Dog nose with Uhaul style ramp for back door.

[UpShinnCreek]

I just bought a 97 International Bluebird 71 passenger dog nose. One of the things I am wanting to add is a Uhaul style ramp for the rear. On Uhauls, the ramp slide our from under the truck and then can be raised up to attach to the floor. I think there is plenty of room between the frame wells and behind the rear axle to accomplish this. Has anyone done this before to a skoolie? Has anyone contemplated it and found reasons it isn't feasible?

[sportyrick]

yes I did that and used it for years, If you bus is around 38 ft like mine I used an 11'6" ramp 29" wide and it was just short of the third member. I cut three sides of my crossmembers under the floor and folded them down for the ramp to slide on. Cut a slot in the rear bumper for access to ramp. If you have a rear tank it will have to be removed for ramp storage. If you check out my pics I may have a picture of my setup. I recently upgraded to a a lift which is a lot more work installing. sportyrick

[o1marc]

I had that idea, but couldn't find a used Uhaul ramp for sale. Since I added a door in the back I went a little wider on the ramp with a tri-fold 48" . I added channel iron rails between the bus frame rails to support it. The ramp slides in and drops down behind the bumper so it can't just slide out. All hidden behind the plate. U haul ramp length is a plus if you have the length available under the bus.

[UpShinnCreek]

Originally Posted by sportyrick

yes I did that and used it for years, If you bus is around 38 ft like mine I used an 11'6" ramp 29" wide and it was just short of the third member. I cut three sides of my crossmembers under the floor and folded them down for the ramp to slide on. Cut a slot in the rear bumper for access to ramp. If you have a rear tank it will have to be removed for ramp storage. If you check out my pics I may have a picture of my setup. I recently upgraded to a a lift which is a lot more work installing. sportyrick

I didn't see any pics of the ramp in your albumn. I don't have a rear tank, so not a worry. I like the idea of a lift, but don't want to have something blocking the rear door that needs to be powered up and moved before I can use the back door. My wife and I both smoke cigarettes but not in the house. I will be having our bed in the back and using the back door to go smoke. Having a lift would kill that. The uhaul ramp takes no electricity and doesn't block anything when not in use. And it uses open space between the frame rails. The only other use for the space that I can think is an in floor storage/safe. I haven't ruled that out yet, but a bit more hesitant to cut into the floor braces to do it.

[sportyrick]

Great job on adding another door, looks factory. As you experienced you had to move the hinges to the other side and hopefully you re-inforced the inside of the door, then you had to eliminate the handle, no easy task. My lift is not in the way at all, and we use it as a patio sometimes, loading heavy coolers etc. I just sold my ramp last week for $400, so sad. I'm lazy and didn't want to move all my lights to the doors that's why I went with a narrowed door. That ramp would be too short for my HD's but as I got bigger bikes I was nervous about riding a 900# bike up a ramp with just the edges to put my feet on.