Trailer Aid Ramp

[TheGreatleys]

Any of you tandem axle folks using the trailer aid ramp? Have you actually used it?

I carried this smelly bit if plastic around for years, and only just used it today. I managed to put a pretty big gouge in my in-laws' driveway with the metal bolts that protrude from the bottom. Then after figuring out that it really needed to sit on a rubber mat to work, I got it irretrievably stuck in the pictured position.

It seems to me, for a piece of emergency gear, it sure managed to make the situation a whole lot worse. I ended up using my truck's bottle jack to lift the frame sufficiently to extract the ramp, and throw it directly in the garbage.

Bright side is, my bearings are done, and the hardest part was the ramp shenanigans.

[brick1]

I have used mine once worked great. Not sure what the purpose of the boats are. But it worked...

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by brick1

I have used mine once worked great. Not sure what the purpose of the boats are. But it worked...

The purpose seems to be to dig into the pavement, and anchor the ramp. Unfortunately, that means you're damaging the pavement, especially if you slide the ramp at all. Probably not as big of a deal on dirt.

[SilverWind]

I take it to the tire store when buying or rotating tires for our dual axle trailers. They use it instead of a floor jack.

It clears up jacking point issues.

[oldwagon]

The Greatleys if you want to get rid of that thing keep me in mind? It is a great piece of equipment to own great! Maybe you might not be using it correctly?
If you have a flat on your trailer and have two tires same side??? Just loosen the lugs on the flat tire! Put the Trailer Aid down and drive up or back up! Now you can change the tire that is flat of the ground is lifted f the ground! No jacking at all needed easy!
Makes changing a tire a breeze! Will not work sand or in mud!

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by oldwagon

The Greatleys if you want to get rid of that thing keep me in mind? It is a great piece of equipment to own great! Maybe you might not be using it correctly?
If you have a flat on your trailer and have two tires same side??? Just loosen the lugs on the flat tire! Put the Trailer Aid down and drive up or back up! Now you can change the tire that is flat of the ground is lifted f the ground! No jacking at all needed easy!
Makes changing a tire a breeze! Will not work sand or in mud!

It's in the Frederick County Maryland landfill, if you want to go digging for it. Precisely where it belongs in my opinion.

I agree that general style tire changing ramp is a good idea, but that particular model is garbage. I can't overstate how much more difficult it made the job of repacking my bearings while on a dry, level driveway with zero hazards around. I'd hate to be stuck with one on the side of a busy highway.

There's a nice curved metal ramp on Amazon I have my eye on, but since my truck's bottle jack ended up working fine, and I only need to lift the wheels once a year, I haven't bothered buying it yet.

[SteveSueMac]

Hmm. I love mine. I use it at the tire store and we change tires one at a time so there’s no possibility of bending an axle by placing the jack in the wrong place. I was able to help a fellow Airstreamer who had a flat at a rally. I also have a slow leak in one of my tires (checked over the weekend) and I’ll use it to take that 1 tire off and get it repaired at the tire shop rather than haul the entire trailer there.

I notice in your picture of it, you have it between the two tires. I’ve never used it that way. I either put it behind the rear tire and back up on to it or in front of the front tire and drive forward on it. Perhaps the placement in between the tires made the process more frustrating?

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Hmm. I love mine. I use it at the tire store and we change tires one at a time so there’s no possibility of bending an axle by placing the jack in the wrong place. I was able to help a fellow Airstreamer who had a flat at a rally. I also have a slow leak in one of my tires (checked over the weekend) and I’ll use it to take that 1 tire off and get it repaired at the tire shop rather than haul the entire trailer there.

I notice in your picture of it, you have it between the two tires. I’ve never used it that way. I either put it behind the rear tire and back up on to it or in front of the front tire and drive forward on it. Perhaps the placement in between the tires made the process more frustrating?

Having it in the pictured position was obviously not intentional. After dealing with it sliding all over the place and putting a giant gouge in my in-law's driveway, I finally got the Airstream up the ramp, ended up going just a tad too far, and got it stick between the axles. At which time no amount of pulling in any direction could retrieve it. I had to use a bottle jack to remove the ramp.

Maybe your version is different from mine. I don't know. All I know is that I carried it around for years, and the one time I tried to use it, it made a huge mess of things.

