Do you ever wish yours was longer?

[YLC1]

Do you ever wish that you had spent the extra money for the 5' or longer trailer gate?I'm about ready to refloor and paint my trailer and thinking about reworking the gate to 5' and possibly a split gate.Almost all the trailer gates that I have found are 4'.I'm also planning to add a lift assist for the gate if it goes to 5'.
Does anyone have experience with the trailer gate frame made from tubing as opposed to angle?Thanks,Richard

[rodfather]

I have split ramps on my 16' Deck Overs. I just wish they weighed less. Darn things get heavy after droping and lifting them 15 or 20 times a day. Phew!!!

[FrankenScagMachines]

A friend has a 16' flatbed tandem, and he uses it to haul lawnmowers on (he's a repairman) and he made his own gate out of square tube and expanded sheet. He made them plenty long, he told me 8' but I think he's confused... they aren't quite that long, but no mower bottoms out on them. It's split type. On my 6'x12' single axle trailer I have a 4' gate (angle and expanded sheet) and it really sucks.. the only way I can get my mowers on and off is to put a jackstand under the back and unhitch the coupler and jack up the front end all the way. I'm thinking about making a 6' one or so. One thing that would help, and i'm too lazy to do it for some reason, is to turn my ball over on the hitch insert, that would gain a couple three inches or so. I don't think that would do the trick but I will try it. I've also thought about making ramps to just put on top of the gate, but then that kinda defeats the purpose of the gate, doesn't it? I like having the gate there. This thing has 1"x12" boards bolted to the angle iron frame on the sides, and with the gate, I don't worry about anything falling off or out (jacks and boards etc.)
Happy mowing!

[Krimick]

My 6' x 12' has a 4 foot gate and I have never had a mower bottom out on it. My 7' x 20' has a 4' 4" gate and I am having a bad time of it lately. Both my Kubota and Exmark bottom out sometimes.

I am adding about 12-18" to my gate this weekend to solve the problem. This will make it approx. 6 ft. It will be pretty heavy but I should be able to handle it.

[cantoo]

Think smarter not harder..
Build a 18" beaver tail on your trailer then use your existing 4' gate. The beaver tail will lessen your angle and you will only have the weight of the 4' gate. I would also split the 4' gate while you are at it. This will also give you another 18" of floor space.

[the point man]

Oh...this thread is about TRAILERS. Sorry. Got the wrong impression.

[FrankenScagMachines]

Oh...this thread is about TRAILERS. Sorry. Got the wrong impression.

H E L L !! that was funny! When I first saw the subject I thought whoa, Nelly! [Furtado]

[LAWNGODFATHER]

Making a trailer longer can offset the balance.

Adding 6" is possable, I don't know about 1.5 feet.

At times I wish I had 18' or 20' but that is only for less than a day a month.

[FrankenScagMachines]

I like the idea of a beavertail, but it would be way too much trouble, not worth it for me, maybe for others though. It would offset the balance, you think not, think again because you are not adding much weight in the big picture, but you're moving the heavy gate back farther which adds counter weight. A curved beavertail would be really sweet, with like a power lift winch thing for the gate that would not have to be latched, just have on the mower a thing like a garage door opener, fire up the mower hit the ramp lower and drive off. That would be cool, wouldn't it?

[bob]

My trailer dealer orders all his trailers with 5' gates. Mines 5' split, with an EZ Gate. The mower deck would sometimes scrape my old 4' gate, but not the 5'er.

[greenflag]

This is kind of lazy on my part, but it is cheaper than a new gate.

My decks just barely hang going in & out of the trailer. I took a piece of 2x12 & screwed it to the floor (across the entry)at the spot the front wheels are when the deck just begins to bottom.

The board lifts the front of the mowers at the right point so they dont drag.

I'm sure that this is not a solution for everyone, due to the various equipment, approach angles,etc.

