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Old 02-02-2015, 09:02 PM   #1
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Load limit on ramp, will it support a Smart Car?

Howdy All,

does anyone know where to find the load rating on the ramps doors of our toy haulers? I am thinking seriously of buying a Smart Car, to carry in my 3818, along with a Ural with sidecar or a couple of full size road bikes.

The Smart Car weighs around 1,850 pounds with me driving it up the ramp it would be around 2,100 pounds, because of the short lenght of the Smart Car, ALL of this weight would be on the ramp and would have to be supported by the hinges until the front wheels of the Smart Car were driven into the garage.

Any information on how to find the load limits of the ramp would be most appreciated, thanks.

Dave
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Old 02-02-2015, 09:27 PM   #2
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From the brochure - 3,000 pounds as a ramp, 1,500 pounds as a patio deck.
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Old 02-03-2015, 07:05 AM   #3
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Towards the bottom of the link, you'll see a Saturn Sky in the Voltage - not mine, but I read this awhile back and your post jolted the memory:


Woodalls Open Roads Forum: Toy Haulers: Feedback from current Dutchman Voltage RV owners
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Old 02-03-2015, 04:06 PM   #4
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I load my side by side and with me in it is around 1800 lbs loaded. No issues so far. I think you will be fine but traction may be an issue
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Old 02-03-2015, 04:14 PM   #5
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Jbee is correct - these rigs hold them all very nicely and securely. You will have no issues loading the 'Wing on a dry ramp.
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Old 02-03-2015, 04:35 PM   #6
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Howdy All,

Thanks for all the replies to my question. Loading and unloading will be a problem as the when the trailer is hooked up to the truck it sits level and the ramp angle is Steep. A friend brought his Smart Car over with the trailer sitting level it can't be loaded as the front bumper of the car hits the ramp before the front wheels do. So one of these days when it not raining here in the Nor-Wet, we are going to unhook the trailer and using the jacks raise the front of the trailer and see if we can achieve a ramp angle that will make loading and unloading the Smart Car possible with out any undue drama.

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Old 02-03-2015, 05:13 PM   #7
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Some people, especially drag racers, will add a hinged extension to the door, and put riser blocks under it to decrease the angle of ramp. This might be an idea for you as well.
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Old 02-03-2015, 05:49 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by macman83 View Post
Some people, especially drag racers, will add a hinged extension to the door, and put riser blocks under it to decrease the angle of ramp. This might be an idea for you as well.
Howdy macman83,

Over the last month I have been burning up the net looking for ways to solve the steep ramp angle problem, using a hinged extension as you suggested is one way of doing it. The problem is that after you use the extension, how do you store and transport it?

My toy hauler has the double bunk / double couch-table setup in the rear of the garage, this would get in the way of having a permanent fold-able extension attached to the ramp. The same goes for any other ramp setup. I already have 12 foot ramps that fold in half that I use to load motorcycles onto the rear deck of the truck.





This is how I stored the ramps on the deck of the truck when I carried the Ural and a Rokon, on one of my long trips when I used the truck as a stand alone motor home. The old Weekend Warrior, toy hauler can be seen in the back ground.





These ramps could be placed with one end on the ground and the other end half way up the toy hauler ramp which should provide a slope the Smart Car could climb without hitting but that would have to be tried to see if it would work.

These ramps could be stored on the rear deck of the truck but getting the ramps off the deck, setting them up and then storing them again wouldn't be any less work then just unhooking and raising the front of the trailer. I didn't realize how much higher the new trailer was built until I first loaded bikes into the garage, on the old Weekend Warrior, the garage floor was almost a foot lower but it had wheel wells that took up a lot of garage floor space, I like the new trailers flat garage floor but I do miss the lower ramp angle of the old style toy haulers.

Dave
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Old 02-03-2015, 06:08 PM   #9
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Well, the other thing that the high end racers have is a lift ramp on the end of the trailer. Basically a 10 foot long lift gate that will hold 4k lbs. Expensive, I'm sure. The ramps that I have seen are all only 3 or 4 feet long, and they are made of 3/8 inch boiler plate, with the hinge situated so that it stores hanging down from the top of the closed ramp. Only takes up about an inch of space.
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