How to deal with spring assisted ramp cable

[CaptD]

I need to insulate both of my ramps which have the spring assisted cable. The cable attaches to the wood and then into the frame of the ramp. I don't know how much pressure that these cables will have when unscrewed. I was thinking of driving a stake into the ground and rigging up some rope to tie off the cable to keep it from coming loose. Or should I attach a 2x4 to the end of the cable and let it return to the spring and just pull it back down to reattach. Any concerns while completing this task? The front ramp has 1 cable and the rear ramp has 2 cables. CaptD.

[flboy]

You have some pics of what you are talking about?

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[CaptD]

No sorry Don no pics. I need to get the GF to show me how to post up pics. Mostly wondering about the tension that those springs have. Will they get yanked out of my hands? They sure help when raising and lowering the ramps.

[Redneck Teepee]

The spring loaded "axle' that your cables wrap around should have some holes in it at different clock positions, by getting a helper you should be able to take the tension off with a couple of rods that fit in the holes by alternating holes. Then loosen the set screw and unwind again by alternating holes, reverse procedure to tighten spring to desired tension and reset the set screw.

[McDave]

If you look at the spring, there is a device for winding and unwinding attached usually near the mid point of the axle.
You can put 2 steel rods or correct sized screwdrivers in at 90 degree angles to each other. Caution!! These things are dangerous!!! If you decide to attempt removing cable have appropriate safety gear on.!!!
You would want to put ramp down, then put rods into winding device so as to increase tension on spring. Position rods so that as you increase tension with 1 rod in right hand, you can put rod in left hand into the next hole that would be adjacent to roof or top frame to use as a stop. Rods or drivers need to fit well into winder but not too tight or loose.
So for example insert rod in right hand into hole at 6 oclock ,move it to 9 oclock and insert rod in left hand into the 3 o clock and allow rod to contact frame or roof. This should put slack in cable allowing you to remove it from ramp.
Again, THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!! PLEASE BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND PROCEDURE AND ARE PROPERLY EQUIPT TO DO THIS. IF YOU ARE NOT CLEAR OR CONFIDENT, DONT TRY IT!!!
ALSO YOU CAN PUT RAMP ALLTHE WAY DOWN, THEN INSERT ROD IN THE APPROPRIATE POSITION TO STOP THE AXLE, THEN LIFT RAMP AND BLOCK IT UP TO INTRODUCE SLACK, THEN REMOVE CABLE.
DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS!!!!!!
You may have slack when ramp is up, but it may be impossible to access nut and bolt.
Good Luck,

McDave

[Padilen]

If you look at the spring, there is a device for winding and unwinding attached usually near the mid point of the axle.
You can put 2 steel rods or correct sized screwdrivers in at 90 degree angles to each other. Caution!! These things are dangerous!!! If you decide to attempt removing cable have appropriate safety gear on.!!!
You would want to put ramp down, then put rods into winding device so as to increase tension on spring. Position rods so that as you increase tension with 1 rod in right hand, you can put rod in left hand into the next hole that would be adjacent to roof or top frame to use as a stop. Rods or drivers need to fit well into winder but not too tight or loose.
So for example insert rod in right hand into hole at 6 oclock ,move it to 9 oclock and insert rod in left hand into the 3 o clock and allow rod to contact frame or roof. This should put slack in cable allowing you to remove it from ramp.
Again, THIS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS!!!!!! PLEASE BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND PROCEDURE AND ARE PROPERLY EQUIPT TO DO THIS. IF YOU ARE NOT CLEAR OR CONFIDENT, DONT TRY IT!!!
ALSO YOU CAN PUT RAMP ALLTHE WAY DOWN, THEN INSERT ROD IN THE APPROPRIATE POSITION TO STOP THE AXLE, THEN LIFT RAMP AND BLOCK IT UP TO INTRODUCE SLACK, THEN REMOVE CABLE.
DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS!!!!!!
You may have slack when ramp is up, but it may be impossible to access nut and bolt.
Good Luck,

McDave

Good great advise.
Just like garage door springs you need to know what your doing or they can hurt you.
I did not detach mine to insulate my ramp. I cut a notch so plywood could be lifted off. I do not have pics on phone any longer but will look at my thread and or go take a few pics.
Found one.

One more thought
If you do unwind the spring(s) you need to count how many full turns are on the and what direction you unwound.

[CaptD]

OK. Thanks for all the info fellas (way to go McDave). I went out and looked at the spring and axle that are mounted up towards the ceiling. There is a bright yellow plastic band wrapped around the axle and set screw on the spring. Printed on the label: Warning! Do Not Remove! Warning! Caution: Do not try to adjust spring. Contact a Professional. Thats good enough for me. I won't touch the set screw or spring. I can't help but notice that when the ramp is in the up position that there is only about 18" of wire exposed. It looks easy enough to secure the wire (on my wood framing) so when I disconnect it there would be no movement of the wire. Once disconnected I could lower the ramp and get to work. But I will research this out first as I want to know how much tension is on those wires. Looking at Padilens pic above shows the ramp wire attached to a bracket welded to the ramp frame. My attachment has a screw going thru the wood and probably into the frame and also a threaded machine bolt protrudes thru the wood secured with a nut on top of the wood. Maybe a bracket attached underneath the wood. Anyway I'm 3 weeks out of hand surgery and not ready to tackle this project. Removing screws and wood and insulating I will do but I'm not gonna mess with the ramp assist wire until I know more about it. Probably time to find a local trailer repair shop and ask them. Im only going to do it if I can do it safely and properly. Thanks again so much for your help guys. CaptD.

[Iconfabul8]

With the door in the up position, it shouldn't be to hard to relieve the tension by using a bar and the holes McDave was talking about. Block the bar with the tension removed and undo cables. Remember the door is heavy and will fall and kill everyone, so be ready when you remove the cables. Also, you might hang a weight from the cables to keep them from coming all unspooled.

[flboy]

If the wood is cut, will the cable come loose or is it held by the steel eyelet? You may be able to use an oscillating multi-tool with a wood blade and cut out a notch around the eyelet to remove the remainder of the wood on the ramp. My ramp was already trimmed like that from the factory.

If you are not sure what you are doing with the spring and cable, I'd seriously consider getting a garage door guy to come do the work. They have the tools for those springs and they work with the cables and springs all day long. Tight springs with cables is a good way to get hurt if you don't know what you are doing.

[Iconfabul8]

Just a little FYI, with my ramp up I was able to easily take the tension off the cable by turning the cable spool and shaft by HAND!

[chasg1]

I agree with the above post. Most of the tension is off the springs with it up. The door is very heavy and you will need at least 2 people to let it down safely. You also need 2, one-half inch diameter rods about 14 in. long to adjust the spring or relieve/tighten the tension. A 7/16" box wrench will fit the square end screws perfectly. You can brace the rods against the ceiling and walk them down to loosen the tension. Just mark where the ends were so you can get them back to where they were. You can push them by hand. Take note of the "winds" on the spring so you can get it back to where it was...(both up position and down). You could use a thin line of spray paint along the spring before you loosen the tension so you can return it to the original position.