My wife just shakes her head at my "thrifty" ways of repairing things. She tells me that I am tighter than a fat woman's sock.:D

Hope this helps, or at least makes someone smile!

Garry

[Mowingman]

I have done the same thing as greenflag and that stopped the deck dragging on both my trailers. I have 4' gates on both trailers. They are split so each side drops separately. One is angle and expanded metal and the other is square tubing and expanded metal. The tubing gates are a good bit lighter and have held up well. I don't fell like either type is heavy enough to require the assist springs I see advertised. I am going to rebuild both trailers with 5' gates this winter. I will use square tubing on both this time.:)

[Guardian]

I've always wanted longer, but wife says its plenty long. She says all I would do is put more stuff on it, plus it would be heavier - Lord knows we don't need that.

[Trauma]

Welded some flat 1" steel to the lip at the top of mine, where the expanded metal is tacked down. Then weld another piece in front of that at an angle, kinda like a ramp. It stopped the mowers from catching on the way off. Works like a champ!

Doug

[Brickman]

When I first saw the thread I thought yes all the time. :D

On gates mine is 4 feet and I have no problem with things hanging. IF they do they only catch slightly.

[mklawnman]

I do wish our trailer was a 7x16ft instead of a single axle 6x12ft trailer. For a tailgate we use a 2x12 and the ramps are 2x12's with metal mesh bolted to them to give something for traction for the Scags to drive up on. My dad made a bracket so the 2x12 hook up to the backend of the trailer so we can drive the machines on and off of the trailer. Works great, though just something extra you gotta haul and set on the trailer floor instead of being the tailgate, but it works.
Matt(lawnman)

[Grass_Slayer]

until this year i had been using 2 alum. truck bed ramps. bought 12" wide and 7' long and curved. it sure was scary when one of them slipped off while backing of the trailer!!!!

i finally got one of my customers who owns a machine shop to build me a ramp. they used the channel on the back of the trailer to act as a hinge ao i can take the ramp off when i need to. the ramp is 5'6" long made out of angle and expanded metal and it is heavy as hell!!

im thinking bout rigging up garage door springs to help pick it up cause it kinda hurts my back.

oh and my deck doesnt drag

[Grasshog]

I just bought a 20ft trailer with 5 ft split gates. the gates are spring loaded. Man I love those springs.

[awm]

i just wish mine was as long as it use to be . my trailer ramp i mean.:D

[Mid Rivers]

I don't know if this will be a problem or not but make sure you have clearance with your garage door. I have 5' split gates on my trailer and had to adjust the door opener so the door would go as high as possible. Something to keep in mind.

[Vibe Ray]

A pump and exercises could fix that ya know.....

[cantoo]

I should have explained better about the offset weight when adding 18" to the trailer. Most guys have a rack on the front that wasn't designed into the trailer in the beginning either so it's probally already tongue heavy. I guess I should have said depending on your trailers center of balance. You can also change your balance by changing the position of your mowers or equipment on the trailer.
On most of my trailers I have put on a new longer hitch so that we can jack knife completely so that we can unlaod from the cube van without unhooking the trailer. From the front of the trailer to the ball it is about 4'6" allowing for the trailer to be 90 degrees from the van.

[bobbygedd]

good lord, if it were any longer, id trip over it(the gate, of course)

[awm]

really ,man id give a hundred dollars for that . course i cant let my wife know.
she likes the ramp jus like it is.
easier to load an all.:)

[musselman]

mines not very long but it sure is short lol......really I have 4 foot ramp on a 16 foot trailer and the walker never has a problem, but my DC I have to raise the deck all the way and it still rubs a bit....love to have a 5 foot ramp, when it comes time to rebuild ill make a 5 footer for sure. I can lift my 4 foot ramp with one hand I wouldnt think 5 footer would be to much heavier.

[Vibe Ray]

:dizzy: :dizzy: :dizzy:

This usually what they look like when they realize......