I usually trailer my x2, however on occasion I use my trifold ramps. It's a matter of physics, if the ramps are not steep enough the weight of the bike is on the middle of the ramp and the fingers on the tailgate, almost like a bridge. If the ramp is steep enough, the weight is transferred away from the fingers on the truck tailgate and the ramp midsection down to the ground. The ramps are exceptionally strong when used this way.

To demonstrate this, have someone stand on an extension ladder while it is on the ground and try to pick it up, it's heavy. Next lean the ladder against the wall with the same person on it, it easily can be pulled away from the wall at the top, the steeper the ladder the less weight that leans on the wall, but if you try to pick it up at the bottom and lift it straight up it's too heavy, but the ladder itself is under no real strain, as it's engineered to handle the load. The ramps are exactly the same concept, they are engineered like ladders to handle loads on an incline then transfer it down to the ground.

But if the ramps are placed too steep it's also dangerous to load. So you need to use some common sense and a couple of ratchet straps. The pull straps that are included with the ramps are death straps with a heavy bike.

 

A lot of ramps are too short and make it so steep it's more dangerous. You have to give it more gas just to get up the ramp, and it's easier to spin the tires. I could easily easily fit 8-foot long ramps in my truck but many of them are just under 6 feet long. That's even shorter than they need to be for a 6-1/2 foot shortbed. It's like they're made for compact trucks. A 6 foot ramp is a lot steeper than an 8 footer. It's even worse if you have a lift kit on the truck. Some of the XL ramps that are longer, are narrower than the regular ramps from the same company. That's scary too, when your tires hang over on both sides.

 

JumboFrank. you hit the nail on the head. That is how my wife smashed my truck rear window. And its no debate here, at least not for me, we were asked about recommendations and my new setup now is what I would recommend,
cuz I was there in the same boat. For me and I can only speak from my own personal exp. is that its difficult at timesto pick the "best" area for your truck for loading and unloading and it just adds so much time to load/unload with getting
the optimal area whereby your back of the tailgate is not more than 4ft from the ground for the steepness issue and using the ratchet straps. Now I unfold make sure its evenly displaced and drop the pins it and ready to go.

The triple the comments about the trailer, that is REALLY the way to GO! I love my trailer and its easy to load, strap and secure etc. etc.

Cheers,

R'

 

I got a pair of BetterBuilts from tractor supply. I beleve they are about 7' long individual 12" wide with a nice arch to them. They have good grip and have never had a problem loading with muddy tires, even with loading into my superduty with 4" lift and 35's. I always load in 4x4 low range. They came with cheepo straps to hold them. Knock on wood i have never had a ramp jump out on me. But i usually find a way to load the ruck with it pointing down hill.

 

I've had a couple of nasty, nasty accidents while loading one of which involved the ramps kicking out and the other more serious resulted in the ATV breaking the rear glass, me flying over the top of the truck and into (or rather through) the back window of a hatchback.

I have two long pieces of bridge planking. I bolted some of those metal lips on them to keep them sitting flush on the tailgate and bolted a piece of angle iron to the bottom so they dig into the ground or gravel. Also have fittings for straps to make absolutely sure they don't slip out. They're strong enough to use as ramps for the pickup. I've used them to bridge obstacles and ditches and driven the truck over them on more than one occasion. The only drawback is they're extremely heavy.

I rarely use them anymore though. I usually haul mine on a trailer that tilts so I don't need ramps at all. You can dang near buy a small utility trailer for what you pay for a good set of arched ramps.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Indslpwr04

I got a pair of BetterBuilts from tractor supply. I beleve they are about 7' long individual 12" wide with a nice arch to them. They have good grip and have never had a problem loading with muddy tires, even with loading into my superduty with 4" lift and 35's. I always load in 4x4 low range. They came with cheepo straps to hold them. Knock on wood i have never had a ramp jump out on me. But i usually find a way to load the ruck with it pointing down hill.</end quote></div>

You made a very good point that I don't think anyone else has mentioned, I also put it in 4x4 Low everytime I load up. I do it whether it's a truck or trailer, steep or not. The alternative I guess would be to get a running start and try to stop before you put it into the cab. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

After using ramps for the first few times I told myself I had to get a trailer, which I did. My truck has a 3" lift . If they were pinned to the truck as some of you do , then I would be fine with that. Trailer also means no more removing my truck cap.

Here's something that me dealer didn't know , maybe someone here doesn't know either, but if you back a larger sporstman (not 2up) onto a supercab ford it will fit and be able to close the tailgate assuming you have no bush bars on the back of the atv. I was told it wouldn't fit.

 

I am buying two of these and making two 24 inch ramps 1600lbs. I am also going to install U bolts to the back of the trailer so I can slide the fingers into the bolts. This maybe over kill but I am not taking any chances..

Now will this be enough strength for my X2 if I bolt two ramps together and use two 24 inch ramps?


New Ramps

 

wow i must be pushing my luck using my 2"x10"x8" planks w/ the end alum piece on mine to load my 800 w/out any problems .someday i plan on running a 2x4 on the back side for added extra strengh.

 

Just bad / good luck for me. I only broke the ramps and managed to get the ATV on the trailer. It was not an unforgetable feeling. I watched the You tube link before this even happened and that is why I had used bolts to hold these ramps in place. I did not account for the ramps to break.