Much more reasonably priced car :: 2014 Mitsubishi SE w/Convenience package(adds crui

I saw that a while back. How did that not catch on?

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Originally Posted by Wallythacker

I have a ramp on a light trailer and wonder if it is a major drag? I suspect it is even though the sq. ft. area isn't huge.

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At 60+mph I bet it would be a lot of drag ... for a Mirage.

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Originally Posted by Wallythacker

I have a ramp on a light trailer and wonder if it is a major drag? I suspect it is even though the sq. ft. area isn't huge.Attachment 24812

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I suspect there's a good amount of drag. That's why trailers with ramps that fold in half are somewhat popular. This one is called a bi-fold ramp gate.

https://vankams.com/products/6-5-x-1...fold-ramp-gate

If I had a trailer with a ramp gate on the back, I would want the type that can be dropped flat into the trailer itself. If I was pulling my trailer empty, I would lay the ramp down flat inside.

I do like the tilt bed feature of my 4' x 8' trailer. I drive things up, it flops down, & locks into place automatically. If I am loading/hauling/unloading firewood, gravel, & such I find it easier to load without a ramp in the rear, too. If I want to strap a 12' board or something on it, there's no ramp in the way.

I used my brother's trailer at my dad's last weekend, & I found the ramp to be annoying for what we wanted to do around the yard. I would rather use my trailer, but it was 4 hours away at the time.

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Originally Posted by Mark

If I had a trailer with a ramp gate on the back, I would want the type that can be dropped flat into the trailer itself. If I was pulling my trailer empty, I would lay the ramp down flat inside.

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That's Ed Zachery what I do with the trailer I've got in the picture with my ATV on it, a page back maybe.

It has simple brackets welded to the lift gate. The gate gets stood up close to straight up, and spring loaded pins insert into holes in those brackets and lock the gate in place. Very clever, very simple. But it irked me to have that gate standing up like a barn door in the wind. Even though it is grated, or whatever it is called with all the holes, there so much friggin turbulence through all those friggin holes, that it got to be closer to the drag of a solid gate then what it looks like it would be.

To lay it down forward, those welded on plates hit the wood floor, ramped the gate off the floor and would have cracked and toe-up the floor. So instead, I drilled out relief holes where the plates would otherwise gouge the floor. And now the gate lays flat on the floor. Next problem ... the gate bangs the floor, friggin loud. So I put some foam cushion on the top corners of the gate, and I strap the gate down. Problem solved.

The next problem is, I'm enough OCD that now I want the gate down all the darn time. I figured out how to lay the gate down with the ATV on it. Then I have a designated parking spot for the ATV that minimizes weight on the Mirage (or any vehicle). I saw a video where they said that the same tongue load on the hitch empty and loaded equated to the best tow manners. I had my doubts, I'd always been taught to put 10% of the loads weight on the tow vehicle. But the Mirage, while badazz, is no 3/4 ton Ram. So, I thought it a good subject to test that new info. It worked really well. But I had the gate up. I suspect the next iteration I should be able to get ~30 mpg towing that ATV. I did another tow where I towed just the empty trailer and got 35 mpg (gate down). And that was at 72 mph. What an efficient tow vehicle!


7milesout

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Originally Posted by 7milesout

That's Ed Zachery what I do with the trailer I've got in the picture with my ATV on it, a page back maybe.

It has simple brackets welded to the lift gate. The gate gets stood up close to straight up, and spring loaded pins insert into holes in those brackets and lock the gate in place. Very clever, very simple. But it irked me to have that gate standing up like a barn door in the wind. Even though it is grated, or whatever it is called with all the holes, there so much friggin turbulence through all those friggin holes, that it got to be closer to the drag of a solid gate then what it looks like it would be.

To lay it down forward, those welded on plates hit the wood floor, ramped the gate off the floor and would have cracked and toe-up the floor. So instead, I drilled out relief holes where the plates would otherwise gouge the floor. And now the gate lays flat on the floor. Next problem ... the gate bangs the floor, friggin loud. So I put some foam cushion on the top corners of the gate, and I strap the gate down. Problem solved.

