Second-Hand Ramps: The Dangerous Truth No Seller Will Tell You

So you’ve got your excavator, you’ve got your truck and now you just need to get a set of loading ramps and you're ready to hit the road.

Easy done, hey?

Unfortunately not...

Here's what you may be thinking...

"Geez, that set of 4-tonne ramps on Facebook Marketplace look good! They look straight enough And for only a thousand bucks! Done deal!"

The ad says that they’re straight and “hardly used”. And they’re only a 1-hour drive from you to collect them.

Well, here’s the likely dangerous truth about those Marketplace second hand loading ramps that you won't find out about til' it's too late…

The guy that’s selling them has had them for 10 years and although he says he’s hardly used them (which may be true), he’s also lent them out to a bunch of mates over the years.

... He's a good bloke, isn't he?

And these ‘mates’ used them once or twice (or 10 times) to load their 6-tonne excavator which attributed hairline stress cracks in the aluminium beams.

The photos in the Facebook Marketplace ad don’t show these cracks of course...

The guy selling them probably has no idea that there's any damage--the cracks are so tiny and hard to see without really looking hard.

So you leave the job early one Friday arvo and pick up the second hand loading ramps from the Marketplace guy.

They look good. $1,000 swapped hands and everyone's happy. 

Winner, winner!

Nope.

... 3 months later, one of those small hairline cracks starts to open up as you’re using the ramps a lot more than good old Marketplace mate did.

Not only do you notice that crack, but find 2 more like it, and the rungs are starting to fail too.

Now you’re left with a dodgy (and unsafe) set of ramps after only 3 months of use. 

Not a good bang for your buck really, is it?

Sure, you can weld the cracks a couple of times, but you know that's just a band-aid fix.

And what will the safety inspector say at the union site you're going to next week?

There goes the thousand bucks. 

And worse still you need to get another set of ramps.

So before you go out and grab that bargain. First, ask yourself: 

"How long does second-hand ramp last?"

The answer really isn't known.

But, you can be sure that you're taking a gamble on something that has the potential to stop your earning income if your machine is stuck on your truck.

Or worse yet, if your used loading ramps fail halfway through loading your excavator onto your tipper.

What a nightmare that could be!

Here at Ramp Champ, we sell new excavator loading ramps from each of the best loading ramp brands in Australia with fast delivery or pickup options in most major cities. 

If you want to get the right ramps and sleep easy, speak to the ramp experts here at Ramp Champ today. You may also read this guide to know the right time to replace you ramp.

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