Building ramp for shed

nikeman

Nice my shed is built I am going to need a ramp for sure. One side of the door is 26" off the ground and the other side is 21" high. I want to eventually get a riding mower to store in there so I need a ramp that's not steep. How steep should I make it so that a mower can easily ride up it in reverse and not risk flipping the thing when going down it?

Ironlight

I think how steep you can make it is going to be more of a function of ground clearance between the axles. You don't want the departure angle of the ramp from the shed threshold so steep that the mower bottoms out in the middle. You'll have to calculate that based on what mower you want to get but I would bet that anything steeper than 20-25% would be problematic.

princelake

probably 5-7feet. throw a piece of plywood(4x8) down and look at it and cut it till it looks pretty good and ta da

nikeman

A sheet of plywood would only last a year or so in the rain if I'm lucky. I plan on using treated wood for the top of the ramp and treated 2x6s for the base. That's in my head now anyway. The shed should be completed this coming weekend when the door, windows, and siding.

DexterII

As Ironlight said, the angle is going to be a function of the type of mower that you will buy, and the clearance that the deck provides, so stop my a few lawn and garden centers, take some dimensions, and sketch it out. A couple of thoughts though; if these ramps will be permanently positioned, have you considered earth, with grass seed? If not permanent, how about a set of light weight aluminum ramps for loading things in a pickup or trailer? Probably less cost than posts, planks, etc., and easy to stand against the wall, inside, when not in use.

ratherbefishing

Pressure treated 2x8s were 8 feet long. That's how long I made my ramp. Why cut 'em? It lasted 18 years before I replaced it with a deck. Then I used the old 2x8s to make a raised garden bed last year.

Is the ground level where the ramp will end?

nikeman

My entire yard slopes down from the house, some places steeper then others do no it's not level where the ramp will end. Me and my dad are going to play with it Sunday (if weather allows shed to be completed Saturday as planned). I have a little trail that leads to my back gate that's maybe 5' away from the shed and I was hoping to avoid blocking it at all but it's no biggie. I can always reroute the trail when it's all said and done.