DIY Dog Ramp

deadlybuzzman

To save wear and tear on the dogs joints when she jumps in and out of the jeep, I knocked together a dog ramp. It was total guesswork as to what would do the job. Its not pretty but it turned out fine except its a bit flimsy for a dog of her weight (32kg). Its not strong enough to solidly support her when she stands in the middle of it at the hinges. Its ok now but it is flexing quite a bit.

I used 170mm x 17mm planed deal cut into 800mm lengths and 3 inch hinges for this ramp but what I'm wondering is, to make a something solid that a 70ishLb dog can run up and down on without making it overly cumbersome, how thick of a plank should I go for and should I go the whole hog and use door hinges nect time?

Lumen

Timber ramps are tricky. You need depth for stiffness, and that makes them cumbersome.

Consider using steel profiles or alu extrusions.

The extrusions can be fitted with hinges, see for example

https://www.flomax.ie/Catalogue/ALUMINIUM-PROFILE-ACCESSORIES

Calahonda52

you could fit a U shaped piece of pipe at the hinge, with two rubber pads on the ends and it would drop down when fully opened and act as a brace, perhaps

deadlybuzzman

I think the 3 anchor points per each half of the hinge don't spread the load enough and I get the feeling the screws could be getting levered out of the wood so maybe something like those steel profiles could spread the force more evenly

fiacha

For material, I'd use 18mm WBP for the ramp halves and 2x2 PAO running down the outside edges of the boards. Another strip of 2 x 2 or similar along the horizontal edges where the two ramp halves meet.
Use good quality door hinges mounted on the underside of the plywood screwing through into the PAO strip.

The hinges along with the 2x2 should give plenty of surface area to keep it solid for the few seconds the dog will be on it. Dome head coach bolts and washers would not get pulled through the timber over time.

Price up the materials, and you might be getting close to the cost of a purpose made ramp from one of the online pet shops

The Continental Op

Not sure I'd bother with the effort of making them when they aren't that expensive to buy https://www.amazon.co.uk/PET-PRIME-Folding-Collapsible-Portable/dp/B07WRJQKMX/

Discodog

I think that either Lidl or Aldi had them.

It was Aldi & they were €20

JustAThought

Nice job - and thoughtful!!

When my dog was sick and couldn’t jump in/up/down I shamelessly went to B&Q and got them to cut a piece of heavy duty board I bought there for me - I put gaffer tape around the ends and used run her up it on the lead! It was about 3 1/2 foot wide and shorter than the back seat !! I didn’t have fancy grip bits like yours! It was wide thou and I just used balance it along the back seat on an old rubber backed bathmat when I didn’t need it! I guess bits of edging for skirting -board trim screwed onto it would have done for grip!

That Amazon one looks handy thou - and for up to 200lb - you can add wheels and stretcher people home from the pub on it when they reopen!

You dogs sounds much loved : )

deadlybuzzman

The Continental Op wrote: »

Not sure I'd bother with the effort of making them when they aren't that expensive to buy https://www.amazon.co.uk/PET-PRIME-Folding-Collapsible-Portable/dp/B07WRJQKMX/

Wow that's alot cheaper than what I came across on zooplus which were between 100-150. The grips were only a bit of very thin ply stuck on with wood glue.
Looks like I have plenty of options anyway!

...Ghost...

It's flexing heavily in the centre because that is where the board is farthest from support. Lay the board flat. Get a piece of wood as wide as the ramp and a good foot long at least. Place it on the ramp and have it overlap both sides of the ramp. glue and screw one side down and you now have a greater area supporting the centre of the ramp. The new piece will act as a stop and support brace.

dodzy

Those hinges are fitted arseways, but enough of that. Flip both boards so the paw pads are face down with the joints butted together. Remove existing hinges and put them in the man drawer. Fit 2 proper hinges flat across both boards. It’ll be better than it currently is but if you’re still not happy, just double up on the wood used throughout to strengthen.