beavertail on stepdeck

[Anonymous-0]

Does anyone manufacture a weld on, or a bolt on, beavertail for a 48 foot stepdeck? One can use a dock someplaces but not everywhere you go (espcially with vintage stuff) do they have a dock. Any ideas, manufactures or plans, will be helpful. Thanks...Darald

 

[the tractor vet]

It is not rocket science here i have done two and a torch a welder and some good steel and if ya want a wood deck on it then the wood and screws and a couple days .

 

[edj856]

Why not a couple of ramps? It would be easier than building a beaver tail and you'd still be able to back up to a dock.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I have ramps for mine made out of 4" channel with a 3/8 web in the backbone of them. I have supports for the middle if needed I can run a D-5 cat up them. I just bolted a 1/4 " 4x4 angle iron on top of the rear end with the ears welded on then use a 1" shaft to connect them to the trailer with. I have 1 1/2 inch angle iron welded between the channels for driving on at 10 spacing works good for all but cars or smaller tires where clearance underneath is an issue. You can also get aluminum ones that will double for a bridge for $$$.

 

[mattofvinings]

Separate ramps are probably the easiest, but they're going to be very long and heavy if they approach the gentle angle of a typical dovetail setup.

As caterpillar guy stated, a middle support leg will do a lot for the structure.

While hinging them would be my first choice (since that way you don't have to muscle the entire thing around)...again, I think they're going to be high/tall enough to be a liability in gas-stations, drive-thrus, and other tight spaces.

Measuring some existing trailers and then making up some scaled drawings beforehand will save a lot of aggravation.

BTW: My trailer came with ramp pivots made from 2-1/2" Sch 40 pipe...which I removed and replaced with 3" DOM tubing with a 1/4" wall...this way the ramps will go from nearly full outside to within about 8" of touching each other in the center...helpful when dealing with different track-width vehicles.

 

[AndrewFromNS]

While considering drive-thru clearance is never a bad idea, and would seem, typical of modern society, I doubt highly that if the original poster is asking for a beavertail for a 48-foot stepdeck, he frequents drive-thrus. Truckstops, perhaps.

I know of one guy off the top of my head that added a beavertail set-up to the back of his float. I believe its either pneumatic or hydraulic, though I don't know for sure. He fabricated his, and it works every day of its life as the equipment float for the local CNH dealership.

 

[MikeinKy]

(quoted from post at 21:48:12 04/20/09) Does anyone manufacture a weld on, or a bolt on, beavertail for a 48 foot stepdeck? One can use a dock someplaces but not everywhere you go (espcially with vintage stuff) do they have a dock. Any ideas, manufactures or plans, will be helpful. Thanks...Darald

I bought aluminum ramps for mine, 12 feet long from Bontrager Logistics, in Bristol In. They were $500.00 each. They weigh I think about 90 lbs. each.