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Cargo Van Ramps vs. Stowable Walk Ramp
08
Aug
Aug
While the world’s best athletes competed in Paris at their top level, your business continues every day to push the bounds of peak performance, striving to perfect your own craft. And just as those athletes were supported by the finest instruments available, you too deserve the best possible equipment to aid your business through its trials and contests.
While your business has already been utilizing a cargo van or box truck to make deliveries or move equipment, you’ve realized the loading process in and out of the van can be improved and are looking for just the right product to help you improve the safety and efficiency of that process. Continue reading to discover why our HandiRamp cargo van ramps are assured to be more valuable to your business than a portable delivery ramp.
The Competition
If the HandiRamp Cargo Van Ramp we all know and love had competed, it would’ve most likely been a weightlifter because of how professionally it can handle extreme stress sustained from heavy use while staying stable and durable for an extended period of time.
The CVR comes available in five different length options, three width options, and two weight-capacity options. The smallest ramp is the 7 ft Short ramp, followed by the 9 ft Medium ramp, the 10.5 ft Long ramp, the 12 ft Extra Long ramp, and then the 15 ft Extra-Extra Long ramp. Every one of these ramps comes available in any of the three width variations — 36 inches, 45 inches, and 52 inches — and either of the 1000 lb or 1500 lb capacities.
These ramps are attached directly to the floor of the van or truck using a series of bolts with a simple installation process that can be done by two people in around two hours. The ramps can either be bi-fold or tri-fold while stowed in the vehicle when not in use and can be easily deployed or stowed by a single person. Folding van ramps are always available, safe, and easy to use.
To learn more about finding which ramps are the perfect fit for your business, click here, and to browse through the optional add-ons and accessories for any HandiRamp ramp purchases click here.
An Alternative: The Walk Ramp
If you’ve yet to be sold on the cargo van ramp it may be because you are considering a portable slider or aluminum walk ramp. This kind of ramp isn’t permanently installed onto the vehicle as a cargo van ramp is, but rather stowed inside or underneath the vehicle and pulled out when needed.
There are a variety of commercial walk ramps available, but their features are essentially the same. For heavy-duty use of up to 1,500 lbs, walk ramps are of a fixed length and do not fold in half. Because the load height of a cargo van or box truck can be as high as 30” to 48”, a ramp length of up to 16 feet is required for safe, efficient use. A long walk ramp translates into a heavy lift and walk ramps above 12 feet in length can weigh over 150 lbs, requiring two strong operators to manage the ramp into position.
Walk ramps, while cumbersome to stow and maneuver, can make moving cargo much more efficient and safer. By allowing the use of a hand truck to move cargo, and eliminating the need to manually lift items from the ground into the van or truck, walk ramps can offer significant value.
All commercial walk ramps include some sort of apron or hooks at the top end to secure the ramp to the truck. The surfaces of a walk ramp typically have horizontal ridges that provide traction up and down the ramp. In most cases this is sufficient, but there’s no side-to-side traction if the load shifts and you need to make a lateral move to regain control.
Unlike cargo van ramps that allow one employee to quickly and safely deploy the ramp,moving a commercial walk ramp from its stowed position into a use configuration often requires two people. While a walk ramp does make unloading and loading easier when its properly set up, the loss of speed and efficiency when compared to a cargo van ramp is significant. To better demonstrate the operational differences between a walk ramp and a cargo van ramp, let’s compare the two in a typical use scenario.
Let’s imagine that you’re working from a commercial van or box truck with a load height that requires the safety of a 12-foot ramp. With an aluminum walk ramp, you’d either have to stow the ramp in the vehicle, taking up a fair amount of cargo space, or in a specially-made cradle underneath the van or truck. At approximately 120 lbs, you would definitely need two people to deploy the walk ramp safely.
By contrast, a 12-foot folding cargo van ramp can be deployed by one person of virtually any stature in less than a minute. When folded cargo van ramps take up only 12” to 18” of floor space in the truck or van, far less than a typical walk ramp would take even if laid on its side.
Another point of comparison is the price. A walk ramp of comparable length can be half the cost of a cargo van ramp. For example, a 12-foot walk ramp that’s 39” wide would typically cost around $1,200. A cargo van ramp of similar length and width would run about $3,400 before shipping. While the walk ramps have a lower initial cost, they require more manpower and time to deploy, making them more costly than a cargo van ramp very quickly. Here’s an example. If your van or box truck has to carry two people around in order to handle the walk ramp safely, the lower initial cost of the walk ramp will evaporate in less than a month.
Off to the Races
Ready to elevate your business above all of the competition with an investment in new cargo van ramps? Head here right now to begin selecting the ideal cargo van ramp for your business’s unique situation and click here to browse through HandiRamp’s catalog of available ramp accessories.
Do not worry if you are still undecided, we’ve got your back. You can click here straight away to continue inspecting our commercial walk ramp offering or read along here about why direct-to-floor ramp installation makes for tougher and more reliable ramps.
Thank you for reading and hopefully you found this both entertaining and educational. If you have any lingering questions, please call our ramp experts at 800-876-7267 to discuss anything from delivery to pre or post-installation help to custom solutions. Stay tuned for more tips, information, and updates from HandiRamp.
