Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Has anyone ever bent the rear ramp due to something being too heavy for it? If so, how did you repair it?

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I bought my trailer used and it had something very heavy rolled up the ramp at some point. When I pulled the plywood off you could see the square tube frame of the ramp and where they were bent pretty well. I basically used a couple jack stands and a 2x4 to hold the ramp up level to the floor with the wood at the worst part of the bend. Then I stood on the ramp and forced the tubes back to a straight condition. I just used a 4 ft. level as a straight edge to gauge how much to bend and where. When I got it all squared up I welded some gussets in all the corners and reinforced the center tubes with a plate so I could mount the spare to the ramp and riding the Harley up the center would not be an issue. The spare just touches the ground when the ramp is down so it adds more support in that area. Then I insulated and replaced the plywood and installed the diamond vinyl flooring. It closes and seals a whole lot better now.
Hope this helps.

McDave

Thanks mcdave. It was bent slightly when I bought it, but it still latched okay. I've had it undone for a few days while I work in there, and I don't know if it was the humidity or what, but it was pretty tough to get latched. So I thought I would take a whack at straightening it up a little bit. Thanks for the advice

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McDave wrote:I bought my trailer used and it had something very heavy rolled up the ramp at some point. When I pulled the plywood off you could see the square tube frame of the ramp and where they were bent pretty well. I basically used a couple jack stands and a 2x4 to hold the ramp up level to the floor with the wood at the worst part of the bend. Then I stood on the ramp and forced the tubes back to a straight condition. I just used a 4 ft. level as a straight edge to gauge how much to bend and where. When I got it all squared up I welded some gussets in all the corners and reinforced the center tubes with a plate so I could mount the spare to the ramp and riding the Harley up the center would not be an issue. The spare just touches the ground when the ramp is down so it adds more support in that area. Then I insulated and replaced the plywood and installed the diamond vinyl flooring. It closes and seals a whole lot better now.
Hope this helps.

McDave

There you are. I hope you are doing well... Your big riding season and Iron Horse rodeo and etc.. should be happening now or soon?

flboy wrote:There you are. I hope you are doing well... Your big riding season and Iron Horse rodeo and etc.. should be happening now or soon?

Yup, I'm still kickin'. And you are correct Sir, I leave for Red Lodge and the Beartooth Rally and Ironhorse Rodeo on Wed. 7/17. The first of 3 poker runs is thurs. 7/18 about 120 miles and 6 bars in little towns in the area. Friday is the big ride from Red Lodge to Cody then up the Chief Joseph Highway to Cooke City and then down the Beartooth Highway back to Red Lodge. Probably the best motorcycle ride in North America. Here is a link to Cruiser magazine and a nice little write up. https://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/beart ... otorcycle/ . Then it's on to Sturgis August 4th for me. Staying down in Custer State Park this year and was lucky enough to get a site next to Stockade Lake. It is a beautiful place and I can't wait to get there. I'll try to get some pics for you.
Here are a couple to wet your appetite...



McDave

Wow..beautiful!

Hey, I left the plywood on and put jacks under the bowed spots this morning, just to see what would happen ...and then kind of jumped/rocked on the trailer and already made some progress. I know I'm putting leverage on it, but I'm kind of surprised it bends so "easy".

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Yeah, that's why I decided to try to beef up the ramp frame. If I could bend it with my modest 215 lbs, what is gonna happen when I take a 900 lbs Harley across it repeatedly? I know that the plywood is supposed to keep the frame from racking but the gussets made a definite difference as far as square-ness. The plate I installed ties the three center supports together and spreads the load to all three. Probably not necessary for UTV's as they have 4 much wider wheels to spread the weight.

McDave