Loading Ramps - Choose the Right Ramps (Without Wasting Your Money)

Buying loading ramps should be simple... right? But get a few key things wrong, and you'll be up the creek without a paddle when you go to use your new loading ramps.

Too short, and the angle's so steep you're white-knuckling it the whole way up. Too light, and they flex under your machine — that horrible springy feeling where you start wondering if they'll hold. Too heavy, and you can't lift them in and out of the trailer on your own, which defeats the entire point.

Getting it wrong doesn't just cost you the price of a second set. It leaves you with a loading setup that's slower, more painful, and genuinely dangerous — for you and for whatever you're trying to load.

So let's fix that. This guide walks you through every decision that actually matters: material, length, weight rating, folding versus straight, and which ramp suits which job. By the end you'll know exactly what to buy for your setup — no guessing, no second trip.

Aluminium or steel loading ramps?

This is the first call to make, and it knocks out half your options straight away. Aluminium and steel ramps are built for different lives, and picking the wrong one causes grief from day one.

Aluminium loading ramps are lighter, they don't rust, and one person can handle them. A 2.3m aluminium folding pair weighs somewhere around 18 to 22kg all up — light enough to lift, position and stack away on your own. And because aluminium doesn't corrode, it suits how ramps actually get used in Australia: chucked in the back of the ute, left in a shed with no aircon, dragged out in the rain, and copping coastal salt air the rest of the time. For just about any job up to roughly 3,000kg a pair — ride-on mowers, ATVs, quads, motorbikes, small excavators, most trade gear — aluminium is the way to go.

Steel loading ramps are heavier, stronger, and cheaper per kilo of capacity. They earn their keep in permanent setups — loading docks, fixed trailer ramps, anything that bolts on once and stays put. The catch is weight (a steel pair can run 40 to 80kg), rust (you'll be painting and babying them, especially up north or near the coast), and the simple fact that you can't easily move them around. If the ramps live on the trailer and never come off, steel's fine. If you're lifting them on and off yourself, aluminium wins every time.

That's why Ramped Up only stocks aluminium loading ramps. The people buying them — tradies, farmers, property owners, weekend riders — overwhelmingly need something portable, rust-proof, and manageable solo. The whole range is aluminium.

What weight rating do you actually need?

This is the spec people get wrong most often, so it's worth slowing down on.

The number on the box is the maximum for the pair — not per ramp. And it assumes the load sits evenly across both ramps at the same time. So here's the rule worth remembering: go at least 25% above your heaviest load. That margin isn't me being cautious for the sake of it. When something drives up a ramp, the moving weight could push above the static figure on the spec sheet. The buffer covers that.

ALso, don't look at the model number of your machine, and assume becaus eit has a 1.7 in it, you can buy 1.8 tonne ramps - that alleged 1.7t weight may not include the fluids, attachments, new canopy of the operator who had a few too many pies at Christmas - so make sure you calculate the true weight of your machine before deciding on a load rating.

Here's how it shakes out for the common jobs:

• Motorbikes and e-scooters (80–200kg): the 230kg folding ramp at $89 handles this easily.
• Ride-on mowers (160–300kg): the 460kg pair at $239 or the 680kg pair at $259.
• ATVs and quad bikes (250–450kg): the 680kg pair at $259 or step up to the 1,000kg pair at $359.
• Small excavators and bobcats (1,000–2,500kg): the straight, non-folding pairs — from 1,800kg at $549 up to 3,000kg at $1,249.
• Heavy machinery (3,000–5,000kg): the 5,000kg pair at $1,399.

If you're loading tracked machines or anything on aggressive rubber tread, have a look at the Sureweld Rubber Series — the textured surface is built specifically for grip where smooth aluminium would let you down.

How long should your loading ramps be?

Length sets the angle, and the angle sets how safe and controlled the whole thing feels.

Keep it under 18 degrees for anything on wheels, and under 15 degrees for tracked gear like mini excavators. The maths is dead simple: measure your trailer deck or ute tray height off the ground, then —

• For an 18-degree angle, you want a ramp about 3.2 times that height.
• For 15 degrees, about 3.9 times.

In real terms: a standard single-axle trailer sitting at 500mm wants a ramp around 1.6 to 2.1m. A ute tray at 800mm needs 2.3m or more. A tandem or plant trailer at 700mm is comfortable on 2.3 to 2.8m.

Ramped Up carries 1.6m, 2.1m, 2.3m, 2.4m and 3.2m lengths across the range, so there's a fit for pretty much any Aussie trailer or ute on the road.

Folding or straight — which design suits the job?

Folding ramps hinge in the middle and fold in half for storage and transport. If you're carting them in the ute, tucking them into the shed, or lifting them on and off regularly, that's a genuine, every-single-day kind of advantage. They suit lighter to mid-range loads — Ramped Up's folding pairs run from 230kg up to 1,600kg. Yes, the fold introduces a hinge point, but on a quality aluminium ramp that hinge is reinforced and rated to take the full load without any flex.

