Forum Discussion

rerod's avatar
rerod
Explorer
Jun 18, 2013

sprung ramp door pics and questions

I noticed the top edge of my ramp door isn't perfectly straight. I'm guessing the aluminum was bowed before fabrication. Or the PO somehow tweaked the edge because of the four rubber street bumpers.. The four bumpers bridge to far and stress the unsupported aluminum when you drive over..

As you can see, I rigged up a jig to try and straighten/tweak the top edge straight. But after tweaking it way past what I felt comfortable with. And way further than I anticipated having to tweak/bow it.. I'm still at square one with NO or little improvement.. Should I leave it alone and find a better street bumper which is one piece with no gaps to prevent further bowing? Or should I tweak it just a bit further (2 1/4") to get the convex shape I wanted to seal the door?

Thanks

Before and after.

Tweaking the edge over 2".. With no change when removed.
Toy Haulers

5 Replies

  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Jun 19, 2013
    Just thinking that if you've tweaked it 2" and it didn't change, it must have been bent more than that in the other direction for it to end up with a bow in it. I don't know that the rubber bumpers would allow that much movement unless the door/ramp was at least 3-4" off the ground. That would make for a pretty big step onto the ramp.

    You might be better off keeping an eye on it to see if it gets worse and in the meantime add some rubber gasket material to seal it if it's leaking.
  • rerod's avatar
    rerod
    Explorer
    Jun 19, 2013
    fj12ryder wrote:
    Maybe in use as a patio and just had too many people?


    Maybe..

    My guess is the four rubber road bumpers on the door. When on the road, they create unsupported spots which slowly bend every time you drive over.

    I cant decide if I should try once again.. I cant believe I tweaked it 2" the opposite direction with no change.. 2 1/2" ?
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Jun 18, 2013
    I think I can see that it's bowed a little, but it doesn't look that bad, probably just the lack of perspective. I see it has cable supports, could it have been overloaded when using the cables? Maybe in use as a patio and just had too many people?
  • rerod's avatar
    rerod
    Explorer
    Jun 18, 2013
    fj12ryder wrote:
    That's not a real clear picture, maybe one more from straight on from the rear. I can't tell which is the warped part of the door and what is the side of the door.


    Click the magnifying glass twice to enlarge the picture..

    The sides of the door are reinforced so I'm talking about the edge which meets the ground. It has a cup or concave shape from the inside or top and doesn't meet the weatherstrip in the middle of top door frame.

    First picture is eying down the back edge of the door. Its warped maybe 1/2". Second picture is my attempt to straighten, or warp it the opposite direction. I tweaked it over 2" but it returned it the previous state.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Jun 18, 2013
    That's not a real clear picture, maybe one more from straight on from the rear. I can't tell which is the warped part of the door and what is the side of the door.

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