Toy hauler 12v door opener??

[Homeless_by_Cho]

My friend, who is a little elderly, has a terrible time opening and closing his toy hauler rear ramp. Everything is properly adjusted but he no longer has much upper body strength and he walks with a cane. I was wondering it anyone knows of a 12vdc garage door opener or how to modify a 120v unit. If such an opener/modification exists, maybe I can adapt it to his trailer.

Thanks,
LeRoy

[MrWizard]

Homeless by Choice wrote:

MrWizard wrote:
Cables and springs
But garage doors don't drop down to become a ramp

If this forum allowed me to simply insert a photo, I would show you my trailer and its ramp system including the torsion spring arrangement.

Sorry about that.

LeRoy

don't get me wrong
i think a winch will work
i was speaking of the operation of a normal garage door and opener
it hinges up, it pulls up, the opener is in the garage ceiling/rafters
the mechanical action is different than raising and lowering a ramp
you don't want an opener on the floor
and it can't attach to the top of the center of the door being lowered and raised, even a single cable in the middle is not going to be a good idea, gets in the way of loading any thing with 4 wheels

one cable on one side might help
but (2) cables one each side will balance the pull and prevent twisting

[valhalla360]

A small 12v winch should do the trick but make sure to wire in a cut out switch that kills power when the door closes. Otherwise, if you aren't quick to release the power, it could rip a hunk out of the door.

[mobeewan]

Homeless by Choice wrote:
Ryobi One+ Garage Door Opener
This sounds like a workable solution. I need to look into it more.
https://www.ryobitools.com/gdo/opener/ It would require the same modification the the 12v winch needs. It can be operated by a Smartphone but it needs a 120VAC power source for recharging.

Winch
I know what an ATV winch is. I have one on my ATV and it rated at 3500 lbs so it is definitely powerful enough and comes with a 12 foot remote extension switch. It can be easily powered by the 12v house batteries. I will talk to my friend and see what we can design.

I was hoping for a ready made 12v garage door power unit that we could just connect up but things are not always that simple. I will continue watching this thread for the next couple of days before making any decisions.

Thanks to everyone for your help and ideas.

LeRoy

Ryobi makes a 12 volt DC to 18 volt DC charger for the 18 Ryobi batteries. It has a cigarette lighter plug. I have one to use for charging 18 volt batteries when away from home.

Ryobi-18-Volt-In-Vehicle-Dual-Chemistry-Charger-for-use-with-12V-DC-outlet

[Homeless_by_Cho]

MrWizard wrote:
Cables and springs
But garage doors don't drop down to become a ramp

If this forum allowed me to simply insert a photo, I would show you my trailer and its ramp system including the torsion spring arrangement.

Sorry about that.

LeRoy

[MrWizard]

Cables and springs
But garage doors don't drop down to become a ramp

[Homeless_by_Cho]

Ryobi One+ Garage Door Opener
This sounds like a workable solution. I need to look into it more.
https://www.ryobitools.com/gdo/opener/ It would require the same modification the the 12v winch needs. It can be operated by a Smartphone but it needs a 120VAC power source for recharging.

Winch
I know what an ATV winch is. I have one on my ATV and it rated at 3500 lbs so it is definitely powerful enough and comes with a 12 foot remote extension switch. It can be easily powered by the 12v house batteries. I will talk to my friend and see what we can design.

I was hoping for a ready made 12v garage door power unit that we could just connect up but things are not always that simple. I will continue watching this thread for the next couple of days before making any decisions.

Thanks to everyone for your help and ideas.

LeRoy

[TNGW1500SE]

tarnold wrote:
Smallest harbor freight rv winch. All the power you need, 12v.

Or a ATV winch

[Homeless_by_Cho]

MrWizard wrote:
What type of door is it
How does it open now
Gas struts lift up
Drop down ramp
Roll up
The way it opens will determine what can be tried

Besides being properly adjusted, it is properly lube.

How does it open now
It is a flat 7 foot high by 8 foot wide steel framed deck capable of supporting an automobile that is hinged on the bottom. It has an outside handle that you need to pull outward and down to open it. There is a torsion spring around a shaft with pulleys and cables on each end (exactly like a home or commercial garage door) that are attached to the ramp. The torsion spring is adjusted to hold the door stationary at about a 45 to 90 degree angle. It will open farther by itself if pushed down below the 90 degree point and it will close by itself if raised up above the 45 degree point. This is a standard Toy Hauler ramp.

Gas struts lift up
No, see above.

Drop down ramp
Yes, see above

Roll up
No, see above.

LeRoy

[tarnold]

Smallest harbor freight rv winch. All the power you need, 12v.

[MrWizard]

What type of door is it
How does it open now
Gas struts lift up
Drop down ramp
Roll up
The way it opens will determine what can be tried

[johntank]

Homeless by Choice wrote:
My friend, who is a little elderly, has a terrible time opening and closing his toy hauler rear ramp. Everything is properly adjusted but he no longer has much upper body strength and he walks with a cane. I was wondering it anyone knows of a 12vdc garage door opener or how to modify a 120v unit. If such an opener/modification exists, maybe I can adapt it to his trailer.

Thanks,
LeRoy

If his ramp has the spring cable system one might be able to modify a landing gear motor to work to wind/unwind the spring rod.

[DrewE]

Ryobi sells a garage door opener that can be powered from their One+ tool batteries; they claim 100 openings with a battery charge and the largest battery in the system, I assume under ideal conditions. I am pretty sure it's set up to recharge the battery automatically when it has AC power available. Home Depot sells them. They also have various other accessories that can be attached, things like a fan, bluetooth speaker, and tire inflator.

Other than that, I'd think the easiest "modification" would be to power an ordinary garage door opener with a suitably sized inverter. Actually making it 12V powered would presumably mean changing out the motor for a 12V DC motor and likely changing the control circuitry as well. It would be theoretically possible, but require a fair bit of effort and custom engineering, redneck or otherwise.