hands!!)But............you'll probably have to turn her down, despite the wild look in her eyes...........because you're on yer way to the bathtub to soak for a few hours to relieve the pain in your lower back, then from tub to bed (no sex possible) to lay down till the pain subsides"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:That's 16' of ramp there ya know"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/at 180 each my wife be doing the handling,lol.
Reply:Originally Posted by wedge542at 180 each my wife be doing the handling,lol.
Reply:If you go that long.  Put a set of legs half way.  Then you have might lighter weight ramps as you onlysupport 5 foot span instead of 10 foot spanTiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:sounds like thats the route to take adding a leg halfway,    could you give materials help as well?
Reply:Aluminum ramps. Short very light sections that hook together and hook to the trailer. And get a tape measure with bigger numbers on it.
Reply:i was thinking alum to but finding out more alum ramps getting stolen now than ever,
Reply:I built a set of ramps for a gooseneck with no dovetail. deck height was 36" The ramps were 10 ft long with 4" Channel sides and 4" angle "ladder rungs" Comes out to about 17 degrees. We used it to load a heavy John deere 4010 (13000lbs) and they were steep. I think my chevy 2500 4x4 would go up and down but not a car. Don't know how heavy they were but Im 6'2"-200lbs and I moved them one end at a time.Lincolin Power Wave 450, Lincoln Powermig 255, Lincoln Pro Mig 140, Lincoln Squarewave Tig 275, Miller Big 40 G(with Hobart Hefty suitcase), Thermal Arc 95S and Esab PCM875 in an already full machine shop.
Reply:what about spring asist
Reply:Originally Posted by wedge542what about spring asist
Reply:if i have ramps 10ft long with the springs will they help picking them up off the ground to standup to pin?
Reply:Originally Posted by wedge542if i have ramps 10ft long with the springs will they help picking them up off the ground to standup to pin?
Reply:i found this calculations page for tube steele, i punched in these numbers-2x2x.250x60"long with 2500lbs in middle= how much deflection    cold rolled     anyone here wanta take a guess?Last edited by wedge542; 08-06-2014 at 03:30 AM.Reason: mistake
Reply:AutoDesk Inventor's Stress Analysis is telling me a little less than 1/8".John 3:16(2) Miller Pheonix 456(2) Millermertic 252Dynasty 210DXHobart 210MVPDoringer D350 SA Cold SawScotchman 350LT Cold SawWebb 10x50 MillWebb 15x40 LatheGeka Bendicrop Ironworker
Reply:0.4204"       can you tell me how much 120" of it weighs?
Reply:Cross sectional area is 4-2.25 = 1.75in^2. Multiply that by 120in and we have 210in^3 of steel. 210/1728 * 500 = 60.78lb. 490pcf is more realistic, but 500 is close enough.Lincoln 175HD
Reply:lol, 500 what, lbs    no way 120"x2
Reply:Steel weighs around 490 pounds per cubic foot. For most estimation I use 500 as it makes the math easier.Lincoln 175HD
Reply:2x2x.250x120"=60lbs  x  2=120lbs            per   http://www.discountsteel.com/items/S...206&size_no=46
Reply:I said that 120" weighs 60.78lb, then admitted that's a hair on the high side. Pretty close to 60lb even.Lincoln 175HD
Reply:Originally Posted by BubbanSCThat made me lmao