The next problem is, I'm enough OCD that now I want the gate down all the darn time. I figured out how to lay the gate down with the ATV on it. Then I have a designated parking spot for the ATV that minimizes weight on the Mirage (or any vehicle). I saw a video where they said that the same tongue load on the hitch empty and loaded equated to the best tow manners. I had my doubts, I'd always been taught to put 10% of the loads weight on the tow vehicle. But the Mirage, while badazz, is no 3/4 ton Ram. So, I thought it a good subject to test that new info. It worked really well. But I had the gate up. I suspect the next iteration I should be able to get ~30 mpg towing that ATV. I did another tow where I towed just the empty trailer and got 35 mpg (gate down). And that was at 72 mph. What an efficient tow vehicle!


7milesout

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The gate on my brother's trailer will lay flat, but you have to pull two pins on the bottom. That allows the bottom of the ramp to pivot properly. It's only useful when going somewhere empty. Once you load something like an ATV, you would need to lock it upright again.

In our case we were splitting firewood for my Dad, and throwing it on the trailer. It was just a matter of hauling the wood across the yard afterwards. In that case, the ramp is just a nuisance & hard to work around if upright.

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Originally Posted by 7milesout

That's Ed Zachery what I do with the trailer I've got in the picture with my ATV on it, a page back maybe.

It has simple brackets welded to the lift gate. The gate gets stood up close to straight up, and spring loaded pins insert into holes in those brackets and lock the gate in place. Very clever, very simple. But it irked me to have that gate standing up like a barn door in the wind. Even though it is grated, or whatever it is called with all the holes, there so much friggin turbulence through all those friggin holes, that it got to be closer to the drag of a solid gate then what it looks like it would be.

To lay it down forward, those welded on plates hit the wood floor, ramped the gate off the floor and would have cracked and toe-up the floor. So instead, I drilled out relief holes where the plates would otherwise gouge the floor. And now the gate lays flat on the floor. Next problem ... the gate bangs the floor, friggin loud. So I put some foam cushion on the top corners of the gate, and I strap the gate down. Problem solved.

The next problem is, I'm enough OCD that now I want the gate down all the darn time. I figured out how to lay the gate down with the ATV on it. Then I have a designated parking spot for the ATV that minimizes weight on the Mirage (or any vehicle). I saw a video where they said that the same tongue load on the hitch empty and loaded equated to the best tow manners. I had my doubts, I'd always been taught to put 10% of the loads weight on the tow vehicle. But the Mirage, while badazz, is no 3/4 ton Ram. So, I thought it a good subject to test that new info. It worked really well. But I had the gate up. I suspect the next iteration I should be able to get ~30 mpg towing that ATV. I did another tow where I towed just the empty trailer and got 35 mpg (gate down). And that was at 72 mph. What an efficient tow vehicle!


7milesout

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The info about the tongue load is very informative, thanks. I'll put that to the test when I have to move a large riding mower for a friend.

I'm going to calculate the exact area my ramp occupies. The more I look at it I think it might be as much as 6-9 sq. ft. If it's close to 9 imagine putting a 3' square sheet on the Mirage roof and then go driving @70 mph. No wonder the Mirage bogs.

Fortunately I have a 4' x 8' aluminum box trailer which I know only weights in about 240 lb. empty. It has a small ramp, only a foot long but this trailer tilts to load and unload. That and I still have a great set of 78" aluminum ramps which are very light. Both my larger trailers are on the market, I simply make do with the one that doesn't sell. It's silly for me to sell my small Northern Tool 4' x 4' aluminum trailer. It's crazy expensive to replace it now, about 3 X what I paid.

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Originally Posted by Fummins

Attachment 24805

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I just spotted this on the youtube. They beat me to it lol
Attachment 24898

The sun deck out back is a nice touch, as is the rooftop spoiler and the satellite dish.

Or maybe they were trying a new take on the Millennium Falcon. The laser canons must be on the far side of the rig.

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Originally Posted by Fummins

I just spotted this on the youtube. They beat me to it lol
Attachment 24898

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Is it a FWD, RWD, or 4WD rig?

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Originally Posted by Fummins

I just spotted this on the youtube. They beat me to it lol
Attachment 24898

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Soccer mom cave?