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smart car ramps


heavyduty

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That's what I use and they work fine. Problem would be the breakover angle and that can be solved by 2 x 12 s under bottom of ramp as long as top is secured to bed by some means. I now use Discount Ramps Aluma-loc system to secure mine at top but also a drilled hole with some drop in bolts work too.

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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Not sure why they say that!!!???? We have the plate end on our 12" wide, 12' long ramps from them and we have proven again and again that you can do 48" high without any problems. And there are plenty of fixes if you have any kind of problem at all. These are the Smart Car Trailer Ramps.

 

At the Rally we even unloaded a car using the 1/8th inch angle piece between the hinge area and it raised the car off the edge of the bed by a good 1/2 inch.

 

Like Carl said, the breakover angle is all you're concerned with, and adding 2 x 6's or 2 x 12' at the bottom takes care of that. Now don't mistake our statements - you should be loading at level ground to your truck, or even higher. My drop off this am was more like 12 inches, so I moved the truck to more suitable unloading area (like a parking lot) and unloaded quickly.

Rocky & Sheri Rhoades
'01 Volvo 770
2016 DRV Mobile Suites, Houston
HERO Makers Ministry

 

30495168531_143d8fb8d6_m.jpg

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That 12 degree angle flattens with the full weight of the Smart on it but returns as the wheels load over the top onto the bed. With an Air suspension on the truck, don't forget to deflate it before you load. That lowers the bed height about 4".

 

One caution is when coming off forward; The battery box under the passenger foot area may hit if the angle to the ground is too steep. Just be aware of this and you can plan for it if necessary.

RVBuddys Journal Our progress into full-timing.
Budd & Merrily ===-> SKP# 088936 Other Websites:---> Hub of all my blogs
Clifford - 2000 VNL64T770 :: DakotR - 1999 C40KS King of the Road :: $PRITE - 2013 Smart Passion w/cruise

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Another user of the original Big Boy II ramps. Look at their page here, scroll through the pictures. That is my red Volvo with the blue smart.

I have been using the Big Boy II's since before they build their "smart car ramps" that Radar274 is using.

MY PEOPLE SKILLS ARE JUST FINE.
~It's my tolerance to idiots that needs work.~

2005 Volvo 780 VED12 465hp / Freedomline transmission
singled mid position / Bed by Larry Herrin
2018 customed Mobile Suites 40KSSB3 

2014 smart Fortwo

 

 
 
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I bought their standard 12' folding ramps long before they even thought a smart car ramps. Still working fine. My bed build put on a pair of pockets that the ends of the ramps drop into to secure them on the bed.

Dennis & Nancy
Tucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.

1999 Volvo 610 "Bud" 425 HP Volvo, Super 10 spd.
2005 Mountain Aire 35 BLKS
2013 smart fortwo CityFlame riding on Bud
(Replaced '05 smart first loaded in '06

and '11 smart that gave it's life to save me!)
Our Travel Blog

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I use the same 12" wide ramps. I have bolted them to the bed and put a stretcher bar at the bottom to maintain the space. I also blow the air from the rear end.

 

Brad

Brad and Jacolyn
Tucker the Wonder dog and Brynn the Norfolk Terrier
2009 Smart "Joy"
2004 VNL630 "Vonda the Volvo"
2008 Hitch Hiker 35 CK Champagne Edition
VED12 465 HP, Freedomline, 3.73 ratio, WB 218"
Fulltiming and loving it.

 

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We have a 47" deck and also use the Big Boy 19" wide ramps that Phil referenced. They work just fine . . . though we did make an "improvement".

 

Our first load was not on level ground so it was probably closer to 50" inches and we rubbed the smart belly. To give more clearance, I removed the top splined rod (like the ones in the picture) and we cleared fine after that mod. The top rod is right on top of the landing plate and really doesn't contribute much to the stability of four rectangular aluminum tubes. It may contribute to tire traction if you drive up. We winch up so I wasn't concerned with any tire slippage that may result and I'm comfortable we had no loss of capacity with that change.

 

We also took Roger's advice and have a couple bed frame angles cut to 19" that we can place at the hinge which decreases the break over angle and gives us another 1/2" clearance that Rocky noted.

 

 

 

smart-car-ramps__9.jpg

IMG_3217a.jpg.c718bc170600aa5ce52e515511d83cb7.jpg

Jim & Wilma

2006 Travel Supreme 36RLQSO

2009 Volvo VNL730, D13, I-shift, ET, Herrin Hauler bed, "Ruby"

2017 Smart

Class of 2017

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I guess I've been pretty lucky. I have a 47.5" high bed with air in the truck. I have no issues hitting and I do not dump the air. If I am on ground LOWER than the plane of the truck I do come close, though. So like others I try to find locations that are at least the height of the truck.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

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2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Since seeing the mention of the addition of the angle iron to the hinge area I made up s set.

 

Got to use then today to load and off load. Nice improvement. It's a keeper.

