Yardramp - Jan 2009

Loading large grass cutting machines on to low-loaders at turf care equipment distributors Lely (UK) Ltd has been made quicker and easier with a purpose-built Thorworld mobile yard ramp.

The 12.2m long, 7,000kg capacity ramp was built to a special usable width of 2,650mm to simplify the loading of the imported Toro and Yanmar commercial grass cutters on to beaver-tailed low-loaders for delivery to customers. 

Thorworld's design engineers modified the top end of the ramp so that the rear of the low-loader can reach right underneath the front of the ramp and fitted a 450mm long noseplate, allowing speedy access to the vehicle's floor. 

The grass cutting machines are driven up the ramp, with up to four being placed on each low-loader. The ramp replaced a 30-year old version which was unsuitable for working with modern low-loaders.

Lely (UK) Ltd's transport manager, Kevin Morgan, said: "The ramp has made us much more efficient as we can now load the low-loaders faster and with greater ease. I was impressed with the technical expertise shown by Thorworld's distributor, Charles Tetlow, and the Thorworld engineers who worked closely with us on the project." 

The ramp is located outdoors close to a 15,000kg capacity Thorworld model installed a few years ago. It is used for the unloading of incoming grass cutting machines from containers and was also made to Lely's requirements in a usable width of 2,650mm. Lely converted the 12.2m long ramp from hydraulic pump to three-phase electric operation to achieve even faster raising and lowering.

The ramp was modified at the top end to suit low loaders and had a multiple bend design to allow equipment with very low underclearances to use the ramp

This ramp is 400mm wider than standard