I am revising the dog ramp from the doggie door which goes down about 30" into the dog run. I want to make it longer and so less steep and also increase the traction. Currently it is a Hale ramp of a plastic material with a 10" porch at the top and indoor/outdoor carpeting. I tried adding grip strips, but they have not stayed on in spite of gorilla glue!
My thought is to retrofit a longer piece of exterior plywood with some shims to reduce the angle. What to use for the surface material that will offer great traction and durability in all weather?
Roofing shingles? They are easy enough to nail into plywood and would be weather proof.
Might cost a little more, but you could look into the rubber contact material that we use on agility equipment.
If you’re a total DIYer: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=604
or if you’d rather just glue on a premade surface (you might need to trim something like this to fit, but it should still work): http://www.max200.com/max_storefront/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=636
(Clean Run sells those, too - but I think they’re a little more expensive.)
Not sure about the plastic, but if it were a wooden ramp, you could just paint it and give it a good layer of play sand while the paint was still wet.
I’ve had good luck finishing homemade dog agility contact obstacles with a layer of paint and fine texture rollatex, followed by a clear coat of spray rubber.
Do your dogs get muddy paws when they’re outside? If so, you may be best off adding slats and calling it a day rather than investing $$ into a grippy material that can get filled with mud and still become slick.
We screwed rubber doormats onto ours. I think it took 4 of them, they are the ones with the deep treads on them for really muddy entries. they’ve worked great.
Thanks for the ideas. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
There is a great roofing material that comes in a roll like roofing felt but is gritted like shingles. We use it to cover the plank surfaces of all the horse bridges in our local State Forest. It holds up for a long time, it’s one long continuous piece and what you have left over can be used for some other useful purpose. I think they call the surface “mineral” roll roofing. Also available in colors which seems to be less spooky for horses.
Google: Owens Corning 3-ft x 36-ft Shasta White Roll Roofing
chicamuxen
I simply used a mud rug runner on my plywood ramp and used roofing nails to tack it down. It’s held up in the mid-western weather for 4 years now with no discernible wear and tear. Great traction, cheap, and installed in less then 5 minutes. Just roll out and tack it down.
[QUOTE=Sswor;7679821]
I simply used a mud rug runner on my plywood ramp and used roofing nails to tack it down. It’s held up in the mid-western weather for 4 years now with no discernible wear and tear. Great traction, cheap, and installed in less then 5 minutes. Just roll out and tack it down.[/QUOTE]
Something like this…I use an old woven rag, western saddle blanket…a bit heavier duty, but like the rug runners. 3’x6’ long. I’ve had one on a ramp onto my side porch for about 6 years. Helped ME when I was on crutches years ago and works great for my geriatric dogs, now. They used to cost about $3!!
