Pickup Truck Ramp Review
A pair of truck ramps is a must-have for hauling lawn tractors, motorcycles, ATV's, go karts, large crates, etc, safely in the bed of your pickup.
Other helpful uses for truck ramps include riding your mower into a raised shed, and loading and unloading trailers.
Wood vs Aluminum Ramps
Like many people, I chose making a set of wood transport ramps over buying aluminum or steel ramps. Truck ramps made of wood cost less and are nearly as strong, so long as you don't surpass the maximum weight recommendations.
Weight Capacity
Weight capacity for most wood ramp kits is 700 pounds per ramp. An average lawn tractor, like our Cub Cadet XT1, weighs about 600 pounds. You'll also need to include your own weight.
Wooden transport ramps are easy to cut to custom lengths. And they actually do less damage than aluminum ramps when moving them around.
What Length Board?
The longer the boards are, the easier it will be to load and unload, but longer boards will be harder to store.
The ramps I have were made with 8" boards, and they're six feet in length. When not in use, I keep them in the garage, on the sides of my motorcycle work stand.
Aside from a DIY ramp kit, you'll need two wooden planks. The most popular sizes for these are 2" x 8" or 2" x 10".
A wider board will have greater strength and stiffness, but narrower boards are easier to store. A 2" x 12" board can also be used, although the boards will be much wider than the ramps (most ramp tops are 7.25" wide).
For light-duty use, a 2" x 6" board will do.
The ramp tops are designed to sit flush on the tailgate.
Conclusion
For less than $100, you can buy a do-it-yourself ramp kit and two planks of proper-sized wood. The ramp tops are easy to install, basically it's cutting the boards to length and drilling two holes in each. Carriage bolts hold the boards onto the metal plates. Ramp kits generally include carriage bolts, self-adhesive rubber pads (to protect chrome or painted surfaces), and drop-in securing pins.
Shop: Pickup Truck Ramp Kit
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