Trifold snowmobile ramp advice

snomoman

snomoman

Active member
Just wondering if anybody has any input or information on trifold snowmobile ramps, Since I’m down to one snowmobile now I figured I would buy one and not have to worry about hauling a trailer around anymore, I’m leaning towards the 90” long by 54” wide one, it folds up to I think 18” wide, I have a fairly brand new pickup truck and really don’t want to mess it up so I’m figuring of putting a piece of plywood in the back so that the carbides don’t dig into my bedliner, any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated
thanks in advance
Snomoman
 
6

600_RMK_144

Active member
I did this for the first 2-3 yrs with a sled when I was too broke to buy a trailer. The longer the better to help with the angle at which you'll be hitting it. Worst part is securing the sled in the elements up in the bed of truck while you are dancing around the sled dangling off the back of the truck. Not terrible, but can get dicey in bad weather. At that time I used a pretty basic ramp, having ski guides is the main thing. Carbides will stop on a dime if they hit bare aluminum. I have seen the Caliber ramps and they are very well built. If I had to do it again, I would go with Caliber. Not the cheapest, but the best IMO. Also - Do not ever load without tying down the ramp to avoid it from "kicking out." A couple of tie down straps attached to the ramp and going to the trailer hitch of the truck, but don't ever try to load without taking the time to do it. This may be over-doing it, but I actually built an elevated platform for the sled to sit on so that the ramp could slide underneath the platform. Just some 2X6's and plywood but it was nice to have the ramp out of my way and not rubbing up on the sled while driving. Other than that, I actually LOVED having the sled in the bed. You can fly down the road, no worries of a trailer behind you. And the extra weight is always good for traction. Made a couple trips to the UP with mine and guessing it would have taken at least another hour had I been pulling a trailer. Great to be able to floor it and go when traveling long distances!!!!
 
X

xcr440

Well-known member
I have a BlackIce tri-fold ramp and love it, use it all the time. discountramps.com - get the 7'10" ramp. I just strap it to the side of the box for hauling. If you don't have studs, all you need is the ramp, never felt that I needed the extension.

As for your truck bed, as long as you don't have studs, just toss in a couple pieces of the plastic ski runners people put in trailers, and you are good to go. They don't even need to be strapped down.
33A22915-08A9-47F2-9819-5AE221F7A84D.jpg
And to add, as 600_RMK_144 pointed out, ALWAYS strap the ramp to the truck loading and unloading.
 
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H

Hoosier

Well-known member
600_RMK_144 said:
I did this for the first 2-3 yrs with a sled when I was too broke to buy a trailer. The longer the better to help with the angle at which you'll be hitting it. Worst part is securing the sled in the elements up in the bed of truck while you are dancing around the sled dangling off the back of the truck. Not terrible, but can get dicey in bad weather. At that time I used a pretty basic ramp, having ski guides is the main thing. Carbides will stop on a dime if they hit bare aluminum. I have seen the Caliber ramps and they are very well built. If I had to do it again, I would go with Caliber. Not the cheapest, but the best IMO. Also - Do not ever load without tying down the ramp to avoid it from "kicking out." A couple of tie down straps attached to the ramp and going to the trailer hitch of the truck, but don't ever try to load without taking the time to do it. This may be over-doing it, but I actually built an elevated platform for the sled to sit on so that the ramp could slide underneath the platform. Just some 2X6's and plywood but it was nice to have the ramp out of my way and not rubbing up on the sled while driving. Other than that, I actually LOVED having the sled in the bed. You can fly down the road, no worries of a trailer behind you. And the extra weight is always good for traction. Made a couple trips to the UP with mine and guessing it would have taken at least another hour had I been pulling a trailer. Great to be able to floor it and go when traveling long distances!!!!
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Does your sled stay clean up in the truck bed?
 
T

tomcat

Member
I made one years ago out of 2 by 4s and plywood. Wish I had pics available but I don’t at the moment. Slicker than snot and stays in the bed all winter. YouTube might have something similar as that’s where I originally got the idea. Basically an elevated 4x8 framed up with 2x4s for the ramp to slide under. Ramp in 6.5 ft and deck is 8 ft. I have it hinged at 6.5 ft allowing me to fold it up and **** the gate when not in use. Used an old bed liner for ski slides and a junk track for a runner on ramp. Been using this setup for years. Always gets lots of looks and compliments!
 
snomoman

snomoman

Active member
Thanks for the pics and great advice everyone, I wanted to buy a black ice trifold ramp for $339 which included free shipping through Amazon, when I went to place the order they were out of stock so I’ve got an alert when they have it back in stock and hopefully soon
 
R

rp7x

Well-known member
First time I plow my drive I build a ramp of snow , just tail walk into truck , always banks at camp to load or unload
 
