One weekend last winter, a buddy asked if I wanted to snowmobile out of his lake place 200 miles away. In previous years, I would have had to: (1) Drive to my parents’ place to pick up a trailer; (2) haul that trailer up and back with one lonely sled on it; and (3) find a place to stash the trailer once I got there, because my buddy’s place doesn’t have room for a truck-and-trailer combo to pull in.
Last winter, though, I just pulled out my new Caliber Ramp Pro HD, unfolded it, attached it to my half-ton GMC Sierra and drove my MXZ into the truck’s bed. Within minutes, I had the ramp re-folded, pinned together and secured in the truck bed beside my snowmobile. Done.
Best yet, there was no trailer swapping behind my truck on the 400-mile round trip. Plus I got 18 MPG instead of the 11 MPG I usually get when towing a trailer. Plus, I had ultimate agility in gas station lots, fast-food drivethrus or my friend’s driveway.
Snowmobile Hauling Made Easy
For pickup truck-owning snowmobilers who travel by themselves, putting the sled in the bed can be a smart option. If, that is, you have a quality ramp. I was intrigued by the Caliber Ramp Pro HD because of those two letters at the back. It definitely lives up to the Heavy Duty abbreviation. It’s rated to handle a 3,000-pound vehicle, resulting in year-round capabilities – ATVs, UTVs, race cars, you name it.
The Ramp Pro HD features a tri-fold design. Folded together, it’s 26 inches wide by 90 inches long. Pull out the center pin and flop down the two, foot-wide drive-on ramp sections and it measures 52 by 90 inches. Those drive-on sections came pre-installed with 11.5-inch wide, composite LowPro Grip-Glides, which made driving or even walking up and down the ramp easier. The 90-inch length creates a nice, gradual approach when loading or unloading.
The system attached to my truck quickly and easily. Six rubber-coated extensions are placed on top of the tailgate. The ramp was then secured by attaching the handy, retractable strap to my receiver hitch assembly. Once the sled was loaded, I could quickly unhook the strap, pull the ramp away from the truck, fold in the outer sections and pin it together.
The product itself oozed of quality – with smooth welds, solid hinges and quality materials. After a full season of use, it’s still in great shape. There are just a couple of small grooves into the glides from my carbide runners. The only thing I didn’t like was that the quarter-inch pin that is meant to hold the folded-in sections together allowed the sections to flex out slightly. I replaced it with a 5/16-inch pin from the hardware store and it was sturdier.
One downside to a ramp this sturdy and full-featured, though, is its relative girth.
It weighed 64 pounds, making it rather cumbersome to move around compared to some lighter designs. (That includes Caliber’s 45-pound Ramp Pro 2.0 that is rated at 1,500 pounds). If you’re not going to use the ramp for heavier items, the HD version might be a bit of an overkill. But I liked its capabilities.
INFO
Ramp Pro HD – $799.95
Caliber
Burnsville, Minnesota
Caliberproductsinc.com
STOUT: It lived up to its HD name, with a sturdy, full-featured design. But it may be overbuilt for snowmobile-only uses.
VERSATILE: The drive-up ramp sections can be removed from the main body utilizing a couple of quick pins, allowing them to be used for wider or narrower vehicles.
SYSTEM: With dollies under the skis, I could load out of my garage without scuffing the floor. The dollies would get kicked out when they hit the heading edge of the Caliber ramp.
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