This summer we traded our Vortex toy hauler for a 06 K2 by Komfort and liked it a lot but found the door to be all we could do to lift. After looking around the internet I found a outfit that specializes in ramp door springs and got a set considerably bigger than the weak OEM units that were a big improvement so now we can put the door up easier but still not as easy as our Vortex. My question is what is out there after market that maybe uses a power assist of some kind? We are in our mid 60s and would like to stay ATVing with our toy hauler as long as we are able to ride but am a little worried that the rear ramp might become a obstacle.
ramp assist for toy haulers
- Thread starter Gerry R
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Tony_Alberta
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If you don't get any better replies I'm wondering if your slides are hydraulic. If so maybe a heavy duty mechanic who understands hydraulics could locate appropriate hardware for you and install such. But I would think there are solutions out there.
The ramp is supported by a continuous hing across the bottom and a large coil spring on each side on the outside corners with the springs supplying all of the assistance. All the toy haulers I've seen so far use this same basic setup. The original springs were approx. 1 7/8 outside diameter and I don't recall the wire size but I went up on the wire size a fair amount and up to 2 3/8 outside diameter and that helped quite a bit but I'm a little concerned about as we get older and the springs loose some of their strength we may not be able to deal with it. There must be some ideas out there because I can't picture us being the first ones to think of it.
Derby6
Well-known member
You seem pretty bright from your posts, so my bet is you already looked at this, but........ Is there room between hinges to add a spring?
My other thought is to rig a pulley system to the poof to gain lift leverage.... :-\
My other thought is to rig a pulley system to the poof to gain lift leverage.... :-\
Tony_Alberta
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Now there's an idea. One of those small electric winches. Maybe mounted in the middle at the top. Unhook when the ramp is down so it's out of the way.Derby6 said:
Someone had a fascinating, and superb sideways thinking, posting of how they moved Grandma in a wheelchair in and out of a motorhome. This included putting a 2x4 into the seatbelts on which the winch was mounted.
boatbuilder
Well-known member
It sounds like you have a typical torsion spring setup that is used on ramps and overhead doors. You should be able to increase the tension on the springs to decrease the amount of effort to raise the ramp. Just adjust each side the same amount. Make sure to insert the adjusting rod in the hole and then loosen the bolt that secures the adjuster to the shaft.
Derby6
Well-known member
If its like mine, springs are not adjustable. Looks like these...http://roadhouserv.com/images/gallery/P1100075.jpg
boatbuilder
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I was thinking of the kind with the cables on a shaft with the springs.
rbell
Well-known member
We had a goosneck snowmobile trailer that had a rear ramp like a toy hauler. It had 2 cables that came down to each side. When it got wet or had a bit of ice on it would get pretty heavy. That plus we had added a rubber mat to make it easier to walk on. Any way we moved the cables out about 1 foot to give it better leverage and it turned out to be way easier to handle. Also that pulled the spring about 1/2 turn more.
You can get some idea of how much it helps by lifting on one side and moving out from close to the hindge to the outer end. it doesn't take much.
You can get some idea of how much it helps by lifting on one side and moving out from close to the hindge to the outer end. it doesn't take much.
