If you’re here, you probably own a snowmobile or two and looking for help to find the Best Snowmobile Ramp for loading your sled onto your truck to enjoy the many good times on the trail and in the backcountry that await.
So, if you’re a new snowmobile owner, you might be thinking…do I even need a snowmobile ramp?
If you’re like us and consider yourself an outdoor snowmobile junkie, you cannot help but look for new sledding zones and terrain to go shred. This means you will have to get your snowmobile on and off your truck or tailer, for which a snowmobile ramp is a must-have. After all, you don’t want to deadlift a snowmobile and load it onto your truck bed, do you?!
Having the best snowmobile ramp not only makes the job easier for you but also helps prevent serious accidents or injuries that you might encounter when loading your snowmobile without a ramp. So, with the hope that you are now convinced to get a snowmobile ramp, here is a list of our recommendations:
Black Ice Snowmobile 7’ 10” Truck Ramp System
Best All-in-One Snowmobile Ramp
Rating – 4.9 out of 5
Price: $$
If you are looking for a complete package in your snowmobile ramp purchase, you wouldn’t go wrong with the Black Ice Snowmobile 7’ 10” Truck Ramp System because this product comes as a bundle, containing stud protectors and extension along with the ramp. From a brand that is popular for offering efficient snowmobile loading, transportation, and storage solutions at affordable prices, this ramp makes loading your snowmobile into your truck bed easier than ever.
This is a tri-fold snowmobile ramp that comes with two safety straps. The outer ramp panels have extra-wide ski guides that enable low-resistance loading, and the center ramp panel has exposed rungs that provide great traction for the snowmobile. Made from high-strength, lightweight aluminum, the Black Ice snowmobile ramps fold easily for compact storage. You can use the extension under the bottom rung when you know that the surface is a bit slippery and could make the snowmobile slip or glide. And the stud protectors protect the ramp from damage. With a weight capacity of 1,500 lbs., this is most certainly an extraordinary buy as an all-in-one snowmobile ramp.
Pros
- Comes with extension and stud protectors.
- 1,500 lbs. weight capacity.
- Folds to 17.5” width for easy storage.
Cons
- A bit pricier than other models.
- The stud protectors need user assembly.
Caliber CBR Ramp Pro
Best Multi-use Snowmobile Ramps
Rating – 4.5 out of 5
Price: $$$
Caliber’s products are widely known for their high-quality, precision engineering, and the use of innovative technologies. The CBR Ramp Pro is one of the company’s bestselling products, and rightly so, thanks to its multi-use property. This is one of the few snowmobile ramps on the market that are designed to load not just snowmobiles but also ATVs, UTVs, and even golf carts onto trucks and trailers. Named the Caliber Pro 2.0, this new version comes as a tri-fold model, which is made from high-strength, lightweight aluminum. The ramp also has a vertical crossbar to provide extra support, and it can hold up to 1,500 lbs. in weight.
While the outer glide panels use carbides to reduce loading friction, the inner rungs securely grip onto the snowmobile tracks to make loading easier. The product comes with self-retracting straps, which you can use to secure the ramp properly to your truck or trailer before loading or unloading your snowmobile. You can purchase the ramp with or without the ladder traction extension, and also with or without the company’s GRIPS stud protectors. The Caliber Ramp Pro 2.0 comes backed with the brand’s limited lifetime warranty.
Pros
- Suitable for loading and unloading snowmobiles, ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts.
- 1,500 lbs. weight capacity.
- Has a vertical cross bar for extra support.
- Comes with self-retracting straps.
Cons
- Weal trifold latch.
Rev Arc Bosski Tri-Fold Snowmobile Ramp RevSled
Best Value-for-Money Snowmobile Ramps
Rating – 4 out of 5
Price: $
The Bosski RevArc Tri-Fold Snowmobile Ramp is yet another model designed to make the loading and unloading of a snowmobile onto a pickup truck or trailer easy for you. This is a one-piece ramp known to offer amazing stability along with the convenience of a tri-fold design, making storage easier as well. Its tri-fold design enables you to fold the ramp down to 21” in width, which means you don’t have to worry about having to find and allot a huge space for its storage in your garage or anywhere else.
Just like any other best snowmobile ramp, even this model is made from lightweight, high-strength aluminum. One of the highlights of this product is that it comes arched to reduce the speed while loading your snowmobile. The ski guides are raised to maintain proper balance, and thanks to the built-in traction control bar, you get maximum traction at all times. The RevArc Tri-Fold Snowmobile Ramp comes with three ratchet straps and has a limited lifetime warranty.
Pros
- Suitable for trailer and pickup truck loading.
- 1,500 lbs. weight capacity.
- Integrated traction control.
- Raised ski guides to keep the snowmobile centered.
Cons
- Welds feel a little fragile.
