Heater

I have a 2005 2500. I am using a friends 4 wheeler and ramps for a little while. I seem to set WAY higher at the tailgate than most stock trucks (I like it). But let me tell you, it is a real treat to ride up the ramp muddy (sometimes impossible) and just too **** scary to back down the ramp.

My questions is what do you guys do for unloading an atv on flat ground. Now I do know the obvious answer of "get longer ramps, use a dirt bank to help", but my ramp is length of truck bed now...any longer and it will hae to hang OVER the
closed tailgate.

blackdiesel

on my flatbed, we just take ahold of the rack and pull em off. much safer!

CrazyCooter

http://www.diamondbackcovers.com/atvmain.asp

bkrukow

Is it a sport machine?? If so I dont even use the ramps to unload. I just cary the rear of my Raptor using the grab bar to hold it up till the front rolls off the tail gate and then I simply drop the machine. If it is a utility such as my wifes Grizz then I just stand beside it on th eground and use one hand to roll the tires backwards and the other to grab at the break and control the speed as it rolls down the ramps. I dont enjoy driving my wifes Grizz up the ramps but the Raptor is no problem.

StrokeThisCTD

I have TWO 711lb(dry) Arctic Cat 650 V2 4x4's. I just pull them forward in the truck and when i back down i pin it. I dont go slow. i go as fast as i possibly can. I find its MUCH less scary backing out than it is backing in to go forward out.

Eventually you will just get to the point where its not scary anymore. I usually try to ramp into the bed of my truck by hauling *** so much up the ramps.

bkrukow

Althou I have been known to accidentaly go a little fast up the ramps and do little weilies at the top I would strongly advise against going like mad up the ramps. A budie had to replace the rear window of his truck when it was wet and he couldent stop in time. He bent the front of the box into the rear of the cab and pushhed them both forward a ways. Tecnicaly he should have had a HUGE body shop bill but he decided to just pry the two back apart and take the rear seat out and kick the back of the cab back out far enough to hold the glass. He did a decent job but you could still see the obvious damage.
Ruber wheels on wet steel dont do much for stoping.

sdaly

Find a location where you can back up to an incline to load/unload, or you can put the truck's rear wheels in a gutter/divot/ditch so the rear wheels sit lower than the bottom of the ramps. The angle is much less steep.

Or, you need to raise your front wheels when you load/unload. Just pop the front end up over a curb or something to raise the front. I have also sometimes carried those car ramps you can buy from auto parts stores for oil changes, and use those to drive the front of the truck up the ramps to raise the front end. However you do it, raising the front end lowers the tailgate making the ramp incline less steep.

midlife crisis

Two other issues you should note.
1) Securing the ramps to the truck, and 2) the weight of you & the quad coming up the ramps. I dont trust the tailgate cables.
I spent the $80 to deal with both issues-the "T" shaped bracket that sets in the hitch. I slide it in, secure the ramps to it at the same level as the tg, and now only half the weight is on the gate at one time.
I also went one step further and between a locking hitch pin & cable lock thru the ramps & T Bracket- nothing can "walk away" while I'm out.
The comment about high speed coming up the ramps is right on-more so after riding in snow with exposed disc brakes.
Hope this helps ya-

SRTchris

how about a cheapie electric winch?? those can be had anywhere for under$200.00, easy up, easy down , or get a mack daddy one for the front of your quad!

Heater

Thanks for the input. That cover is a super idea, not one I will use, but I did send that like to some friends. I guess I will just continue to look for some low spots and curbs to help bring the angle down a bit. I think a new set of tires on the old Honda and a WIDER ramp will make it better.

Jeff in TD

I think everything has been pretty much covered...

I use a ratchet strap to the bumper to secure the ramp, and riding up with just a bit of speed seems safer. If you don't carry enough momentium to make the top of the ramp, applying throttle while on the ramp can tend to make the machine try to flip over backwards. Sometimes I just stand beside the machine control the throttle, and step up onto the tailgate as the machine comes up the ramp.

To unload, I generally just push it out of the bed and let it roll down the ramp...as long as it's on level ground it'll stop in a few yards.

There are longer ramps, but the ones that are long enough to make a significantly less steep angle are up around $400+,

DodgeCowboy

Jeff I cant think of the guys name but he lives over on 9th street I think well I just had my quad in his shop doing some work to my quad and his ramp he had put cables on one of the cross sections and had S hooks that hooked to the tail gate post were it latches and it worked pretty slick as i forgot my ramps when i went to pick it up

Jeff in TD

Hey Dodgecowboy, how's it going?

My ramp has 2 safety wires with hooks, too, but I have them clamped to length to work for my trailer... So when I use the same ramp to put something in my truck I just use one of my ratchet tiedown straps, since I generally have them handy.

DodgeCowboy

its going good Jeff thanks for not pulling me over tonight Ya I don't hardly use ramps cause i have a loading dock here that i can back right too and were i normally unload to ride has one too thats for live stock so i very rarely have to use ramps. I have a set of those gawd awful tri folding heavy heavy dudes that like to smash fingers and they were meant for 2wd Toyota pickup they are steeper than a cows face when used with my truck its down right scary loading with them

Jeff in TD

Yeah, I'd like a set of longer ramps, but they are really expensive, and I've learned how to safely load with the ramp I have.

I'm kind of limited, though, in that my toyhauler doesn't have the normal drop down back wall. It has a ramp box underneath, so only some tripple folds will fit in the ramp box.