Building an ATV ramp rack for my 2.5

[nckwltn]

ATV ramp - check
Garvin 7" gutter mounts - check
New laptop screen - check?

2 year old climbed up in the office chair and tried to pick up the 8lb box of the gutter mounts off the desk... The box got dropped on a closed Macbook air, cracked the screen.

All of a sudden, this inexpensive diy rack got a lot more expensive. :-(


But the Garvin gutter mounts are really well built. Nothing flimsy about them.

 

[MummifiedCircuitry]

Pics? I picked up some smittybilt SMT-HD gutter mounts, I'm going to see if a defender rack will fit.

 

[nckwltn]

I'll get some pics this weekend when I start work on the project. Right now its just been a parts order

 

[MummifiedCircuitry]

Dolomiti built an ATV rack for his 2.5, you might get a few pointers if he's still around. That's a bummer about the screen, too bad last year I had about 500+/- macbook retina 13"/15" and macbook air screens in the warehouse, wish I could help.

 

[nckwltn]

Dolomiti built an ATV rack for his 2.5, you might get a few pointers if he's still around. That's a bummer about the screen, too bad last year I had about 500+/- macbook retina 13"/15" and macbook air screens in the warehouse, wish I could help.

I have almost the exact same ATVramp as Dolomiti, but mine isn't quite as long, and i'm going to make it a bit wider than what it currently is

 

[snare]

Got any pics of this? How'd it turn out?

 

[nckwltn]

Turned out really great!

I took the ATV ramp, cut it at the center hinge (it folded over onto itself in half), and added aluminum pieces in between, as well as two bigger aluminum supports that attach to the Garvin roof rack feet. I can stand on the rack in the middle and get very little flex (all 220 lbs of me).

here is a short little video where you can see the rack well: https://goo.gl/photos/EoRRho2mwhPULjCH9

some stills:

Test Fit, before paint: https://goo.gl/photos/YmNmRn38L4vAR3t49

Cross Support - the end of the cross support has a solid block of aluminum jammed into it so that the tube isn't hollow there. Allowing for the bolt to be tight and not crush the tube.: https://goo.gl/photos/bE2dUbVoT14dAaKUA

This shows how the cross supports and the rack align. I really like how low profile everything is. Only the very outer tube on the rack isn't supported by the main supports, but they are supported by secondary supports in the middle (this is before the solid aluminum was inserted into the end of the cross support): https://goo.gl/photos/nUFf3B8TPTMAtBHy6

Had a friend help with the alum welding. You can see the two pieces of the ramp spread out. We put everything up on the montero exactly how I wanted it to sit, tacked it in place and then pulled it all down and welded it together: https://goo.gl/photos/t6VQdvQ9qvRWefXW6

This is the ramp flipped upside down. You can see the two main cross-supports where the Garvin feet attach, and two smaller supports in the middle: https://goo.gl/photos/SrTmpwzfbYrFz7Kz9

After a few coats of paint: https://goo.gl/photos/zbW3BN5TkPUYnX2YA

For the front air deflector, I bolted on a piece of aluminum sheet, rounded the corners to match the radius of a pringles can and cut it with a hack saw: https://goo.gl/photos/kAD9w9a8H3Hu4WxA6

Fully assembled: https://goo.gl/photos/Mxs9RXNk8MDRuMMy9


If I had to do it again, I would have made it the full length of the top.


I've also used the rack to transport drywall, plywood, and lumber from the home store.


it's also a super great area to toss sleeping bags, tents, action-packers, etc, etc, when you get to the camp site and don't have a clean place to put things, but you need to unload some items from the car.

 

[snare]

Thanks for the pics. Was it 44" width before you widened it? And how much width did you add?

 

[nckwltn]

was not 44" wide... I probably added 6-8 inches in the middle