pvgolfer

This info is really helpful. Please keep it coming... I don't have a tire rack (yet), but it sounds like it would add about 125 pounds of tongue weight when loaded with wheels.

Zedcat - would you mind providing measurements for your tire stops (as measured to the front angled corner of the trailer)?

ExMB

This design worked for me.

1) Ramp angle ~ 8 deg
2) 36" long 2 x 10 with a 2 x 2 1 ft in to allow for placement onto ramp (to help with repeatable placement)
3) 12" long 1 x 10 in front of 2 x 10 (lip clearance)

zedcat

Sure, here's a photo. From the angled corner to the edge of the stop that the tire touches-

500lb Tongue Weight and no tires in the rack= 10in

400lb Tongue weight and no tires in the rack= 23in
500lb Tongue weight and 4 tires/wheels = 23in

Again caveats- fuel load is a factor as Shake noted, these were with 1/4 tank. The weights are from a weighsafe hitch- unknown accuracy. Other loads on trailer like toolbox etc would be factors, so only consider these rough estimates. Hope that helps

pvgolfer

Thanks! Much appreciated.

I'll use these estimates for my initial setup and dial it in once I fully equip the trailer with tire rack, fuel jugs, etc.

Shandingo

Thanks Zedcat for all of the info you provided. Very helpful indeed. One idea that could address the clearance issue you noted regarding the axle straps touching the air ducts in the front: Race Ramps makes ramps called "trailer mates" that lift the front or rear 3 inches above the trailer deck to give the car more underside clearance when loaded. You can drive the car up on these small ramps and leave them there when the car is strapped down to the trailer. I happen to have some flatstoppers that I may try for this purpose, which are not as tall as the trailer mates but I think they may be sufficient. They raise the car 1 inch.

GeoJoe

I tired to DIY some wooden ramps... looked like crap, heavy, pressure treated, splinters, stinks, etc

Nice CAD dwg... but in the end you're loading up a 100k car with $20 worth of wood... just get the Race Ramps and be done with it. They are lighter, sturdy, easy to put under the trailer ramps and store nice when laid opposite to each other.

These are the ones I got, from Summit Racing.

Race Ramps RR-TR-5 - Race Ramps Trailer Ramps BTI-RR-TR-5
Trailer Ramps, Composite Foam, 5 in. Height, 67 in. Long, 1-Piece, 1,500 lbs. per Ramp, Pair
(Mfr. #: RR-TR-5)

ShakeNBake

I have race ramps now, I liked my wood setup better. Raceramps are pretty fragile and a PITA to store on an open trailer, especially an open floor trailex. If you do it right, you can store the ramps in the trailer's toolbox.

aryork

Looking good! BTW: here is the T-hook set-up I am using...

bluvan

shakenbake - what size race ramps did you get for use with your open trailex using their 11' ramps for the gt4? I also have a new to me 8045 on the way and would like to use shortest helper ramps possible to keep the overall length down. I see geojoe using the 5" race ramps but am hoping the 4" will work due to the long trailex ramps.

thanks to all to have contributed to this thread. it has been super helpful

pvgolfer

I experimented a bit with pieces of wood and went with the simple solution shown in this picture. You only need two pieces of 2"x12" wood planks per side. The top piece is 40" long the bottom piece is only 8" long. Picture shows a much longer bottom piece, which I later cut down to 8". Spoiler lip easily clears.

bluvan

thanks, it looks like 1.5" is the consensus but close based on exmb's drawing and zedcat's photo. The shortest race ramps with the trailer ramp ledge look to be 4" so ill go with those. been puzzled for a couple of days on how to check tongue wt with a bathroom scale and finally had to look it up. thanks for the tip

ShakeNBake

RACK-4 was the right lift, but too much angle. I traded for the TR-7, which is not optimal, but works. I would build a wood setup optimized for exactly what you need as described in above posts. Race ramps are a good concept for some applications, but fragile and expensive for what they are.

This is not a bad price for something portable that you can use to optimize loading away from home.