Horse/Stock Trailer Ramp

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Sorry I havent posted in a while, but I would like some info on a project I will be starting soon. Ok, we have two horses and we sold our old 3 horse slant trailer bacause it was too tight and lacked a shred of conveniance due to the rear saddle racks room that made the horse opening too narrow and did not allow for uses besides hauling horses. We are buying a used 18'-25' one soon with a front dressing room and no rear saddle rack room. We only haul our 2 quarter horses about 10 times a year at the most, but we do buy, setup, and sell at flea markets quite often and the little 4x8 trailer and pickup bed trailer we have are not doing it for us. The reason I am starting this thread is because I want to build a fold down steel diamond plate ramp to put on the back that will close up behind the trailer doors to make it easier on our elderly horses and for loading furniture. My grandfather is a bit of a metal hoarder around his barn and at the back pasture burn pit, so I have a descent bit of free metal. I want to build an angle iron square (with a few crossmembers of course) and put diamond plate on the top. How thick does the diamond plate and angle iron need to be to hold 2400 pounds? (I want this to be rated for about twice what the 1200 pound horses weigh) Here is a pic to give you a rough idea of what I am going for Last edited by 1955_Chevy_6400; 08-02-2012 at 06:14 PM.Reason: typo
Reply:When I build them I use 2inch box and 4.5mm ally tread on the top. The amount of support you need depends on the lenght of tailgate you want.
Reply:better design a spring assist into that. that ramp isn't going to be light.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:Thanks!! By the way, what wall thickness do you suggest on that box tubing? Also, the ramp will probably be about 5-6 feet long with 3 welded or bolted on heavy duty hinges with a capacity of atleast 700 pounds a pop. I know this drawing is a little cheap that i made with the ca'puter paint thing, but here is something to give you a rough idea of what I am thinking. By the way, those ears at the top of the ramp will have holes in the middle to put a snap pin through.Last edited by 1955_Chevy_6400; 08-03-2012 at 06:30 PM.Reason: typo
Reply:your going to put a steel ramp on the back of an aluminum trailer?Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Originally Posted by Dualieyour going to put a steel ramp on the back of an aluminum trailer?
Reply:Hey Chevy what size sheet are you covering it with? You will need a cross member to joint on, also the outside edge of your sheet will be unsupported if I am reading your plan right. I use a simple tailgate a top and bottom then five bars inbetween you can then join on the center bar.Hope this helps. Mark.
Reply:OK, I will answer your questions one at a time. Dualie, no, this is going On an old steel trailer. That was just a pic I found on google to Give you guys an idea of what i had in mind for this build.Trailer Monkey,No, it will be supported along the edges to. I want to make a welded together square that will run all along the very edge, then crossmembers about every 12-18 inches. Then, I plan on put diamond plate on top of that square frame. From the top In the folded down position, it will look like a plain old piece of diamond plate on the back. When it is in the folded up position (what it would look like going down the road) you will see all of the angle iron.
Reply:That sounds like a good plan Chevy I didnt read it right. You will probably need something to help with the lift springs or gas rams.Mark
Reply:Yeah, I got a few garage door springs and chain in the shop, but I think the springs are too long though. I want to go with the spring setup for its cheap price tag, less maintenance, and almost no snycrhonyzation is required to install. If you buy those gas rams and try to put them on yourself, you have to get the mounting spots in nearly a perfect position and hope that they will not drop that ramp on your foot. If you screw up on a monting hole for the chain/hook to go in, you can just drill another in a few seconds. If I do get to make this project happen, I will definately use a chain and spring setup. Here is one I found on another forum that was used as a setup for his lawn care buisness trailer gate that I really liked.Also, this guy has the same trailer gate design as me, but I want to use diamond plate instead of expanded metal. I figured it would be easier for others to understand with a picture instead of a shotty sketch made in 2 minutes. What do yall think of this??Last edited by 1955_Chevy_6400; 08-06-2012 at 12:29 PM.