Ramp Surface

[The Snitz]

Hey guys, just seeing what u's think about the surface of ur ramps, whether u like wood over expanded metal. i'm in process of makin my ramp at moment, and i got a price on the expanded metal today (135mm) and it was $192.50 for a 3 metre by 1.2 metre sheet (Black too, not galvanised). so it's gonna cost me $450 for 6.5 metres long of the stuff. not sure if thats a good price or not, i'm gonna give a few more places a buzz soon.
How much is wood generally, and what do u have to do to it, so it wont' rot away. and also how long does it take for it to rot?

and if there is any other surface u can think of...?

Give us some thoughts guys

[intense fmx 03]

i think most ppl use marine ply?

[The Snitz]

oh rite... where can ya get that? bunnings or something? how much?

[Mungoman45]

Holy CRAP man, $450 is a shitload for "just" the surface of ya ramp. That'd be more than a normal whole ramp would cost, lol. but hey, it's your ramp, and your money........
I use 17mm Plywood for my surface, at a cost of $64 per 2400 x 120cm sheet. Then i put 3 coats of "intergrain Dimension" weather proofing undercoat ($16.95/1L) on it and then 2 coats of "Intergrain DWD" surface weatherproofing ($29.95/1L) after that. and Bobs ya uncle I'm all done. I couldn't say how long it would last if left out in the weather, still goin strong, so we'll just have to wait and see i guess. Hope ya ramp turns out great :D

[Mungoman45]

And Marine ply is around $70 a 2400 x 120cm sheet. I was gunna use that, but figured i couldn't soften it to bend it using water, so i opted for the plywood.

[The Snitz]

yeah i know $450 sucks arse... and that was the cheapest stuff i could get off that one place aswell... so yeah after i got the price i knew it'd prolly come to using ply lol!
unless of course someone knows of it being half the price then i would use the metal

[fmx_MetaL]

all the ply from my ramp rotted away, im getting mesh 4 it soon, ill tell u how it is once i can ride again

[The Snitz]

(grid)mesh and expanded metal are the same thing ay...

[Shifty]

I am using Checker Plate for Mine. Pretty Strong. Not too $$$

I am payin 120 all up cover 5 metersx2.3 meters.

Checker plate is nice because its strong and has nice grip on it


People down here in ACT quoted me 127 a length for expanded mesh.


You need 2 lengths

[The Snitz]

checker plate... didn't think of that
bonza idea mate
have u ridden on it yet?

yeahhh i knew these dirty arabs up here were tryin to rip me off for mesh... lol bastards!

[Shifty]

No but at the X games. The White ramps there. They had Checker Plate.

Or Mild Steel.

[Shifty]

I expect it to be the same as ply but a bit for grippy.

And the good thing is it doesnt rot.

[The Snitz]

awesome dude, well i'll have to hunt down some prices of checker up here, see what i can find. 5m x 2.3m? are u making a quad jump? have u got pics of the ramps at X usin checkered?

[shirefmx]

the cheapest way is to use 17mm d grade ply ... which is just normal ply but the surface isn't as good as some other ply so its cheaper ... $57 a sheet ... then you paint it with outdoor wood primer and then a coat of any paint you like with coarse sand or silica mixed in it ... what you do is paint the sheets with a roller brush then sprinkle the sand on it then pain over ... kepp repeating then put a few more coats of just paint .... i've got a ramp with ply thats had the same ply for 3 years without repainting and it's not rotting at all

[shirefmx]

ohh and that ramp the metal is starting to rust but the ply is still fine .... just make sure if you use ply you have the cross supports pretty close .. like 1 foot apart

[Shifty]

LOL. Mr.Ramp comes in and contro****s my move, Tooshay sir. Tooshay.

But on the contrary. I am buying a Tarpolin to place over my ramp. Since it could be a month or 2 inbetween hits. lol

[Mungoman45]

Whats the tramp for pete?, i know ya said ya gunna put it over ya ramp, but whats the purpose? wouldn't help keep the ramp from rain or sun........

[The Snitz]

cool thanx guys!

