Customer just bought himself one of those new John Deere lawn mower tractor beasts.
It is bigger than the Dixon it replaces and takes up too much room in his garage. So he wants to store it in the shed.
This will require wider doors on the shed and a ramp. No problem.
Then he mentions that he’d like the ramp to be easily moved out of sight.
I mention the drawbridge idea and he likes it a lot.
I figure the ramp needs to be at least four feet long (9″ rise or less…ground seems to rise as it moves away from the shed). But longer isn’t out of the question.
A four foot wide ramp would be enough for the wheels, but the mowing deck requires a 5’10” clearance (to which I think another foot should be added so there’s six inches of clearence on each side).
Anyone have any suggestions??
Rich Beckman
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Edited 3/27/2007 12:59 pm ET by RichBeckman
Replies
Ever see the ramp on the back of a u-haul truck? The type that stores under the truck and slides out.
"The type that stores under the truck and slides out."Oh yeah! That is another alternative. It did occur to me, but then I forgot! Thanks.If it is done that way, what is required of the floor to span that four+ feet of clearance that the ramp fits into?
Rich BeckmanThis signature line intentionally left blank.
I suppose that depends on the size/spacing of the existing floor joists and the floor loading (tractor must weigh a bit). You could have some support(s) just outside of the ramp supports.
Rich,
Keeping it simple, perhaps......make the door dbl to widen it. Put a foot/head bolt on one door, use the other half for daily entry.
Buy a couple of those equipment ramps, only a foot wide of so-wide enough to comfortably drive that beast up.
If there's an L metal on one end to "hook" it on something-install a metal hanger that'll work below the doors. Two opposite "L" metal, hooked on the other. He could pick 'em up and stash 'em inside-leave one there for the day door.
Best of luck.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Talked to the customer today and he is even more excited about the idea of a drawbridge than he was a couple of days ago. His electrician son (who hopes to live in the house someday) also loves the idea.They would love to have it powered. Push a button and down it comes.He is more than prepared to spend a few hundred dollars on this.But if it's one door that comes down to be a ramp, then it is one big door. Six foot high doorway. And the John Deere beast is five foot ten inches at the cutting deck, so the door needs to be wider than six feet.I guess I need to find out how much the JD beast weighs.
Rich BeckmanThis signature line intentionally left blank.
Hey Rich,
I have an attic stairway that I rigged up to an electric boat winch. Kind of slow but it works to pull up a 4ft wide stairway out of the way to cover a 4' x 5' hole in the ceiling of my garage.
But the drawback is that I have so much stuff in the way I never raise it.
I'll bet you could come up with a counterweighted cable or rope system that would make raising a huge door/ramp by hand a breeze.
The dimensions sound about similar to my Deere.
Mine weighs aroun 1100#.
At this stage I would be thinking about firing up the welder for the frame of the door.Remodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
I like the equipment ramp too.
http://www.factoryramps.com/products/garden/frame.htmlTFB (Bill)
Well, you KNOW what I think of that brand of stuff. But since you're a friend I'll try to help ya out anyway.
(-:
.
You may have already thought of this, but.... Make sure the angle between the shed floor and the ramp isn't too much. Otherwise when the front wheels are in the shed and the back ones on the ramp, the mower deck can "high center" on the ege of the shed floor.
That would obviously leave you with an unhappy customer and another problem to solve.
Yeah, stand ya up tall
I can put ya back in the saddle baby
And that ain't all [Matraca Berg]
For a drawbridge ramp to work, you need to pay extra attention to two details: stiffness and weight bearing.
The ramp needs to be very, very stiff. In practice, this means a composite construction- a frame made of tubular steel, with facing on either side.
When lowered, the hinge side of the ramp should also contact something solid; the weight ought not be borne by the hinges. The ground edge also ought to rest completely on a firm surface.
...from a guy with absolutely NO experience but and idea...
a lift gate from a delivery truck that's been wrecked or is out of use...
If there is enough room for under carriage type hardware. The lift gate is heavy enough to support a "skin", so to speak of planks fastened to it to extend the length, if need be.
If using the "u-haul" type mentioned above, use two. That way you can maintain normal framing widths. Simply build pockets for the ramps into each of two sections.
...The unspoken word is capital. We can invest it or we can squander it. -Mark Twain...
Be kind to your children....they will choose your nursing home.
...aim low boys, they're ridin' shetland ponies !!
Hey Rich,
Did you figue it out yet?
I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier...
Went to a local RV show today and saw just the thing for your ramp. Check out the Toy Haulers. The ramp in the back of these RVs is about 8' wide and spring loaded at the hinge. One handed operation to lift and lower.
I also saw one attached to the side of a Hauler that was about 4' wide, so they do come in different sizes if 8' is too much.
Would be interesting to find out how much the entire back cap, including the ramp, of one of these would cost. Cut out the side of the shed, frame it up a bit and screw on the whole shebang. Water proof and ready to go.
Rich get a back door off a drive in box trailerthe places that build the trailers oughta be able to hook you upI don't Know what I am doing
But
I am VERY good at it!!
Shed ramp drawbridge
Six years too late but I just saw the post. I actually have one of these. I have a 10'x10' shed and the floor is 14" above the ground. It was built to house a Harley Ultra Classic and a Joohn Deere riding mower. I intended to put two 30" doors and a ramp but my wife didn't like the idea of the ramp sticking out in the driveway all the time. So to eliminate the need for stowing a ramp I framed the 60" wide x 82" tall ramp out of 2x4's on 12" centers, put 3/4" treated ply on the inside, 3/8" T1-11 on the outside and hinged it with 5 heavy duty hinges.
The difference between the door height and a full sheet of ply is 14", so I framed an angled extension and placed this at the end of the ramp framing before covering it. The outside is flat, the inside is a transition so it's a 14" ramp attached to an 82" incline when the ramp is open. When closed it looks like double hung shed doors.
The ramp is a total of 8" long but even though it's only framed with 2x4 lumber, the frame is laminated between 3/4" and 3/8" sheets so it is rigin even with an 850 lb motorcycle (plus rider) on it. It is counterwighted like a garage door with two 120lb garage door springs and two counterweights in the back wall to help keep it closed tightly. It actually takes more force to start it open than to lift it it back and anywhere you stop it...it stays.
Wish I'd seen this post earlier.
What Happened
I guess I never concluded this thread. Customer made an abrupt about face, had the shed torn down and built a large pole barn with a music practice studio in one end and a shop in the bulk of it. I understand it all totaled out to about $100,000.
A bit Skitso, ah?
I love a drawbridge, nope tear it down, and build a ....
LOL!
The drawbridge would be cool, but really ... you want to lower the bridge EVERY time you wish to get a screw driver out of the shed?