My point in starting this thread was to suggest people try out their emergency gear before they have an emergency. This particular piece of equipment is not something I would count on to work on the side of the road.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, my Trailer Aid Plus works great. It made things so easy when at tire shops in Alaska. Therefore not damaging my trailer by incorrectly jacking it up for a tire repair or replacement. I never travel without it. If you don't know how to use something, you should throw it away!

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

...snip...
My point in starting this thread was to suggest people try out their emergency gear before they have an emergency. This particular piece of equipment is not something I would count on to work on the side of the road.

Always good advice to test things before you need them. Sorry you didn’t have s good experience with this particular piece of gear.

[21Airstream]

We got a flat tire during the inaugural run of our ‘14 FC 27FB, discovered during a stop at a rest area on I-70 in Kansas (1,500 miles from home). I was glad to have my “Trailer Aid Plus” (and my DeWalt cordless impact tools) because it made tire replacement relatively painless.

[GCinSC2]

OK, bad experience. Possible positive outcome ahead.

Just for grins, take a good look at your tow vehicle jack, you have a Toyota Tundra. that jack should be capable of lifting a fully loaded rear wheel, right?

Does it have a swivel saddle at the top? If so, good.

Now get a few pieces of 2X8 and put them under the Tundra jack and put this between the tires on the vertical frame. See how it looks, give it a test run.

My 07 30' Classic Ltd S/O is pretty heavy, 05 Ram 2500 has a jack capable of lifting it but I found the same type jack from a 3500 it has a bigger base and capacity. Lifts the rig easily.

Gary

[Specsalot]

I have the slightly taller version. Its not the most robust tool, but it fits easily in storage and saved my bacon on the side of the road. I do not use it for routine maintenance.

[azflycaster]

I use the Lego blocks that I carry for leveling. Build a ramp for the good tire and r err place the bad tire. No extra tool to buy or carry.

[Mollysdad]

I carry one of those Trailer Aid ramps and realize it's for an emergency, not rotating tires at home.
Once you went off the back, I guess I'd have kept going until it was out.

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

Just for grins, take a good look at your tow vehicle jack, you have a Toyota Tundra. that jack should be capable of lifting a fully loaded rear wheel, right?

I've done that and wanted to throw myself off a cliff. First, finding the jack. Then try to figure how to get all the pieces out! Next, the screw jack is about the size of your hand, so you better have lots of boards ready, and the jack falls over until it's in position. The 'crank' is made up of about four pieces of steel rod, one of which is the lug wrench! That's the handle! So you have this piece of spaghetti attempting to turn the knob on a jack that's falling over! Shoot me now!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

I use the Lego blocks that I carry for leveling. Build a ramp for the good tire and r err place the bad tire. No extra tool to buy or carry.

^
X2👍

With a plywood 'stop' board, works well on soft ground😳
Power (old assist) jack at home...

Bob
🇺🇸

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I carry one of those Trailer Aid ramps and realize it's for an emergency, not rotating tires at home.

I'm a big believer in using your emergency gear regularly in non-emergency situations, so you get acquainted with how it works. In this case, really glad I did.

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

Once you went off the back, I guess I'd have kept going until it was out.

First thing I tried. The ramp just slid and stayed wedged between my tires.

[pmclemore]

I have used mine several times - and have felt it was a marvelous device. Fast and effective to use.

I have never backed off the high side of it, though. I can see where that would cause some consternation.

Pat

[TheGreatleys]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

take a good look at your tow vehicle jack, you have a Toyota Tundra. that jack should be capable of lifting a fully loaded rear wheel, right?

Does it have a swivel saddle at the top? If so, good.

Now get a few pieces of 2X8 and put them under the Tundra jack and put this between the tires on the vertical frame. See how it looks, give it a test run.

Yup, that's essentially how I removed the ramp, and is my current tire changing strategy while I consider if it's worth buying the curved metal tire changing ramp I have my eye on. The jack in the Tundra works just fine, so while a ramp would be convenient, I'm not sure it's worth the storage space.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by TheGreatleys

First thing I tried. The ramp just slid and stayed wedged between my tires.

Hmmmm..... I guess I'm going to buy a rubber mat to throw down first.

What was the in-laws driveway made of? I can't imagine the studs slipping on asphalt.