Straight (non-folding) ramps are a single piece of aluminium per side. No hinge, no fold, nothing to give. They're stiffer, take heavier loads, and spread the weight more evenly. The trade-off is obvious the first time you go to pack one away — a 3.2m straight ramp travels full-length, so it's riding in the trailer or strapped down the side. For anything over about 1,500kg, tracked machines, or a permanent trailer setup where the ramps just live there, straight is the right and safer pick.

Quick rule of thumb: mostly loading mowers, motorbikes, ATVs and lighter trade gear? Folding gives you the best mix of grunt and convenience. Loading excavators, bobcats or heavy plant? Go straight.

What's the deal with Sureweld ramps?

Sureweld is an Australian manufacturer that builds loading ramps for the local market — machinery hire mobs, landscapers, earthmoving contractors, farmers. The kind of operators who flog their gear daily and need it to keep coming back for more.

Their ramps are TIG-welded aluminium, load-rated and tested here in Australia, and built for rough, repeated, commercial use. Two stand out for most buyers:

• Sureweld Curved Folding Mower Ramps ($549 a pair, 450kg, 2.1m) — purpose-built for ride-ons, with a curved lip that eases the transition so you stop scraping the mower deck on the way up.
• Sureweld Rubber Series — the textured rubber surface that grips tracked and rubber-tyred machines properly.

Ramped Up is an authorised Sureweld retailer with the full range over at the heavy machinery ramps collection.

Which loading ramps do you need for your job?

Rather than make you reverse-engineer all of the above, here's the short version by the jobs people actually do.

Loading ramps for ride-on mowers

Most domestic ride-ons sit between 160 and 280kg. You want a 460kg rating minimum, in 2.1m or 2.3m depending on your trailer height. For occasional use, the 460kg 2.3m folding pair at $239 does the job nicely. If you're loading the mower week in, week out, the Sureweld Curved Mower Ramps at $549 are worth the extra. There's a full breakdown in the ride-on mower ramp guide if you want the detailed sizing.

Loading ramps for motorcycles and dirt bikes

A typical bike runs 80 to 250kg. For a single bike, the 230kg 2.3m aluminium folding ramp at $89 is purpose-made — one wide ramp that centres the bike, with raised side rails to keep you tracking straight. Got a heavier touring bike, or just want headroom? The 460kg folding pair works too, one ramp under each wheel. The full range is at the motorbike and buggy ramps collection.

Loading ramps for ATVs and quad bikes

ATVs generally land between 250 and 450kg. You'll want a pair here, not a single — the wheel track's too wide for one ramp. The 680kg 2.3m folding pair at $259 covers most recreational quads with room to spare. For side-by-sides or beefier utility ATVs, step up to the 1,000kg pair at $359.

Loading ramps for excavators and heavy machinery

Mini excavators run anywhere from 800kg to 5,000kg-plus depending on size, and this is where straight, non-folding ramps stop being a preference and start being essential. The 1,800kg 3.2m pair at $549 suits the smaller diggers. The 2,500kg 2.3m pair at $629 handles mid-range machines. The 3,000kg 3.2m pair at $1,249 covers most compact excavators in the hire fleet world. And for tracked machines, the Sureweld Rubber Series gives you grip that bare aluminium just can't.

Loading ramps for utes and trailers

If you're loading a mix of gear onto a ute or trailer on the regular, the 1,000kg 2.3m folding pair at $359 is the all-rounder. Mowers, ATVs, small plant, general trade gear — it takes the lot, folds away for storage, and weighs about 28kg total, so one person can manage it. The full lineup's at the trailer ramps collection.

Loading ramp safety — the bits you don't skip

Here's the uncomfortable truth: nearly every loading ramp accident comes down to the same thing. The ramps weren't set up right, or someone cut a corner to save two minutes. Don't be that someone. Run through these every time, no exceptions:

• Never exceed the weight rating. Ever.
• Seat the lips firmly on the trailer deck edge — then give each ramp a solid shake before you drive anything up. If it shifts, fix it.
• Park on level ground, handbrake on, wheels chocked.
• Never stand between the ramps while something's being driven up.
• Keep steady momentum. Don't stop halfway up the incline — that's where things go wrong.

And give them a once-over before each use. Look for cracks, bent sections, loose rivets — especially around the welds and hinge points, because aluminium is strong but it does fatigue over time. If a ramp's showing structural damage, retire it. A new pair of ramps is a rounding error next to the cost of the machine you're loading, let alone a trip to the hospital.

Where to buy loading ramps in Australia

Ramped Up carries the full range of aluminium loading ramps from $89 to $1,399 a pair, including the Australian-made Sureweld range for the commercial and heavy-duty end. Everything ships Australia-wide with fast delivery.

Still not sure which pair suits your job? You don't have to work it out alone. Get in touch through the website — tell them what you're loading, roughly how heavy, and what trailer or ute you're working with — and they'll point you at the right ramps the first time.