[NOLIMITS]

I think he said tarp not trap... The tarp won't stop it from rusting.. There will be engough mosture in the air to ensure that happens.. If you use checker plate it will eventually rust out... Will take a long time (like 10 years) but it will rust... Also looks like shit once it's gone rusty...I got a peice made up for the back of my van to put my ramp on to get the bike in the van and it went rusty in one day... Looks like sh*t... If you use stainless checker no problems except it's BIG $$$$$...

[The Snitz]

yeah i gave this steel joint a ring, $69.95 for 2.4 x 1.2 sheet with thickness of 2.1 mm. and $97.70 for same sheet but thickness of 3 mm. so pretty much about $200 for a couple of sheets to cover me ramp, which is virtually same price as the plywood woohoo metal all the way

[The Snitz]

that was for checker plate to i mean

[NOLIMITS]

BTW if you are planning on using marine ply ensure you have access to high pressure steam as it's one of the only ways you will get it to bend... The good thing about marine ply is that all layers are water resistant... How do I know about the bending marine ply thing.. My old man was a Naval Engineer (builds boats)..

[Shifty]

Ahhh I love ramps.


I was thinking. To compbat the rust problem. I might see if i can paint it with some rust proof Paint. I know its not gonna protect it completly. But it will proberbly help. And will look nice too.

[shirefmx]

you guy's wouldn;t want this to happen would you? :confused: :confused:
lol ... i'm sure thats a construction error though not a material fault .... but if ya go for the checker make sure you get it pretty thick ... fmxramps.com uses 16 gauge steel with mesh over the top so if you're using checker it's wanna be at least 16 gauge, however thick that is, but yeah don't get flimsy stuff it will sag and break easily ... it'd be like someone saying they were gunna use ply for the surface then getting a piece of 8 mm 3 ply .... just not on!

my 2c

i'm sure checker will be good if it's thick enough!

[shirefmx]

oops fprgot the pic ... this is what you dont want!

[Shifty]

Uh Oh.

Somone forgot to put a support there lol. Im sure if your design was right (which mine is) it'll be fine.

About where that bend is. Mine Splits into 2. So there is no way that could happen.

[fmx to the max]

hey is $1200 to much to be paying 4 a 6 foot ramp?

[fmx to the max]

is $1200 to much to be paying 4 a 6 foot ramp? heres a pic of it

[fmx to the max]

its the smaller 1

[Mungoman45]

Well, i say it is, unless it's in new condition and can be seperated in 3 places for transportation., just my thoughts.

[fmx to the max]

cause shirefmx says he can make me a 6 foot 1 like in the picture 4 that much thats what i thought wen he said 1200 he said its like an american design can some1 speak with shire if his trying to rip me off cause i dont have much doh and this will be my first ramp i don't wanna be getting ripped off

[Mungoman45]

well, ofcourse if your getting it built by someone, you have got to expect a bit of a markup, ya cant expect to not pay for their time and effort if they're making something for someone else. Thats just the way the world worx man, I'm sure you could make one yourself for cheaper then that, but if your buying it, then expect to pay for labour.

[The Snitz]

ahh crap, wish i knew wat 16 gauge was! lol!! yeah man don't want my ramp lookin like the broke bastard! but that isn't a problem if u have the supports in the right place :)
well i'll prolly go for the 3mm stuff (it's the thickest they sell, so i should be safe)

[The Snitz]

oh hang on... 16... i imagine would be 1/8th of an inch? that works out right i think.. well that would be the 2.1 mm stuff then.. woohoo

[shirefmx]

fmx to the max... shop around .. ask some other people who make ramps ... i'm sure you won't find a brand new full size for under $2500 ... i said i could make you full size for around $1500 or one a bit smaller for $1200 ... i told you how much everything costs and i put in around 40-50 hours building each ramp .... my labour cost works out to be very cheap (like less than $15 an hour) if you think thats expensive go to a metal fabrication shop and get charged $40 an hour... sure their work will be a bit neater than mine but the ramp will also cost you over 2 grand easily.

[shirefmx]

ohh and everyone that $1200 was for a BRAND NEW ramp ready to ride.

heck if you go and buy the materials, tool bits (i.e grinding disks and welding rods) and plans/instructions on how to build a ramp it will cost more than that.

so no i am not ripping you off ... i'd be ripping myself off if i did it any cheaper!

