My TrailsWest trailer has a ramp and above that a half door. The half door, when open, is just high enough off the ground that if you are wearing a hat, you don't see the door (it's just above the brim of my hat) and you can walk right into the #$%^!! thing face first when walking around the trailer. It has now happened three times to various people around my trailer. Is there any way to make it less of a face-breaker? I have a long ribbon hanging off of it, but last time it happened my husband had just taken the ribbon off to close the door, and *I* walked into it while putting my tack up. OUCH!! I am ready to rip the dang door off! It's just not safe. Any great ideas to make the darned thing visible when it's open? I even though about changing the hinges so when it's open, the door sits flush against the rear tack compartment door...
Posted 2005-06-12 11:18 PM (#26435 - in reply to #26430) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 2614
I can imagine what that's like.I had a WW thoroughbred(tall) trailer w/ramp and double doors above the ramp.I don't know if your trailer is alum,GN or what,but I could remove the doors above the ramp and did so.Yours may not be able to be taken off,but if you can I'd sure do it if I were you.I got rid of mine because I was headed for the neuro/ortho man from picking the %*&!# ramp up to close it!
Posted 2005-06-13 7:21 AM (#26437 - in reply to #26430) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 2689
So do both of my trailers (have such doors above the ramps).
They're in one of only 2 states; open, shut, or transitioning between.
In this case 'open' means secured against the side of the trailer.
I hope I misunderstood your post, but it is POSSIBLE to read that you leave these doors unsecured and able to flap in the breeze, then get surprised when you walk into them. For EVERYONE'S sakes PLEASE tie these doors back when open, they can spook a horse when they flap and as you've already experienced, they can hurt humans fairly directly.
Again, I hope I misread your post.
Posted 2005-06-13 8:20 AM (#26442 - in reply to #26430) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 225 Location: Kansas City
Try placing a orange cone on the ground to make you walk around the "point of contention."
Otherwise you may have to do like a new horse I just bought. Everytime he unloaded he raised his head and hit the roof. I kept trying to figure out how to protect his head . . . but finally he hit it enough that he figured out how to avoid the roof before I figured out how to stop him. Of course, just because you figure out how not to hit your head won't help a passerby . . .
Posted 2005-06-13 8:59 AM (#26445 - in reply to #26437) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
Veteran
Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
Hi Reg,
Mine does have a latch that holds it from flapping in the wind...
Unfortunately, it does not fold flat against the trailer when it's latched open - only for loading, unloading, or cleaning the trailer. If it's not directly in use, it's closed. It sticks straight out to the side (perpendicular to the trailer) when it's open. It's mounted on a simple piano hinge. If it could fold further back to the side of the trailer, all the problems would be solved because that's so much further back than it goes now. My Featherlite trailer has nice doors that fold further open - I think this is probably you have on your trailer... The doors on my rig are an older design and definitely not the same as what's used now on TW's.
Maybe I can just get hold of some specialty door hinges that would allow it to open all the way? That's something I will look at today as a possible solution. Otherwise, for now, I will have that door whacked off of there.
I can post a picture if anyone wants to see the @#$%~!! thing!
Posted 2005-06-13 11:38 AM (#26451 - in reply to #26430) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 2689
Bumm'rrrr !
Yes, my rear ramp doors fold back 270 degrees and cli[p against the sides of the trailer, the side ramp ones go 180 to clip against the side.
I was going to send you a couple of spare hold back clips, but it sounds like you couldn't use them anyway (-:
I've "busy bodied around" at a few events and secured a couple such doors that people have just thoughtlessly left flapping, so that was probably why I overeacted to your post (-:
Any chance you could use bungies ?
How about the cone idea already suggested and maybe hung from the door's edge on a bungie ?
Good luck with this one, I havn't slammed my fingers in a door for MANY YEARS now, but it took me a while to learn not to.
Posted 2005-06-13 2:29 PM (#26477 - in reply to #26451) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
Barry - the cone idea is a good one... Thanks!
Reg - We do CTR and I would lose points for a door left flapping. I totally concur about keeping camp setups as safe as possible.
