outside stair carpet

dwayneb236 wrote:
Thanks Sabre, my old boxer/shepherd mix would like that. He's getting a little older and first thing in the morning he doesn't get around too easily. kinda like me.

LOL - Me too. The yellow lab in the previous pic was around 100 lbs. Waking up at 3:00AM to lift him in/out of the camper wasn't becoming fun anymore..
But, I will still say I built it for HIM not my old back. :)

We have a ramp for our 17 year old shepherd/lab. Bought it at pet smart. Light and easy to handle. We use it for her to get in and out of the truck as well as the rig We carry it in the storage area of 5th wheel. It will not hold an adult! Expensive but worth every penny. A note. We started to train her to use the ramp long before she needed it. Started low on the deck with treats. In no time she was going up and down no problem.

Thanks Sabre, my old boxer/shepherd mix would like that. He's getting a little older and first thing in the morning he doesn't get around too easily. kinda like me.

The one in my pic is made of plywood wrapped with carpet, angle iron from bed frame, one sheet of 1/2" plywood cut into two pieces and I had two 2x3's running lengthwise under neath and attached to the plywood with carriage bolts.

Basically, the 2x3's and the angle iron the side supported the weight of us and if you look close you will see a ratchet strap holding the whole thing to the stairs. taken apart, it was basically two pieces of 3x3 plywood and a couple of 2x3's that we put in the back of the truck.

I had often thought of making it narrower and sliding out from behind the stairs.. But never got to it.

Total cost was probably $50.00

Yes, sometimes you just have to spend the bucks, but indoor/outdoor carpet is not the time! A proprietary refrigerator that fits a certain sized hole is the time. To pay CW prices for something you can cut out of any door mat is something people do who have no money worries at all. But they will. Rich people don't waste money JMHO your choice to agree.

And they are strong enough to hold people? I'm assuming you used heavy duty hinges.

Silly question, of course anything can be made to support a person. Just depends on the construction. You don't have to answer this.. hehe.

bbaker2001 wrote:
my lab had same issue. they ARE part of the family. when she had her last stroke, my wife drove, and i was in the back of the truck holding her. had her up over the rail in the wind. that is what she loved. many tears also.. we now have a Boston terrier, we should get a ramp for him, but he just waits at the door until i pick him up.
do the ramps take up much room, and where is best place to carry it.

Depends on the ramp. The one I use folds in half (be careful not to pinch your fingers, known by experience). We use the ramp 2 places, to get into and out of the truck and for the camper. We place ours in the bed of the truck while we travel.

Oh, for the camper, we secure it to the steps with bungie cords and place tent stakes in the ground at the bottom of the ramp so the ramp does not slide.

my lab had same issue. they ARE part of the family. when she had her last stroke, my wife drove, and i was in the back of the truck holding her. had her up over the rail in the wind. that is what she loved. many tears also.. we now have a Boston terrier, we should get a ramp for him, but he just waits at the door until i pick him up.
do the ramps take up much room, and where is best place to carry it.

I really do like the idea of a ramp. Our dogs do fine but they are getting older. And this seems so much safer for them. I'm sure I could fabricate something like this soon.

SabreCanuck wrote:
Quite honestly, I hadn't even thought about the holes and the toenails. But now that you all mention it and how spoiled our pets can be. This is a picture of our last trailer and our last (at the time) 13 year old lab. He simply could not do stairs anymore when we bought the higher trailer so I improvised. Might be over-kill for the 'carpet' conversation. LOL

To be quite honest, the two of us both got used to having the ramp/patio there when opening the door and have often thought it would be nice to have it back when carrying things in/out.

I cannot tell you how proud/happy/emotional I was during this exact picture. It was his first trip up that ramp after we picked the new camper up and I cried like a chimp. Sure made his (and our) lives easier and extended his camping for another couple summers.

Miss that ole boy :(

Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.

We too use a ramp. We have a 10 yr old golden retriever who can not do stairs very well. The ramp is a big help.