[fmx to the max]

yeh sox shirefmx ill get back to u about buying it as soon as possible cause dad wont buy until he sees me riding well agin wich is a bit hard to ride if its been either raining liek nothin else or windy like a tornedo or im just to busy but yeh i was just questioning about the ramps as ya gotta be careful what ya buy as i didn't know how much really it would cost so now that i know ur not ripping me of good and ill try and ride soon as possible but yah my apoligies

and with my new msn adress ill probebly be on my old 1 motodude91 than my new 1 fmx_trooper_ryan@hotmail.com so don't worry about that ill be on my old 1 probebly more often. cheers.

[yamaha_freak]

well i dont know much but when i build my ramp i wanna put a surface on it that is almost transperent(see through) so it will look mad
it'lll be a bit on the expensive side but hey its all bout the looks

[The Snitz]

glass aint gonna work... plastic aint gonna work... what else is transperent... apart from gridmesh?

[yamaha_freak]

i dont have a clue
but my ramps not going to be ready for ages so i got time to figure something out

[shirefmx]

expanded sheet mesh is see through and what heaps of people use. it's best to put normal sheet metal under it fisrt so it doesn't sage though ... but some people have it without

[yamaha_freak]

but if you put that shit under will it still be transperent?

[shirefmx]

nope.

if you want just expanded shet then you need pretty thick stuff and more cross supports than on a normal ramp or it will sag.

ohh and expanded is very expensive

[yamaha_freak]

yeah i was going to put them either every half foot or every 3/4foot what would be better?

[The Snitz]

yeah expanded is exy.. i put a price of it up earlier on in this thread, think it was $192 for a 1.2 x 3 metre sheet. so it'll cost $400 or more just for the surface
prolly every foot would be enough

[Shifty]

I dont think you want just exapanded mesh. I have heard that it takes your conearntration away from the jump from looking through it.

I dunno im not sure

[yamaha_freak]

well i have a short attention span so i think i'll look at it like wow shit im going to hit this for a sec then lose concetration on that and focus
none of that made sense did it?

[The Snitz]

yeah it would be a bit weird, but i imagine if u just concentrate on the tip of the ramp u'd prolly be alright... well thats what i do

[yamaha_freak]

o so true

[The Snitz]

Ay, well... since it's gonna cost me near 900 for expanded metal and the local bloke can't get me checkered plate (well the right type) i'm back to bloody wood... how much ply do u guys use? i'm usin 5 or 7 (whatever is in the shed, pretty sure it's 7 tho) is pretty thick either way

[shirefmx]

i use 17mm d grade ply which is basically ply wood with a few imperfections of the surface layer so they sell it a bit cheaper. then i paint it with a roller and sprinkly really gritty sand onto the paint then do another layer and repeat untill you get a grippy surface that doesn't rub off too easy.

[The Snitz]

too easy... what supports have u got? how far apart... cos i got 1x2 inch every 50ish centimetres for the checkered plate, but i imagine i'll have to put more support in between for the ply

[shirefmx]

i've got 1 x 1 inch cross supports about every foot .. a little bit closer in the main bit of the curve that cops the most abuse ( near the bottom to halfway up) then at the top they spread out a bit ... here.

[shirefmx]

haha i just realised the curve looks wierd in that angle ... its not really like that ... lol .

[The Snitz]

christ... that is weird lookin curve lol!
thanx mate, i was thinkin doin them about every foot.
that's a tidy lookin ramp, what did u make it out of... when i get a digi cam, i'll take a pic of mine, i've used 40x40 galvanised stuff for the main part of the ramp, then used inchxinch for the curve ( i just bent the curve around mums garden fence, irrigators, 4 wheelers, whatever i could use to bend them, and then put 2x1 cross supports in every 50 or so centimetres, and now i'll have 1x1 inbetween each 2x1 support

[shirefmx]

yeah the curve looks funny at that angle but it's not really like it looks in that pic .... its a rev 1 curve

umm that ramp is made out of a mixture of 1 inch x 1 inch rhs and 40 x 40 angle .... thats why it has so many damn supports cause of the shitty steal i used ... but hey the stell for it cost me nothing. and i bent my curve by putting all the upright supports in the right places then just bending the side rail onto the supports and tack welding them up one at a time .... where the curve is its steepest my dad and brother had to stand on it to get the metal to touch the uprights but it turned out good....