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racerx

Active member
Definitely strap to a hitch receiver and get the longest ramp you can get. Many years ago only the shorter ATV ramps were available which i had and learned quickly to strap to the receiver as I had just strapped to the tailgate and in the first foot while loading the ramp and tailgate made a nice teepee, plus the short ramp and the very high bed of my Ram 2500 was a recipe for disaster.
 
xsledder

xsledder

Active member
I ordered the black ice ramp off of Amazon right after X-Mas. Got it the next week and used it once. At first I wasn't sure about it but now after using it, it isn't bad. Not quite a convenient as driving up a ramp onto a trailer. I got the 6'-5" model so it would not stick up past the end of the sled when in the bed. If I move the sled closer to one side of the box and the ramp lays nicely next to the sled. (I lay it flat in the bed and tuck it underneath the sled. It doesn't touch the sled.) I use a racketing strap to hold it down.

My truck has the air suspension so I can lower my truck to reduce the approach angle. I am going to make some tweaks to it so it is more user friendly.
 
H

High Country

Member
I think if i was to buy one I would go with the Boski Built Revarc sled ramp lil pricey but looks the safest. Most of the time my sled is in the back of the truck,if lucky enuf just plow a pile up in yard if it snows at home,or use the ditch. Piece of plywood in the bed of the truck,throw the cover on straper down and drop the hammer. No trailer whipping around ,blowong bearings,breaking axles,blowing tires. Etc. Sled and cover stay pretty clean in back of the truck too. Usually not hard to find a pile of snow up north to back the truck up to and climb up into truck with sled. I do the same thing with atv, but have ramp for it. ALWAYS!!! Use straps from the ramp to trailer hitch on the truck no matter which setup you use. 1 in case ramp kicks out 2.keeps the tailgate from trying to raiseup/close and wrecking the tailgate.
 
legend02

legend02

Active member
600_RMK_144 said:
Not terrible. It does get some slush from traffic, but not real bad. Did not cover mine, just feel like the wind + cover does more damage than good.
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My sled sticks out past the tailgate but the front of it stays pretty clean I don’t have a cover my buddy has a cover for his Spare a sled which we bring, A couple extra bungees on the cover helps out
 
snomoman

snomoman

Active member
Thanks for all the great advice everyone, now I’m trying to figure something else out, maybe someone can help me with this, I’ve got a concrete driveway that I paid big bucks for that I don’t want to gouge up with my carbides, so I’m thinking if I could put removable wheels on the skis that I could use on the ramp, I know they make some kind of a permanent mount system that you can buy but it’s like $250, so I’m thinking of those wheels that you use to roll your snowmobile around, if I could use a binder on them to hold them in place while driving it up the ramp, just an idea, any other suggestions? Thanks
 
6

600_RMK_144

Active member
snomoman said:
Thanks for all the great advice everyone, now I’m trying to figure something else out, maybe someone can help me with this, I’ve got a concrete driveway that I paid big bucks for that I don’t want to gouge up with my carbides, so I’m thinking if I could put removable wheels on the skis that I could use on the ramp, I know they make some kind of a permanent mount system that you can buy but it’s like $250, so I’m thinking of those wheels that you use to roll your snowmobile around, if I could use a binder on them to hold them in place while driving it up the ramp, just an idea, any other suggestions? Thanks
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Man. I know that they make some pretty good wheels to connect to the skis now days, but I don't know that I would trust them running up a ramp. MAYBE if the ramp itself had a lip on each side to prevent them from sliding off the side, but most ramps do NOT have that. I have a similar situation in loading them into the trailer from the nice garage floor. I will typically just position the skis directly in front of the ramp then "un-hook" the dollies on the skis (but keep them under the ski). Soon as I hit the ramp, the dollies stop and the skis / sled continue up the ramp. DO NOT keep the track dolly under the track - HA! I get that this would be a little more tricky with a full ramp into a truck cuz you typically need to get some momentum prior to hitting the ramp, but still don't think wheels up the ramp are a good idea. My two cents only. Maybe others have done it and it worked out? Another option might be a sheet of plywood on the floor? Just a thought. Good luck!!!!
 
K

katden4

Active member
snomoman said:
Thanks for all the great advice everyone, now I’m trying to figure something else out, maybe someone can help me with this, I’ve got a concrete driveway that I paid big bucks for that I don’t want to gouge up with my carbides, so I’m thinking if I could put removable wheels on the skis that I could use on the ramp, I know they make some kind of a permanent mount system that you can buy but it’s like $250, so I’m thinking of those wheels that you use to roll your snowmobile around, if I could use a binder on them to hold them in place while driving it up the ramp, just an idea, any other suggestions? Thanks
Click to expand...

Plastic ski skins or covers. Dennis Kirk has them for about $90.
 
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