 

Thanks

Bill and Joan and 3 Collie pups

2001 Volvo VNL 770 "The Doghouse" Singled short, "ET" hItch VED12 465HP Gen 1 Autoshift 3.58 ratio  2005 Mobile Suite 38RL3  2011 Smart Passion loaded piggybacK

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Re the pcs of angle iron, I made up 3. One as a spare. The saying goes something like 1 is 0, 2 is 1..you get the idea. Mine were painted Fluorescent red, the same color surveyors use.

The 1/8" angle raises my ramps 1 1/4" in the hinge area. The nose does get a little closer to the ground.

 

R

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You can cure the "nose closer to ground" problem, with a couple of 2X12s. My ramp set-up worked great with the '05 smart, but the front valance on the '11 is lower and hit the ground going on or coming off the ramps.

 

I took two pieces 2 feet long and two pieces 1 foot long; beveled the ends and screwed them together. Put them under the ends of the ramps and that raised the bottom of the ramps by 3-1/2"; in addition the front wheels level out for a foot and a half before reaching the ground. to store them I just slip the "supplemental" ramps into the folded aluminum ramps before I slide them into the storage below the deck.

Dennis & Nancy
Tucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.

1999 Volvo 610 "Bud" 425 HP Volvo, Super 10 spd.
2005 Mountain Aire 35 BLKS
2013 smart fortwo CityFlame riding on Bud
(Replaced '05 smart first loaded in '06

and '11 smart that gave it's life to save me!)
Our Travel Blog

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I suppose I'll have all these issues one day. But my current bed/ramp/smart never seems to hit anything....I guess I'm lucky. I also have NEVER dumped my air.

 

I AM somewhat careful on where I load/unload, and try to make sure my ramp ends are at least at the same level as the truck.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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....I guess I'm lucky.

I don't know, there may be other factors we're not considering. I know when Wilma drove down the ramps, clearance looked better. Still trying to figure that out. ; )

IMG_3217a.jpg.c718bc170600aa5ce52e515511d83cb7.jpg

Jim & Wilma

2006 Travel Supreme 36RLQSO

2009 Volvo VNL730, D13, I-shift, ET, Herrin Hauler bed, "Ruby"

2017 Smart

Class of 2017

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We use the 12" ramps and have never had a problem. We clear the break-over by 3-4 inches with standard ramps and usually don't dump the rear air. LOL. The first time we unloaded, I dumped the air but turned off the ignition. After the unload was complete, I looked at the rear and noticed that it was level! Hmmm....shouldn't it look lower into the wheel well?!? I then learned that my Volvo will re-inflate if I don't leave it running or at least leave the key turned "On" in the ignition!

 

We have no problems with our Smart either way....and I drive it off, winch it up.

2016 Volvo VNL780 D13 I-Shift

2016 DRV 44 Houston

2015 Smart Cabriolet

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Whats Next, you can also dump your air tanks via the drain valve lanyards to keep the truck squatted.....just another method to the same end as leaving the switch on. Occasionally, I want to stay hooked up and can level the 5er by fully or partially dumping the air tanks by using the drain lanyard so that I don't have to leave the switch on for an extended time. You will still need to use the switch to dump the rear bags but the lack of air will keep them from reinflating when the switch is turned off. Charlie

Don't ever tell a soldier that he doesn't understand the cost of war.

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When I lock the switch down, the bags stay down but once I am parked I inflate them and put a crutch under the frame to keep them from sitting completely squashed for a long time just to reduce the stress on them. Before I built the bed it was more convenient to put a 2x4 on edge under the axle stops to keep them partially extended. The bed just makes that impractical, now.

 

The first time I loaded (video is on my blog ) I was worst case. The foot of the ramps were below the plane of the truck wheels and I forgot to blow the air bags. My first attempt hungup on the top rung of the ramps at the edge of the smart frame just behind the front wheels. Mostly because of the lower gap that was left between the ends of the cat walk section and the edge of the bed. 881797024_hdsbpTh1_thumb_thumb.jpg?imgma I also sunk these gripper sections of the old catwalk into the bed but the top edge of the ramps was on top of the bed and actually a couple of inches higher than the sunken part where the wheels would come off of the ramps. I dropped in a short 2x 6 in that that gap and everything went just right. The gap left a place to drop in HDT rubber chocks on the opposite side to act as stop chocks when loading and unloading. This design makes the bed ambidextrous.872902887_5bJJgTh1_thumb_thumb.jpg?imgma871837162_MAVebTh1_thumb_thumb.jpg?imgma

 

Whenever possible, I try to load a bit more horizontally. This is my usual spot at the house.

11.05.2015-08.00.png883532252_8K5reTh1_thumb_thumb.jpg?imgma

RVBuddys Journal Our progress into full-timing.
Budd & Merrily ===-> SKP# 088936 Other Websites:---> Hub of all my blogs
Clifford - 2000 VNL64T770 :: DakotR - 1999 C40KS King of the Road :: $PRITE - 2013 Smart Passion w/cruise

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