Acme tow dolly ramps come off when loading car

[waiter21]

If you've been using the Acme Dolly, you may have experienced the ramps popping off of the dolly while loading or unloading your car. For some reason, the ramp hooks bounce out of the dollys loops and the ramp(s) fall to the ground.

This has happened to me a couple times, and seems to happen when loading/unloading, and the car bounces up / down or forward/backward.

My fix is reasonably inexpensive, and only requires one minor step when installing the ramps. I installed a latch than basically traps the ramps hook and prevents the the hook from popping out of the ramps loop.

I ordered two of these latches from Nuera Trailer Parts ($7 each)

Installing the latches on the ramps.

I only used one latch per ramp. Release the latch so the pin is extended. The latch fits perfectly tucked up into the inside surface of the ramps edge. Slide the latch toward the hook so the extended latch pin is just touching the ramps hook.

Securing the latch to the ramp - You can drill holes to either rivet or bolt / nut the latch into place, or do as I did, spot welds on the edges and the holes to hold the latch in place. Clean the welds and a little shot of aluminum paint to clean it up.


Installing the ramps on the dolly using the latches

Always wear gloves when handling the ramps, they have some very sharp edges..

Pull the spring loaded latch open (the pin is retracted) and turn the lever so it faces down. This will hold the latch open.

Place the ramp hooks on the dolly, reach under the ramp and release the latch. The latch pin will slide forward and prevent the ramp from unhooking.

To remove the ramp, you need to reach under the ramp and pull the latch backward as you lift the ramp out of the dolly loops.

PHOTO 1

Shows the latch I used (ordered from Nuera Trailer Parts). Also, look carefully at the ramp, you can see I already installed the latch on this ramp and the pin is in the closed position and is just touching the hook..

PHOTO 2

Shows the ramp upside down. the latch is welded into the ramp. If you look very closely, you can see the latch pin is retracted and locked (the handle would be pointing straight down)

PHOTO 3

Look very carefully, you can see the ramp hook is on the dollys loop. The latch pin is released and in the lock position. This ramp will NOT jump out of the loop.