[AT] Weekend issues

[Stephen Offiler]

Definitely, one of the issues with my ramps is transport.  I can lay them
face-down 2x3 up, but I don't always have that kind of room once whatever
I'm loading has been loaded.  The can sort-of stack, but then they cannot
sit pretty.  My cable idea really isn't going to improve on this aspect.
Also, I neglected to mention I *ALWAYS* tie them off to the truck bumper
with motorcycle straps. I did have a ramp that was not tied kick out on me
once, no harm to people or equipment, but it got very exciting there for a
minute and gave me the religion.  While I'm here, a plug for Ancra brand
straps.  I *HATE* Chinese cheapo lookalikes that are made of much thinner
nylon strap material, weaker hooks, etc.

SO


On Tue, Sep 20, 2016 at 9:33 AM, Dennis Johnson <moscowengnr at outlook.com>
wrote:

>
>  Steve
>
> I did the same with a 2 X 4 on one that got a weak spot near a knot hole.
> It worked for a while but did not lay flat for transport.
> Maybe I need to change my pin retainer to something that will allow me to
> transport on edge and this will then work easily.
> One issue is that the deck sometimes catches the aluminum end piece when
> backing off and tries to pull the ramp off. This can get exciting
>
> Thanks
> Dennis
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On Sep 20, 2016, at 7:17 AM, Stephen Offiler <soffiler at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I've got a couple sets of ramps, but the ones I use most frequently are
> > simply cheapo spruce 2x8's, 12' long, each with a single 2x3 8' long
> > screwed lengthwise, centered, on the bottom for additional stiffness.
> > Actually these ramps did not get a ton of thought; I threw them together
> > from materials on-hand one winter during a pretty big snowstorm when I
> had
> > to load my snowblower into the truck to help dig out the barn so my wife
> > could reach her horse. Snowdrifts 6-8'  high had completely obliterated
> the
> > turnout door.  Anyway, they work reasonably OK loading 300-400 lb
> machinery
> > and I like the 12' length to reduce the angle up into the truck. The 2x3
> is
> > marginally effective and they still deflect a fair amount.  They are
> > reasonably lightweight, however.
> >
> > My idea for improvement is shown in the attached picture - sorry for the
> > poor quality but this is just a quick digital sketch using Microsoft
> > Paint.  Basically I want to eliminate the 2x3 and instead pre-stress the
> > ramp with a cable.  It works like any pre-stressed structure; as the ramp
> > takes a load it tries to straighten itself out (which is removing the
> > pre-stress... in other words, when loaded, the stresses in the wood are
> > lower than when it's just sitting there).  The cable is taking the load
> > instead.   There would need to be a turnbuckle, not shown in the sketch.
> > Details need to be worked out... for example the cable attachment at each
> > end needs to be extremely robust.  Just throwing the idea out there.
> >
> > SO
>
>