[The Snitz]

yeah i bent one curve to how i wanted it ( sort of like aussie comp), cut steel to length, tacced it on, then bent the other curve to approx the same as first, then layed them both on the ground, and clamped everything to make it exactly the same everywhere as the first side, and now it's come out pretty schmick... i went and bought this "Perm-a-tar" stuff today.... like a tar paint type thing to paint the whole frame since it's goin to be sittin out in the whether and in the dirt... did u just bolt the ply straight onto the box section, or did u get seperate pieces of metal?

[shirefmx]

yeah i just bolted straight onto the cross members .... i guess you could weld extra tabs on but it's not really necesary.

[The Snitz]

yeah i was gonna do that but dad told me to get tabs, cos he didn't want the thing to rust on me (from the holes in the cross members). i think he just likes me spendin shitloads of money on relatively useless crap.

[redbull_fmx]

go to your local steel shop at night and steal it

[The Snitz]

lol ah well, it's here now and paid for... so yeah doin all the tabs this w/e while i'm back, see how fast i get it done as to whether i can finish ramp this w/e. bloody hope so, cos i wanna start hittin very soon!

[Shifty]

Im basically building my Aussie Comp from 40X40, Then the tranny and Supports will be 20x20. Then i am payin the extra and gettin expanded mesh yay. lol

[The Snitz]

gettin it rolled ur doin urself?

[Shifty]

Im gettin it rolled at local Fabricator shop. $50 for both radius' :) Cheap :)

[fudgy]

apparently theres a place in smith feild that does em for $20 bux a rail

[The Snitz]

geez... feels like i'm makin no progress at all... spent virtually all day... bout 6 hours or so, welding the whole ramp up. had everything tacked before hand, but now everythings schmick. all i'm doin now is these tabs for the ply... whcih is gonna take me forever to do, probably most of tomorrow, then slap me ply on prolly next weekend when i'm home.
dad and i are havin a bit of an argument tho (which he's gonna win anyway... cos u know parentals who are engineers think they're always right), shire - how many bolts did u use on each 2.4 sheet of ply? and how did u arrange them... i imagine just across the ramp on each support underneath (none up the side tranny hopefully lol).

[Shifty]

It takes a long time to build a ramp decent.


As every wise father says, If its worth doing, its worth doing decent

[The Snitz]

lol... another 7 hours spent on it today... and fark me dead still done about as much as yesty (well got heaps done, but doesn't show to the average joe).... yeah i said to dad tonight... can i do this instead of this... "NO like bloody hell... your gonna make this thing ****en right!" lol... ah well, it'll be worth it in the end

[Shifty]

Hahah, Pat him on the head and say "right on Pops" lol

Yeah, should be great when ya finished dude. When are we gonna see some pictures off the master peice?

[The Snitz]

yeah ole pops... he's crook as a dog at the moment but can still manage to argue like buggery. lol

when me mate brings his digi cam back up... (and has batteries!!!)
i'll take a few pics of it.

[redbull_fmx]

knock down a couple phone boxes and steal the metal with holes in that they use on the side

[The Snitz]

yeah, i been lookin in all the refrigerated trucks over at the factory at where i work, and they've all got 3 lengths of checkered plate in each... thinkin might get a shifter out and pinch it.... "from the back of a truck" lol

[Shifty]

lol I would red_bull but they are alluminum not Steel

[shirefmx]

hey snitz i just put two screws on every support on the sides ... i was gunna put 3 but thought the middle ones would rip your tyres up pretty bad .... two is enough just make sure they are tight! lol.

[The Snitz]

yeah u don't need many ay... but dad wants me to put them every 4 inches or so... that'd end up being 200 or so for whole ramp! which u don't need i know, he's thinkin that the reflex action of the wood has potential to rip bolts through the ply.. but yeah, when its finished i'll post a pic of it to show ya just how many bolts he wants me to put in lol..

[shirefmx]

hahaha fair enough but i wouldn't put any more than 4 on each support and leave enough gap for ya tyres or you'll be rippin them to shreads. make sure you use flange head bolts and the won't get ripped through as long as you have the wood on nice and tight so it can't flex independantly to the frame ... thats when you'll get problems and cracks in your wood.

p.s. your dad sounds like a bit of a safety engineering geek . lol just kidding.

[The Snitz]

lol he is!