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Steel vs. aluminum ramps, the 6 month test settled it for me
We run a two man crew doing equipment deliveries around Columbus, and last spring I bought both a steel and an aluminum set of 8 foot ramps for our dump trailer. The steel set was about $220 cheaper up front, but after six months of weekly loads, the aluminum ones are the ones we grab first every time. The steel ramps weigh 85 pounds each and are a real back breaker when we're setting them up solo, while the aluminum ones are 45 pounds and easy to handle. The steel also started showing surface rust along the edges after the first month of salt and rain, but the aluminum looks like the day we got it. Has anyone else run a similar test, and did the weight difference matter as much to you as it did to us?
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victorhill24d ago
The weight thing really depends on how you're loading. We run a 10 foot steel set on our flatbed and yeah they're heavy, but 85 pounds is nothing when two guys are lifting. Aluminum flexes something awful under a 4,000 pound skid steer, you can see the middle bow every time. Rust is a fair point, but a rattle can of paint once a season costs way less than the aluminum price gap over the life of the ramps. Give those aluminum ones another year and check the welds at the rungs, that's where I've seen them crack.
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