Motorcycle ramp

I'm thinking of making a motorcycle ramp 8 ft long & 3 ft wide with 3/4 inch plywood to load a 600 lb bike on a car hauler trailer. Will the 3/4 " plywood hold the weight?

Reply to
Ron
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Use the Load Span tables found here to determine the best type of plywood and on-center measurements for the supports required to fit your application:

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OTOH, why are you making a ramp from plywood?

You can get a 7.5' folding aluminum ramp rated at 750 lbs for under $60 here:

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Probably safer when wet than plywood.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I wouldn't bet on it, though, is the car hauler a low profile? Then maybe, but I would consider using 2" x 12" x 8' which you could join together and apply 1/4" on top, if needed.

Reply to
Meanie

It really depends on how you support it. Make a full length wedge-shaped piece to go on each edge (make sure they're all _unde_r the load-bearing surface--you want them to hold it up) and one in the middle and if you're not on pavement lay another piece of ply under it so it doesn't sink into the ground and put in some cross-bracing so it doesn't collapse sideways and it should be fine.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I would not trust it. FWIW I used to load Harleys in the back of my 79 GMC and used an 8' 2x12. It bowed but never enough to make me feel it might break. Trucks tail gates were not as tall back then either.

Maybe if you put a couple of cinder blocks under the plywood to limit the bow, you would likely be OK. It would not have to be a perfect fit, just close enough to limit the bow.

Reply to
Leon

i'll just leave this here . . .

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

Smart money would go with DerbyDad's suggestion. Reasonably priced and designed for the job.

If you go with wood and choose to do it right, you'd want some metal flanges at the end to transition to the car carrier and keep the ramp from sliding off. (figure $15-$20)

I made some wooden ramps like that for getting a wheel chair into the house when my late father was confined to one. Kept it as it was quite handy.

Still use it to occasionally load a riding lawnmower into the back of a pickup to transport for service, etc.

Made it out of a pair of 2x10's to which I glued and screwed 1x4's to the outside edge to a) prevent any sag and b) keep the wheels from going off the edge.

Still like Derby's suggestion best for OP's intended purpose.

Reply to
Unquestionably Confused

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to do it yourself. Strong cheap loading ramps are available at Harbor Freight.

Reply to
John McGaw

This video really illustrates why you want the arched ramps.

Reply to
-MIKE-

...We don't need no stinking ramps :p

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

Beyond the weight bearing amenities of your ramp.....

No matter what ramp you use, always tie, bolt or pin, tightly, the ramp to the vehicle..... to the bumper, to the dedicated tie-down slots, rings, loo ps, or to whatever.

The guy in the video, at the 1 minute mark, didn't use the ramps' ties/stra ps, to secure the ramps to the vehicle. These ties keep the back wheel/wh eels from ejecting the ramps from under the vehicle/trailer. So many novi ce bike/4 wheeler/etc. users simply don't think and make this mistake of no t securing their ramps to the trailer/vehicle.

At least some of the metal ramps come with ties, for this very purpose, but idiot macho guys don't use them. Better safe, than sorry.

Sonny

Reply to
Sonny

Thanks, but I have to admit that I do have a set of home made ramps that have worked well.

I took a couple of 2 x 6 PT boards and screwed them to some 4 x 4 PT fence posts. They ain't bending or breaking under my usage.

The heaviest thing I've loaded with them (and why I built them) is to get a riding lawn mower into my trailer. Maybe an 18" rise, so it's not hard to push it up carefully and come back down if we get off center.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I'm amazed (not really) at the lack of thinking from many of the loaders in the videos. The last video really stood out where the truck is facing decline on driveway, which raises the bed of the truck. If people had sense, they would find a spot where the tail of the truck would be at a lower point from the ground, such as the end of the driveway.

The OP never stated the height of his car hauling trailer. Many or low to the ground and this, makes a difference to the type of ramp he can make.

Reply to
Meanie

There seems to be a common thread in these episodes: a failure to understand that maintaining balance on any two-wheeled conveyance requires significant forward speed.

In some cases, this is replaced by the failure to recognize that the speed sufficient to get up the ramp while maintaining balance simply

*cannot* be shed in just a couple of feet.

Of course, the folks who had the good sense to walk their bikes up the ramps didn't have the sort of outcome that would have resulted in being included in these vids...

Reply to
Doug Miller

The short answer is no. The longer answer is depends what else you use to make the ramp, and the engineering you put into it, and how high it needs to be.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

I think they *understand* the need for speed (after all, they ride, don't they?) I think those they fall simply fail to plan ahead and *remember* that they will have to slow down once they reach the top of the ramp. You covered those that do remember in your second paragraph ;-)

You can also toss in the use of a narrow ramp, leaving them no place to put a foot down to hold the bike up once they slow down. Again, failure to plan for the unexpected.

Or...

When someone is about to ride a bike up a ramp, it's either going to turn out pretty cool or pretty bad. There *will* excitement not matter what the result. That's worth pulling out the recording device for.

However, if a guy is going to walk a bike up a ramp, that's just not worth recording. I'm sure there are lots of dropped bikes during roll-on attempts (e.g. operator realizing that they are too short or too weak, failure to maintain speed, slipping/tipping ramps, etc.) That practice is just not as widely recorded, other than instructional videos which always tend to turn out well.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

+1

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Reply to
Spalted Walt

I haul a 250cc scooter on the back of our motorhome and use a commercial mo torcycle carrier. The narrow ramp that came with it was too short, so I us e an 8 foot 2x10 with 2x2 on each edge to make reasonably sure I keep the s cooter on the ramp. Ramp is secured to carrier with 1/4 inch thick l-bar. I walk it up under power. Works great.

cle-ramp-817849-.htm

Reply to
Gramps' shop

The loading mechanism at 6:58 is pretty slick. No muss, no fuss, just get the job done.

Reply to
Doug Miller

The mechanism at 0:35 is just as slick and the operator is so, so much cuter.

I don't know for sure, but it's possible that the "cuter" ramp can be used as a cart to roll the bikes into storage. Those big rubber wheels sure beat the metal rollers on the 6:58 rig for off-truck transport.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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