STAY AWAY FROM WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

wood sucks

 

Yes you can use wood planks.

My buddy uses 2x10 or 2x12 wood planks with the metal adaptors on the ends that fit on the tailgate. He has a 2004 Sportsman 700. I use the aluminum ramps which are obviously better for traction purposes (safety) but YES you CAN use wooden planks and the metal adaptors are made specifically for this purpose.

 

Thanks, I just want to use them temporarily, until I get a trailer.
So I didn't want to spend $150.00 + on ramps.
It says on the box that they are rated for 700 lbs./ea.

 

I went riding today and was telling my buddy about this post. He thinks Im crazy for spending the money on aluminum but oh well. I feel better with them. After we were done riding, we went back to his place and started talkin abou the slippery when wet problem with the wood. He said hes gonna take 1x2's and build what looks to be a ladder on top of each board for traction. I thought that sounded like a good idea. Then we were talkin about it, and after spending the money on the wood, ramp ends, hooks and straps, hes gonna have about $60 invested in his wood. I bought my ramps used for $75 and they were ready to go. The wood just doesnt seem worth it to me.

 

my alloy ramps have horizontal ribs built in for traction going up the ramp. i think the guys using wood are just playing with fire. you could use an old broken ladder duck-taped together to get on the roof of your to clean you chimney, but your much safer buying a fiberglass one. sure you can use the well duck taped one, after-all, you only use the damn ladder once a year, but one day it will fail, and when it does, you will fall.

the wood ramp are old-school and WAY outdated and unsafe. picture yourself front tires on the gate and rears decide to slide a little on your cob-nobbed wood 'traction stripes'.........you're history pal! helmet ain't gonna help too much either when 700+lbs flopps-over backwards on top of YOU! with the momentum don't think you'll be able to bail off to the side either. you will be a pancake.

bye-bye, i'm done with this topic.....................

~MT

"you can leed a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

 

I wouldnt TOUCH wood ramps....especially for a Sportsman.......why risk it for $50?....not worth it

 

I use 2X12x6's with ramp ends and "ramp mats" for traction. Before I put the mats on I painted the ramps with an oil base porch paint and threw in a healthy amount of no skid additive (essentially sand) to give them texture - no slipping problems. A 700lb sportsman plus your weight divided by 1/2 (for each ramp) plus the fact that the ramps are angled (not horizontal) and transferring some weight to the ground - that wood far in excess of the carrying capacity needed. I only went 2x12 cause of the width - not load capacity. But I load onto a utilty trailer, not a vehicle - so the angle is not as steep.

 

I usually use one of my trailers, but if I need to haul one in the truck I just back in the ditch and drive right on the tailgate...no ramp needed. However I did make an 84 inch pair of 2x10's for loading with traction strips. Never had a problem with them.

 

i use wood ramps... 2X12s with ramp locks on the ends, i cut a snowmobile track in half and nailed it to the top of the 2X12 ... works like a charm