Sled ramp for my pickup - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

dobbs · 11-13-2007, 11:19 AM

I haven't posted here much lately. This site has a great crew of helpful guys so i thought i would share this. Maybe someone finds it useful.

Since i move my sled twice a year i don't want to spend the $$ on a single place trailer so i came up with this:
I have a 2006 F-150 STX with a 5'-6" box. These plans can easily change for whatever size box you have.
With the sled loaded the track will hang off by less than 4"

Plans:

http://upload.315er.net/files/1/plan.jpg

Materials:
(2) 3/4" 4x8 sheet plywood (bought for $10 a piece off craigslist)
(4) 2x6x8'
(5) 2x4x8'
(4) eye screws
(4) turnbuckles
(1) used bed liner (bought a 8' Chevy liner off craigslist for $20)
(2) hinges
various screws, nails, beer

I cut up the bed liner after hosing out 10 years of old motor oil.
It was my luck that I bought a bed liner that had weird traction in the pattern, never seen it before.
I used these 6" wide strips as sliders for the ramps.
I got 3 total, 2 long ones for the ramp and 1 cut in 1/2 and screwed to the deck.
If anyone wants the traction part they are still laying in the garage.
The bed liner was easy to cut up with a circ. saw.

I built the ramps in the garage, you can see the bed liner strip and plywood blocking used for traction.
Note the heater in the background. It can warm the garage from 40 to 70 in under 10 minutes.

I built the 2x6 deck in the back of the truck. Here i am putting the blocking in the far end of the deck
between the 3 joists. After, I spun it around and attached to the bed.

I used turnbuckles in the corners to attach it to the bed. The turnbuckle came with 1 hook and 1 eye,
I sawed a little off the eye to create 2 hooks. I mounted the screw eye slightly higher and away from the bed hook.
When tightened it pulls the deck down and towards the cab.

cont.....

dobbs · 11-13-2007, 11:20 AM

I then attached the end of the deck with the hinges. This way i can close the tailgate when i am driving around all week.
The ramps stay in the garage. This is totally optional, you could make it all rigid. I prefer to hide it

When the sled is on the truck, the ramps will fit under the deck like this.

This is what the ramps look like extended.

dobbs · 11-13-2007, 11:20 AM

I used a 1/2" bolt with a wing nut to hold the ramp to the deck while loading. This same bolt keeps the ramp
bolted to the deck when stored (drilled holes at both ends)

I'll lose the toolbox after hunting season

tamacat · 11-13-2007, 11:45 AM

Nice Job!!

WolfOne · 11-13-2007, 12:09 PM

really nice work

RenegadeSnowman · 11-13-2007, 12:27 PM

Dobbs, very creative! Looks like it will work very well. Good job and thank you for sharing it with us. These are the things that make me want to check into this site every day! Thanks.

**RJ Gleason** · 11-13-2007, 03:13 PM

Very creative use of materials.

Now show us pics of it on operation.

PolarisINDY500 · 11-13-2007, 06:29 PM

this should be a sticky in the how-too's.

very nice work, great craftsmanship, and i really like the detailed plan to show dimensions

(many of the architects i work with should take note for how to properly detail a drawing like you have

)

do you have an idea of what the ramps and platforms weigh?

and yes - get us some pics of it in use

dobbs · 11-13-2007, 07:12 PM

thanks for all the comments... if you couldn't tell i am an Architect in real life

I have the whole thing in my garage right now, i painted the deck since it isn't pressure treated. It's pretty light. When its in the truck the springs don't even compress and i can lift it out without a problem.

I'll be taking my sled out to my buddies house after this weekend (hunting) so i'll have more pictures when it's loaded up. Or laying on top of me because i missed the ramp.

**smallengineguy** · 11-13-2007, 09:25 PM

Great work, and it's forever listed in the SF.com how-to's!

jKsled · 11-13-2007, 09:31 PM

very creative! nice job!

dobbs · 11-13-2007, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallengineguy

Great work, and it's forever listed in the SF.com how-to's!

neat.... but where is this "how-to" section ?

Jaded · 11-13-2007, 11:36 PM

Nicely Done!
Thought of getting a Patent on the design?
If I was to attempt to build that I would have to pretty much double the materials list. I swear...every tape measure I own is defective.

**smallengineguy** · 11-14-2007, 07:00 AM

Go to the engine section, then click on "how-to's"

paintballdude05 · 11-25-2007, 05:02 PM

Man this thing is insane! Nice work by the way, looks quality built!

Happy Jack · 11-26-2007, 12:33 PM

Nice job! I've been looking for an idea like this for my Canyon crew cab. It has a 5 foot 1 inch box, so 5 inches shorter than this one. So if I were to use the same length, my "deck" would hang a half foot or so off the end of the tailgate. Then the other twist, there's only 42 inches between wheel wells - I would need to space it more so the plywood deck sat on top of the wells (maybe 2x8's, or 2x10's, I need to measure).

So with dobb's setup, his track is hanging off 4 inches, meaning the extreme rear of the sled is hanging off about 10 or 12 inches. I'm fairly new to the sport, I'm guessing that is not a problem, center of gravity etc? Shortening the box by 5 inches for my setup - any obvious concerns? This is not intended for long trips and rough roads (I have a trailer for that). This is just for quick trips to a local launch site, or to the dealer for service or whatever.

Dobbs - what is your sled's overall length - is it a standard 114 inches or so?

dobbs · 11-26-2007, 12:45 PM

It's a 121" track REV, not sure what the overall is. doo.com says 109.7"

If you are worried about the overhang i would make the whole thing rigid (no fold up), run it right to the edge of the tailgate, securely attach it to the bed, and let the sled hang over then end. I have seen guys with long track mountain sleds load them in little dakotas. As long as your center of gravity it near the tailgate hinge you'll be ok (but strap the hell out of it). The wheel wells are going to screw ya, you are going to lose 6" of ramp width. I know the outsides of my ski's are 48" so i'll just make it onto mine. So now you are stuck with skinny, shorter ramps, and a steeper angle since you have to get up over the wells. 2x12's were i used 2x6's

The 1st time a saw a ramp like mine it was in the back of a ridgeline, that has to have a short box.

You might be better off buying a tri-fold aluminum ramp, they are under $200. But i don't like the easy way out so i'll keep thinking about it.

for reference here is how much the sled overhangs, looks more like 6"-8"

http://www.315er.net/photo/data/504/medium/IMG_0626.jpg

GoTime · 11-26-2007, 01:11 PM

Very slick job dobbs, very nice. 2 thumbs up...

Happy Jack · 11-26-2007, 01:16 PM

Thanks. I just checked the Ridgeline, it is 5 feet long. My sled is a rev-xp, should be the same overhang as yours. The ramps can still be 24 inches wide and I can stack them for transport under my taller space between bed and deck (I would put the center joist off-center a bit. I don't think my ramps would be shorter, I would stick with your 8 foot length. My bed height is also about 3 inches lower than yours, so that compensates for some of the added joist height. I don't think there is any engineering reason it won't work. I just need to see if I am comfortable driving up and down that ramp. Thanks for your feeback!

dobbs · 11-26-2007, 04:17 PM

You are right about the ramp length, mine are long and just stick out.

Stacking the ramps is a good idea, (2) 2x4 ramps = 8 1/2" 2x10 deck = 9 1/4"

I think i am going to be a little white knuckled going up the 1st time.