The rack is pretty much complete, the camper legs make it very easy to install/remove and the e-track allows many tie-down options. The 10' folding ramps store perfectly underneath it on their sides...a bit heavy, but very durable. It will be powder-coated black in about 4 weeks (they're setting up their equipment in a new shop). Here's a few photos. Came out great and I may still have them add a few little items (battery box, light tabs, etc.) as I use it the first couple times. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the design and build quality. TWO BIG THUMBS UP to Brian and Taylor @ American Motorsports Off-Road Fabrication in Escondido, CA!

 

wow great Rack

 

looking great man.

 

Great piece of work.

I built a rack back in 1991 - fun project, fold up ramps, got a lot of use out of it for several years - Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Glamis.

Kinda wish I'd never sold it.

 

Great piece of work.
I built a rack back in 1991 - fun project, fold up ramps, got a lot of use out of it for several years - Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Glamis.
Kinda wish I'd never sold it.

View attachment 29806

Nice! I like the way the ramps hinge up and secure the tires!

 

Finally got an opportunity to do a trial run out to Ocotillo and thought I'd post some updated pictures and lessons learned for others since there's been a fair amount of truck bed/rack discussions lately.

The "good" news - It hauled great...felt very stable and didn't make any noise or bounce around at all. Got a lot of interesting looks/double takes, a couple thumbs up from other trucks, and had a car with a female passenger with a bewildered look on her face take a few pictures with her phone. She was so crazy-eyed that I checked my mirrors and considered pulling over to see what was wrong...LOL!

The "bad" news - It sprinkled the morning we loaded up and I quickly discovered that cats with wet paws don't like to climb steep wet ladders. I made several attempts to load it (slowly of course!), and each time I got to the steepest angle with the front wheels just cresting the tailgate, all 4 wheels would start to slip...and let me tell you, the thought of sliding sideways off the ramps and slamming the nose into that truck will make your butt pucker real quick! Drying them off didn't make much difference since the metal and tires were still pretty cold. I finally decided to use the underhood winch to keep the Cat front end compressed slightly to give it more traction. My wife had the wireless remote and just kept the line taut as I slowly drove up and that worked great - it's just an extra step and climbing around I don't want to have to do, and would prefer it be a 1 person operation. The rack is equipped with a winch plate, but I haven't installed that winch yet...it's more in case the Cat breaks down and can't pull itself up either.

Interestingly, we ran into the same issue after riding in the desert...except it was bone dry. The dust on the smooth painted metal surface and dirt on the tires had the same effect.

I ordered 2 rolls of adhesive grip tape and will place strips on each "rung" of the ramps this weekend and try it. I use it on my KwikLift in the garage, and it works great, so I have high expectations that it will solve the issue. Stay tuned...

 

How about a piece of angle iron welded to your cross pieces in your ramps. Just need them to stick up about a half inch or so for the tire lugs to grab on the ascent. They would not be a support piece so they do not need to be very robust. Grip strips to me would wear out quickly.

My heavy equipment ramps have angle welded instead of the flat pieces like your ramps. Have never slipped a track or wheel when I have used them.

 

How about a piece of angle iron welded to your cross pieces in your ramps. Just need them to stick up about a half inch or so for the tire lugs to grab on the ascent. They would not be a support piece so they do not need to be very robust. Grip strips to me would wear out quickly.
My heavy equipment ramps have angle welded instead of the flat pieces like your ramps. Have never slipped a track or wheel when I have used them.

It's certainly something to consider. One challenge though is any thickness added may require the ramp storage method to be modified. Right now, they fold and store vertically on each side of the bed in a track that's just slightly wider to eliminate rattling. Redoing the ramps with angle iron may be an option though. I'm even considering trying some in aluminum to make them far lighter. Thanks for the idea!

 

Very nice rack

 

I need to do this

 

There is a local company to Boise called Toy Up Industries that makes the same thing. They started as a sled deck manufacturer and then added these type of racks. No personal experience but was seriously considering one until I decided to go with a toy hauler rv.
ToyUp Sled,Utv,Atv Decks

Yours looks great, glad it worked out. I would go with the winch option on the rack so you can pull your self up. Also you could impregnate the paint on the ramps with some sort of media for traction.

Admin if putting this link is a no no I'll gladly pull it.

Have fun,

 

Brian,

The linex guys has a system that puts the blasting grit (Copper Slag) in with the coating itself it makes a very stable non slippery platform.

My thinking on this is your going to have to rough up the bond area with some coarse sand paper, get the roll on liner so you can mix some grit in with it prior to rolling it on. Your sand blaster prob has tons of it leftover.. Do a quart or so at a time we certainly don't want you sweating this project

A cold beer and warm rocks sounds inviting..

 

I said angle iron but honestly a piece of flat bar would be the ticket after I thought about it more. The flat bar sticking up about 3/8" to 1/2" down the middle of your ramp should provide you with all the grip you need. Tire knobs will have a edge to grip on.

 

Thanks, I'll definitely look into it. Had to pull the rack out of the truck and load up the Toy Hauler for this weekend. Thanks for the suggestions!