I found a good looking 270 deg. hinge in Redneck's catalog, that seems like the right solution. It didn't occur to me to change out the whole hinge until your first post, so thanks. :-) The piano hinge is just riveted and spot welded, so how hard can it be to change out? (famous last words) Hahaha!
Posted 2005-06-14 10:26 PM (#26575 - in reply to #26477) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 2689
Originally written by NoSpam on 2005-06-13 2:29 PM
Barry - the cone idea is a good one... Thanks!
Reg - We do CTR and I would lose points for a door left flapping. I totally concur about keeping camp setups as safe as possible.
I found a good looking 270 deg. hinge in Redneck's catalog, that seems like the right solution. It didn't occur to me to change out the whole hinge until your first post, so thanks. :-) The piano hinge is just riveted and spot welded, so how hard can it be to change out? (famous last words) Hahaha!
Happy Trails,
Michelle
Well, it depends how handy you are, what tools you have and how good you are at getting by with only those tools (-:
If you believe the 270 degree hinges you've found will work AND you can find good places to mount them it could work out. You'll need to mount them to the FRAME of the trailer and to the FRAME of the door. Remember, they need to be mounted strong enough to take a pounding down the road and in and out of fields.
I'd try to figure out how to put them on with the piano hinges still in place, one advantage being that you can back out and just leave the piano hinges there if things look too hairy. Also, you shouldn't have to take the doors down and heave them back up into place, they'll already be in place and aligned for you. I've accepted that 4-Star's method of rivetting hinges on works very well and is very strong, so I'd use rivets if at all possible ESPECIALLY if this is an alumin trailer. You can get stainless steel rivets, but they're aweful tough to pull in, they need the big two hand rivet gun. Be absolutely sure that the hinge axis is parallel to the existing piano hinge. I think I'd drill out the spot welds, then drill out the piano hinge's rivets. After that you can swing it open and locate where the hold back catches have to go. Clean up any ragged edges with a grinder, prime and paint if steel or sand and polish if alumin.
Posted 2005-06-15 9:04 AM (#26582 - in reply to #26575) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
Hi Reg,
Thanks!
If I have to remove the door, it does make very good sense to drill a couple of holes in the door and screw it to the trailer frame nice and straight while installing the new hinges (thanks, I thought of that based on your idea)... It was originally installed a bit off camber and it hits the ramp door when you close it - which caused the lower spot weld of the paino hinge to fail. I'd really like to raise it up just a bit and fix that (yep, got burly friends to help with that :-))).
The trailer still needs paint, so no worries about messing with the body.
Posted 2005-06-15 11:35 AM (#26588 - in reply to #26582) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
Expert
Posts: 1391 Location: North of Detroit, MI
Back your pickup up to the back of the trailer to work on the rear doors. You might even want to remove tailgate - but it gives you a great height and sturdy, wide, platform. : )
Posted 2005-06-15 6:02 PM (#26607 - in reply to #26430) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 171 Location: Henderson, TN 38340
How about changing the hinges to the backside of the ramp. Have them fold down and latch to the ramp. If the ramp is down the doors are out of the way.
Posted 2005-06-15 6:13 PM (#26609 - in reply to #26607) Subject: RE: #$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
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Posts: 140 Location: Colorado
I appreciate the creative idea.
That would definitely get the door out of the way, but it would make the @#$%!! ramp heavy and the hinges would be under the ramp edge when it's down, which might not be good in the rocks and mud...
My husbands idea is to cut the door in half and hinge it down the middle, so it folds up smaller.
The welder said to hang a mudflap off of it to make it visible... Or just keep running into it face first until I learn to 'not do that'.
#$%@!! Ramp doors... OUCH.
I can imagine what that's like.I had a WW thoroughbred(tall) trailer w/ramp and double doors above the ramp.I don't know if your trailer is alum,GN or what,but I could remove the doors above the ramp and did so.Yours may not be able to be taken off,but if you can I'd sure do it if I were you.I got rid of mine because I was headed for the neuro/ortho man from picking the %*&!# ramp up to close it!
