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Van Loading ramp widths


handyandi

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Am looking into getting a loading ramp for a new van & considering the raalloy type. See they come in 800mm, 900mm. & 1000mm wide. Doing a quick measure of cases the 800mm one should do ( our old timber one was only 600mm- which did cause a few problems). What width is most popular with blue room ramp owners?

 

Cheers in advance

 

Andi

 

PS will make sure I wear gloves as mentioned in previous posts! (cheese grater effect)!

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You also may want to consider one of these ramps:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6FTWheelchair-Mobili...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Because they fold, they can be easily moved by one person, are just under 800mm wide (easily copes with my large coffin, amp rack, subs and FOH rack) and the 5 foot long version fits neatly across the back of a transit type van, helping to lock the cases into place. I've had mine for a year now, and not been disappointed by it.

 

Joe

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I would say the wider the better!

The last thing you want is to order a new road trunk or case and find the wheels keep jamming against the side rails :headsetsmiley:

 

Every company I work for in London has red folding ramps on the rear of the vans installed by a company called 'Jarade' based near Reading I thought, but cant find them on the Internet now.

I would guess they are about a metre wide thou and extend down to about 3 metres long, weigh about 80Kg and cost around £450.

They will happily take 61" plasmas/Heritage 3000's and the like so are happy with weights upto about 500Kg.

 

These are very similar to the ones mentioned above. http://www.loadingramps.co.uk/me-rpc-r.htm

 

Jimbo

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The thing I found with the red foldy-outy ones is that they seem to lack grip. The Ra'Alloy ones have oodles of grip, which cna often be a bonus. Plus should you need to briefly take the ramp out, you can't as it's bolted in.

 

So when I get a ramp for a Van, it'll probably be a Ra'Alloy.

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If it is a for a samller van, then one of the fold out full width ramps is quite useful, and nice. The perforated ones, as shown in the link earlier are quite grippy, but, admittedly not as grippy as the Ra'alloy.

 

As for width, I am not sure how wide exactly the standard width is, but measure the wheel width of a meatrack (for 8 or more 6-way bars, 8'x4' widthxlength) and that is pretty much the width of the standard ramp size. (the meatrack itself is wider, but the wheels just go on the ramp)

 

The grippyness of a ra'alloy does not really deteriorate in the wet, unlike some ramps, but, should you slip and kiss teh ramp while trying to push a motor case up one, it makes a mess of your face....... (It wasn't me but someone else who did that last night. That's why trainers are not suitable footwear - they fall off and this happens)

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I've got to admit that I've never seen anyone slip on the perforated bit on the Red folding ramps. The bottom 'chequer board' part can get a bit slippy, but is only 30cm or so and the rest is perforated and as never caused me any problems in the past 9 years! If it does, a few strips of grip tape can solve the problem easily.

 

Also knowing it is permanently in the van means it doesn't get left behind!

 

Jimbo

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To respond to the thread jacking, personally I would prefer a ramp, but that does take up load space.

Tail lifts on lutons can be too small for some cases, in fact tail lifts on 17.5T trucks can be too small for some flight cases, yet a ramp, of the width of every ra'alloy ramp I've seen isn't too small for a case, it just needs more people to push it up the ramp depending on contents of the box. Just get the longest ramp you can fit in the van, as it will make pushing so much easier.

 

Manual handling considerations must make most people think tail lift though, but in many ways it is impractical, and becomes more dangerous if loading on slopes or uneven ground (rolling cases) and for the case that doesn't fit on the lift, which needs people to hold one end while the lift takes the other, well, doesn't that make the lift more dangerous?

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