Rampage Installation
Question:I am considering replacing my car with a pickup truck, and am interested in the Rampage lift that you sell, but have a few questions about it. You say that it can be installed so that it is easy to disconnect the bolts from the
bed, which is great. But how heavy is the unit then? Is it a one man lift, a two man lift, or do you need to get three or four people to move it around?
Also, what size truck bed is needed for the installation? And have you encountered any other reasons that it couldn’t be installed?
Answer:These are great questions.
The Rampage can be removed by one person if you take the sliding ramp out of the base. The ramp is manageable but the base is still pretty heavy. It’s 1/4 and 3/8 steel, so it’s just a heavily-built base. One person who is fairly well fit can handle it, but it’s much easier if it’s a two person job. Some people have built workarounds to make it easier for one person to handle it, but I think it’s easier and less expensive to spring for a couple of six packs and get a buddy to help when needed.
The unit will work in pretty much any size bed. 5′ 4″ is the minimum. Standard bed length is 6′ to 6.5′ and of course the max is an 8′ bed. If you go with an 8′ bed, the benefit is you can mount the unit so that you can put the tail gate on after you load the bike. You could also leave the unit in the bed and have it fully covered, so it wouldn’t be as necessary to remove/reinstall it.
The downside to an 8′ bed is that you have to be more exacting about putting it in. It’s important to place it so the ramp clears the lip of the bed in the back when it’s tilted down, but is in far enough that you can put the tail gate back on.
Sometimes this means that the Rampage mounting holes are over top of the stringers that run under the bed and connect the bed to the frame. That’s a problem when using the rivet nuts that are used for installation. The advantage of rivet nuts is that they stay in the bed so you can easily bolt/unbolt the unit. However, those have to be located on a flat surface. Hitting the flange on one of those stringers when you are drilling the holes for the rivet nuts is an “Oh shit” moment.
If you have a standard size bed, you can move the unit forward or backward a little bit to miss the stringers that run underneath which eliminates this issue. That’s because the rear of the unit is going to hang off the bed anyway, so you’re not trying to meet two placement objectives at the same time. Of course, this means that the rear of the unit will be exposed, even if your tonneau cover is fully deployed, so you’re more likely to want to take the unit out if you do not plan to use it for a period of time.
Although it sounds tricky, installation is actually pretty simple. You’re drilling four holes, installing four rivet nuts and running a power cable. I did it by following the printed directions and did not have a problem. The keys to a successful installation are:
1) Get the right size drill bit that is recommended for the rivet nuts
2) Pay attention to where the stringers run under the bed so you don’t hit them when drilling
3) Make sure the ramp can properly clear the lip of the tail gate
4) Avoid overdrilling the holes for the rivet nuts
hi. i would like to see a bike unloaded, do you have to pull the ramp back? i plan on putting it on a semi behind the sleeper, is that to high? thnx steve
Do you have one in stock and where are you located so I could pick it up.
Hi Steve, thanks for the comment. Yes, I should’ve filmed the unloading as well as the loading. If you watch the process of pulling the ramp out of the truck, it’s the same as if a bike were on it.
The rollers on the ramp are a high strength composite material and glide easily, so even with a full dresser on the truck, it doesn’t take a whole lot to get it moving. And once you get past the halfway point, gravity takes over. You can control the rate of descent with the winch controller and let it play out as slowly as you like.
The only thing you need to account for when loading/unloading, is how the unit is situated. If the Rampage is on a semi frame (and that’s a popular application), you’ll want the head of the unit to be flat or on the upside of a slight grade. That makes it pretty easy to unload.
Hi Conrad, thanks for your post. I am a web-based retailer and the fact that I maintain no overhead means I can offer the Rampage at a very good rate. But it also means I don’t carry them in inventory. Two units I sold last week both shipped within a couple days time, so it does not take long to get one. When you add together my price and the shipping cost, it is usually the same or a little less than what it would cost from getting it at a physical location. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at dale@openroadoutfitters.com
d.