Bounty Hunter 29 Posted July 6, 2020 Hey ATV Honda Brothers and Sisters, For some of us we have to haul our ATVs out to get to riding locations...and for Mrs. Bounty Hunter and I its always 2 quads...so a pickup truck bed isnt going to work unless we were standing them them straight up. we had an old HF 4 x 8 trailer around, which is just the right size for one quad, and it has a tilting feature that is supposed to make loading equipment easier...but the fact is it's not that easy. The trailer needed ramps anyway, and the tilting idea is kinda crazy when running something up it slams down hard once the equipment moves far enough forward. Didn't like that. Gotta be a better way. So we set about to make some simple ramps that are long enough to drive up onto the trailer, while its secured to the pickup, and a second set of ramps that allow the ATV to continue driving right up into the truck bed. We added some steel side rails to the trailer to help guide you up to the second ramp. The ramps secure to the side rails with flip pins while in the up position. The ramps are super light, made of 2 x 2 x 1/4" aluminum angle, with 1 x 1 x 1/8" aluminum angle cleats. We call it "QDT" for "Quick Deployment Trailer" (sorry...we are a military family and acronyms are a go-to). The fact is we can load and unload the quads very fast...and the light trailer is easy to handle and move around even by hand when off the truck. So if you start with a HF 4 x 8 trailer and a few hundred bucks of metal materials, you can build your own. 9 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bounty Hunter 29 Posted July 6, 2020 Here are some details of the ramps, they are mounted with gate hinges. Plywood floor on the trailer, we coated with Duratex (a textured coating often used on big speakers and road cases for bands). Everything is screwed into the trailer frame with "trailer screws"...a self drilling, self tapping, self counterboring bolt in 1/4" size. Cool little hardware. Painted everything black...it was red (or rather faded red to a sickly dusty pink). Works pretty well for what it is... Ride Safe, Bounty Hunter 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,721 Posted July 6, 2020 Did you buy the ramps or make them? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bounty Hunter 29 Posted July 6, 2020 Well, we were lucky and we had a big pile of the 2 x 2 and 1 x 1 aluminum angle from a demo job our company is doing. Sooooo, I fabricated the ramps using 3/16" POP rivets...4 rivets for each cleat. Its very strong, yet super light. Our Honda TRX400 Foreman weigh about 560 pounds, and i weigh 220...so combined with gear we total about 800 pounds. Figuring 4 wheels and tires, thats around 200 pounds load per tire. Each ramp easily holds my weight, even jumping up and down. It followed then the ramps would support the quad with no issues (kind of like infantry testing the soils...if the dirt or mud will support a foot soldier, it will support a tank as the "pounds per square inch" loading are similar...the tanks's tracks cover a lot of area for its immense weight). 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 6, 2020 6 minutes ago, Bounty Hunter said: It followed then the ramps would support the quad with no issues (kind of like infantry testing the soils...if the dirt or mud will support a foot soldier, it will support a tank as the "pounds per square inch" loading are similar...the tanks's tracks cover a lot of area for its immense weight). In the equipment world we call that ground pressure , by putting wider tracks on a dozer you decrease the ground pressure 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeepwm69 7,721 Posted July 6, 2020 1 hour ago, Bounty Hunter said: Well, we were lucky and we had a big pile of the 2 x 2 and 1 x 1 aluminum angle from a demo job our company is doing. Sooooo, I fabricated the ramps using 3/16" POP rivets...4 rivets for each cleat. Its very strong, yet super light. Our Honda TRX400 Foreman weigh about 560 pounds, and i weigh 220...so combined with gear we total about 800 pounds. Figuring 4 wheels and tires, thats around 200 pounds load per tire. Each ramp easily holds my weight, even jumping up and down. It followed then the ramps would support the quad with no issues (kind of like infantry testing the soils...if the dirt or mud will support a foot soldier, it will support a tank as the "pounds per square inch" loading are similar...the tanks's tracks cover a lot of area for its immense weight). They used giant steel grating for runways in the Pacific during the war. Same principle. Spread the load out. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,592 Posted July 6, 2020 that's a slick setup! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Goober 1,555 Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) Just now seeing this. I have an old set of ramps id like to try for this. Unload my pickup onto my tilt trailer. i like your military jargon! Here’s some for you—id like to use PCP (pierced steel plank) and pinned hinges for quick disco! Lol Edited September 6, 2020 by Goober Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