How to Choose the Best Snowmobile Ramp
Apart from the obvious factors like your budget and space you can spare to put the equipment away during off-season, the following are some of the other factors to consider when choosing the best snowmobile ramp:
Capacity
When it comes to choosing the best snowmobile ramp, your first consideration should be the capacity of the unit. This is for the obvious reason that choosing a ramp that doesn’t have the capacity to carry your snowmobile will render your investment useless. In fact, the snowmobile ramp you choose should have a loading capacity significantly higher than the actual weight of your snowmobile because this will give you enough leeway to not wear out or damage the ramp with constant use, and more importantly, prevent unforeseen injuries. Fortunately, with many snowmobile ramps designed with a capacity to hold over a thousand pounds in weight, finding a model that suits your snowmobile wouldn’t be a problem.
Length and Width
The next factor to look at would be the length and width of the snowmobile ramp, which should perfectly match the dimensions of your snowmobile, along with some extra space because you can always do with some room for error, and it also helps prevent the vehicle from slipping. Do remember that the length of the best snowmobile ramp you choose should be suitable for the height of your trailer or truck; this is important because the taller your trailer or truck, the lengthier must be the ramp to keep it lowered and not steep, for safe loading of your snowmobile.
Extension
In some circumstances, when you try loading your snowmobile onto your truck bed or trailer, the track might need extra traction based on the surface where the loading process takes place, like pavement or asphalt. This is because the skis in your snowmobile could easily lose traction on such smooth surfaces as soon as they are mounted on the ramp. When you have ramp extensions that connect to your snowmobile ramp, the skis will get a good grip even on smooth surfaces.
Space/Storage
Yet another obvious factor to consider when choosing the best snowmobile ramp is the amount of space it occupies; this is what helps you determine how to store the ramp during the off-season. Even during peak season times, you are less likely to use your snowmobile on a daily basis, which means you need to allot an easily accessible space to store the ramp, and the ramp, of course, should fit in the chosen space.
The one efficient solution to this is to choose a folding ramp or a tri-fold ramp. You can choose between these two options depending on the size of your snowmobile and the space available in your garage or wherever you are looking to store the ramp when not in use. Check the dimensions of the ramp in its folded state to make sure that there is extra space in your truck or trailer, after placing the ramp, to accommodate some of the other tools and equipment you want to carry along.
Compatibility
Depending on the vehicle you have, or the vehicle you will be using to transport your snowmobile, say a pickup truck, trailer, etc., you need to make sure that the snowmobile ramp you choose is compatible with it. This matters because trailers are usually lower in height when compared to truck beds, which means a snowmobile ramp that is designed to be compatible with trailers can be too steep to be used with truck beds.
Some manufacturers do offer ramps that are designed to be compatible with both truck beds and trailers, and investing in one such model can be beneficial for you in the long run. Also, there are ramps that are designed for loading recreational vehicles other than just snowmobiles, like ATVs, golf carts, etc. Choosing such versatile models gives you the flexibility to go on with your adventures without any concerns. You can find a snowmobile ramp’s compatibility in its product specifications.
Snowmobile Loading Tips
Following are some important and useful tips to remember when loading your snowmobile onto your truck or trailer using the best snowmobile ramp.
But first….
Let’s make sure we’re clear on how not to load a snowmobile!
Use the Right Snowmobile Ramp
If you think that it would be a waste of money to invest in a snowmobile ramp when you already own a ramp that you use for loading your, say ATV, or any other vehicle, you have never been so wrong. Not all ramps can be used for loading snowmobiles; snowmobile ramps are specifically designed with side panels to make sliding easy for snowmobile ski runners. When you use a different ramp, the ski runners can easily get caught somewhere and can cause severe injuries to you and damages to your snowmobile. To make the loading process even smoother, you can use a ramp extension or extender to make the ramp’s angle less steep.
Secure the Ramp
Never try to load a snowmobile using a snowmobile ramp just by connecting it to a truck or trailer and not securing it in place. Secure the ramp directly to a metal part of the vehicle where the snowmobile is about to be loaded, using a chain or any other strong attachment. Remember to not secure the ramp to a plastic part of the vehicle because the sheer load can cause them to break easily.
Alignment is Key
Making sure that your snowmobile is aligned perfectly to the ramp is extremely crucial because trying to get the snowmobile onto the truck bed or trailer at an angle, even if it is the slightest variation, can lead to disasters. The snowmobile is most likely to slip and fall, which could end up damaging it badly, and more importantly, you might end up getting hurt.
Once you are happy with the prep work, be confident and ride the snowmobile up onto your truck bed, giving it sufficient power and without stopping on the ramp. Finally, secure it in place using ratchet straps and other things that you normally use.
Conclusion
When you are fortunate to live in a region that allows you to enjoy winter sports, it is only fair that you make the best use of it. With so many amazing snowmobiling destinations around the country, you would want to explore at least those that are near where you reside, and investing in the best snowmobile ramp will make loading and unloading your snowmobile easy and safe. From eliminating the risks of damaging your snowmobile to preventing personal injuries, this simple yet functional piece of equipment can easily be one of the best investments you make for your favorite recreational sport.