Anyone have a loading dock? (farm, water, soil, tractor)

[MechAndy]

I am getting too old to easily load my motorcycles, rider mower or heavy items in and out of my truck.
Heck just climbing in and out of the back of my 3500 is a chore.
It’s probably 40” tall.
I’m thinking about putting in a loading dock on my property.
The land slopes a bit where I want to build it and wouldn’t be a water trap so I was thinking about carving out a section, adding some 8x8x16 blocks with some kind of bumper so I don’t damage my tailgate.

It just seems like an easier way to load or unload items like machinery, bags of concrete or whatever.
Have any of you done this?

Thanks.
Andy.

[Hemlock140]

I recently installed a ladder onto my tailgate, and it's made my trips to the dumps a lot easier for getting up and down (Amazon has them).

My front lawn slopes down about 18" toward the street. I can back up to the lawn from the street, and just use a piece of 1" plywood to drive the riding mower into the back of the truck, with a mild slope. Rather than an actual loading dock, you might be able to just put in a retaining wall where your slope is, as wide as the truck and build up behind it with gravel and soil.

[StealthRabbit]

I built my last loading dock with Eco-Blocks (2x2x6 ft blocks from concrete batch plants) $20 at the time. (depends on demand and supply).

I have sloped lots, so can create or find a berm.

If flat lot, I would probably build a backyard car service rack (elevated repair / service bay), and with a removeable deck, use it also as a loading platform.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFHatBBJ8FU

Or loading items is a good reason to install a 4 post vehicle service lift. (and add a deck for materials / pallet jack)

[Diana Holbrook]

We have several rock terraces on our property that very conveniently can serve as a loading deck for trucks/trailers of varying heights. Our garbage shed too, is conveniently right at tailgate height. It's very common to see them on farms, for loading either animals or hay/equipment, so it's not a crazy idea.

[MichiganGreg]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

I am getting too old to easily load my motorcycles, rider mower or heavy items in and out of my truck.
Heck just climbing in and out of the back of my 3500 is a chore.
It’s probably 40” tall.
I’m thinking about putting in a loading dock on my property.
The land slopes a bit where I want to build it and wouldn’t be a water trap so I was thinking about carving out a section, adding some 8x8x16 blocks with some kind of bumper so I don’t damage my tailgate.

It just seems like an easier way to load or unload items like machinery, bags of concrete or whatever.
Have any of you done this?

Thanks.
Andy.

Yeah, know what you mean. Fairly recently, I had a Toyota Tacoma which I bought a ramp for. No problems with any gear until I upgraded to a Tundra. Tundra is so much taller, we can't get a motorcycle, or worse, a snowblower up into it. I just learned that the hard way when we got a ton of snow, and my blower broke 30seconds into it. I had to dig out our flatbed out of the snow (hard work), hitch it up, and easily load the broken blower to take it in for service. If you have space for it, a sided-flatbed may be a much easier choice. We have two trailers; one covered for furniture or delicate items, and an 8x10 sided flatbed for outdoor items; mulch, gravel, motorcycle, blower, etc. It was $1600 new; probably cheaper than a loading dock. Hope you find a solution; I totally know where you're coming from.

[king john IV]

Have any of you done this?

Daddy did during the last millennieum.
it was a "natural" one to load his lawnmower.
steep bank which he backed up to.

[Normashirley]

We have a 4X8? Trailer for hauling 4-wheelers if we have to. It has ramps and DH has a wrench if something can’t load under its own power. It easily pulls behind the F-150, saving gas by not using the dually.


The trailer is a multi tasker as we use it around the farm when we need to pick up tree limbs after a storm and haul them to the brush pile. It really paid for itself the year of the big ice storm and we had tree branches the size of trees going down from the weight of the ice.

As we age, we all have to find ways to work smarter. DH & I are 75 & 76. I can’t count the times we have re-invented “work smarter”.

Your ramp idea is a great one, but it sounds like more work and expense on your part than it may be worth — which is why I suggest a small trailer & a wench from your local farm store or TSC

[Threerun]

I have a slope I can back up to. Most useful is a tractor with a loader. I welded two clevis hooks to the bucket and I can use a chain to lift things in or out.

I also have an engine hoist but I rarely use it. The loader is just quicker.

[Creekcat]

I have seen this done. Not a bad idea. You have the small slope to begin with and maybe some crossties.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Normashirley

We have a 4X8? Trailer for hauling 4-wheelers if we have to.
...
The trailer is a multi tasker as we use it around the farm when we need to pick up tree limbs after a storm and haul them to the brush pile. ... I suggest a small trailer & a wench from your local farm store or TSC

a Winch?


For a trailer idea... try to find a Snowbear (Sold by Costco and Home Depot about 15 yrs ago) I buy them for ~$400 used.

Costco version is tilt bed with 2200 GVW (Home Depot is only 1600 gvw)
They extend to haul 12' loads supported, I haul a lot of 20' loads. It also served well for a "Hearse" to haul my dad from Bremerton to Iowa for burial. and I have a slide-in camer conversion for it. It tows fine behind my 50 mpg evil TDIs.