DIY car loading ramps??

So this happened...

Yes, it's what it looks like.  A 26' former Uhaul truck with the box cut off except for the floor.  The idea is that I want to carry a track day car with me and tow a travel trailer behind.  Track car will weigh under 2500 (potentially well under 1000) and travel trailer is about 6000 so I'm good there.  I'm having a shop install D rings so I can strap the car down. Pondering ideas on how to safely get the car up there.  Easy button answer is buying ramps, which I might do.  They're over $1000, so if I can find a safe and more cost effective way I'm all for it.  The load height is 2'11".

Ideas? 

Back the truck in a ditch? 

On a more serious note I've seen (potentially) appropriate ramps for sale at surplus/liquidation auctions and even once or twice on marketplace. How shallow will the approach angle need to be?

Look at Vevor. My 6' 6000# aluminum ramps were $298 and I've used them for tractors, trucks, and other really heavy things

I'd be very tempted to take a week and dovetail the back of the bed and frame

I don't have the skills to dovetail it.  I'm thinking I'll need a long ramp, 6' would be too steep of an angle.  Think Miata etc... 

Cool idea using a Uhaul Box truck , 

Too many questions .....

what angle do you want the ramps to be ? that will tell you how long . 

How low is your race car so that it gets over the lip where the ramps meet the bed ?

Where are you going to store the ramps?

How heavy of a ramp can you lift ?

Are you planning on hauling full size cars too ?

I have 8 foot long "ladder ramps" that work great with my flat utility trailer but the bed is  less than 2 foot off the ground ,  they would be way to short for your truck to get a decent angle of attack :)

Its an interesting project  ,  I hope you can figure something out thats not too heavy.

If your car is under 1,000 lb, that sounds like a formula car or sports racer, so ground clearance is a big concern.  Maybe you could have extra tall (diameter) wheels and tires to help loading.

I've seen clever people build big custom swing arms to hoist the car on and off a flatbed.

Good luck.

How about two of the walk ramps that slide out of the back of those uhaul trucks?  Or if those are the ones that are too expensive and you're going to make your own then I would be searching for used tall narrow-flange I-beams on ebay/cl/fbm/google search/etc.  Bevel ground end, make a way for the trailer end to attach, maybe cover the top with expanded metal if necessary, and mount a winch on the trailer for loading and unloading.  Patrick's suggestion to dovetail the trailer is also a good idea as it proportionately reduces the length of the ramps needed, but it may be cost a lot more to dovetail it than it saves in needing shorter ramps.  

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

I talked to this guy a few weeks ago.  Maybe he can get longer?  I know he said he didn't make them.

https://greenville.craigslist.org/tro/d/hartwell-aluminum-trailer-ramps/7685956693.html

It could potentially be a Formula, right Tom1200?  .  Otherwise it would be something like a stock height NA Miata.  The ramps can be secured onto the trailer.  I really don't intend to haul full size cars.  At the end of the day if it's too hard to DIY, I'll just buy them. 

Just curious but is yours one of the uhaul box trucks with air suspension in the rear?  

How tall are those humps over the wheels?

Stampie said:

In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :

I talked to this guy a few weeks ago.  Maybe he can get longer?  I know he said he didn't make them.

https://greenville.craigslist.org/tro/d/hartwell-aluminum-trailer-ramps/7685956693.html

Now that I looked up Vevor like Patrick suggested I see that the guy in Hartwell is just reselling Vevor.

I just went through a similar exercise getting my Radical SR1 into a cargo trailer.  It's really a challenge with a low profile car. My load height is only 16" with a mild dovetail, and I got the longest, shallowest ramps that Race Ramps makes. Even with those ramps I need to drive the rear wheels of the tow truck up onto 9" platform ramps to tip the back of the trailer down so the race car doesn't center-high where the trailer gate meets the floor. Those platforms over the wheel arches of your truck also worry me. Frankly I don't know how you're going to do it with a load floor that's over twice as high. Sounds like a job for a crane or a lift. 

I have heard of someone who used to jack up the front of their race car to let the wheels droop, then put spacers between some of the spring coils, and let it back down so the front was 2-3 inches higher than normal to make loading/unloading much easier.  Has anyone here tried that?  Sounds like it would be fairly quick, cheap, and easy.  Or at least probably quicker, cheaper, and easier than struggling with very long ramps/backing truck onto ramps/removing splitter/etc.  

How about a ground based ramp and a second ramp from that to the truck bed? Similar to this:

and not a long sheet like this one has, but you could hinge a short partial ramp to the bed itself.

JBinMD said:

I have heard of someone who used to jack up the front of their race car to let the wheels droop, then put spacers between some of the spring coils, and let it back down so the front was 2-3 inches higher than normal to make loading/unloading much easier.  Has anyone here tried that?  Sounds like it would be fairly quick, cheap, and easy.  Or at least probably quicker, cheaper, and easier than struggling with very long ramps/backing truck onto ramps/removing splitter/etc.  

I can't speak to all cars but on mine, that approach would only gain me maybe two inches of height. 

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Correct, but 2" can make a significant difference in your approach angle and the length of ramps you need on a relatively low track car.  It doesn't solve every loading problem for everyone, but it would certainly make loading easier for some.  People can still make/buy 20'-30' ramps if they wish to go that route.  :shrug: 

A very slight ramp on the truck would help a lot. Building it into a mild ramp truck would help breakover angle and give you a little storage under the car.

I have a deck over trailer that's high. One set of ramps store front to back on either side of the trailer. Just some angle iron and a spring loaded pin at one end to keep them secure. It works, but its easy to get the ramps jammed up when moving them. Then there's another set of ramps that's stored widthwise lower in the trailer. Moving these is easier as they just slide in, and are 2 feet shorter so lighter. You have to be careful not to park too close to someone though.

The ramps are made of square tube and metal mesh. Smaller set goes from trailer to ground. Longer set goes from first set to ground. Holes cut in the mesh let you drip a pin in to keep them from moving. This gives me a fairly shallow angle but still allows everything to easily stow on the trailer.

While the above works fine, it is a bit annoying. Moving two sets of heavy ramps, and worrying about loading since the trailer is really narrow makes me look longingly at the enclosed trailers parked around me. Compromises to make the situation work though. The same type of setup might work for you? Could go aluminum so the ramps aren't so heavy.

Can you get ramps heavy duty enough for the front wheels? Driving the truck up on something at the front will bring loading height down a lot at the back and it also improves pretty much all your angles for loading as well. 

Another thing to look for is the "corner car lot display ramps" many are languishing on marketplace around me, and would be a good start to some big ramps.

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

Great ideas!!!!

AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) said:

How about a ground based ramp and a second ramp from that to the truck bed? Similar to this:

and not a long sheet like this one has, but you could hinge a short partial ramp to the bed itself.

Yep, this is the kind of thing I'm looking for.  Just dawned on me that I should ask my fellow Lemons crowd, I've seen several buses and box trucks carry cars. 

Dont those already come with one really long awesome ramp, complete with under deck storage? Just get another one. 

How about a bi-fold ramp gate. That would probably get you a 12' to 16' run. 

How landscapers do it.  Could similar folding, grated ramps that store upright be added?  

Those above are shown with side fencing but you don't have to have that.