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Sometimes, I use U-Haul trucks that have a loading ramp that comes out of a slot in the bed of the truck.

The problem is that because it is coming out of the slot, the ramp is about 2 inches below the bed of the truck, so when I use a dolly to move freight out of the truck, it drops down that 2" and jars the freight. Also, if one wheel drops before the other, it can actually unbalance the whole load and threaten to overturn the entire set of boxes. A few times I have almost had a stack of heavy boxes fall off the ramp because of this.

I would like to somehow construct a wedge (shown in green below) that would eliminate this 2" drop off from the bed of the truck. There are two main problems: (1) how to make the wedge itself, and (2) how to fasten it to the ramp securely so that it stays in place.

Uhaul truck

Note that I typically rent trucks only for a morning or for one day at most, so it has to be something easy to attach and detach from the ramp.

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  • @jsotola I try to avoid down voting a question to give the benefit of the doubt about the ops understanding of what they are asking .. but in this case I have to agree with you. How hard is it to ask the U-Haul clerk - how do I operate the ramp ? They are there when you sign the truck out etc.. and as many times as the op declares they rent a truck!! Really...
    – Ken
    Apr 27, 2018 at 10:20
  • @Ken You are assuming that I somehow magically knew that the ramp could be raised, which I had no idea.
    – Tyler Durden
    Apr 27, 2018 at 10:26
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    Let’s not down vote for “stupid questions”. Only poorly worded ones. Or for asking them in the “wrong place”. If this is the wrong place to ask questions it’s not a very effective Q&A forum. As it turns out this is a question with s simple answer and one that I predict has been asked millions of times by others. OP may want to reword it now to remove the presumption of a wedge as the answer but just state the problem.
    – Stanwood
    Apr 27, 2018 at 10:34
  • @TylerDurden I assumed you would ask the U-Haul representative , you did observe it seemed to be a bad thing. I have used many U-Hauls w/wo auto lifts as well and if I did not know how something worked or it appeared wrong to me I asked the rep. What is the worst they can do ? Take away your birthday? In my youth I was given a piece of Invaluable advice about asking questions and never forgotten, it was harsh but has served me very well. If you want me to share it; I will do so privately as I do not want any body seeing it as fodder or some kind of put down as prev stated it was given to me.
    – Ken
    Apr 27, 2018 at 11:01

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On all of the rental trucks I've driven that had a ramp, the ramp could be pulled out a bit further and was able to be lifted up and latched into place at the same level as the inside of the truck, for exactly this reason.

U-Haul has a youtube video showing how to use the ramp; lifting the ramp up to the level of the interior is seen at around 45 seconds in.

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