Ledwell Solar Lift Loading Ramp – Innovative Product Award Winner, Miscellaneous Category
CATEGORY: MISCELLANEOUS --- LEDWELL
Product Name: Ledwell Solar Lift Loading Ramp
Manufacturer: Ledwell
Key Innovation: Using solar energy, we were able to obtain a more efficient way to lower and raise the height of our Loading Ramps, which saves on the wear and tear of an operator’s body.
Description: (Provided by the manufacturer) “During a typical workday, the goal is usually to get the most done, in the shortest amount of time and in the most organized way possible. Efficiency is key. The revolutionary Ledwell Solar Loading Ramp is built for just that. If you’ve ever wished you could cut out the lengthy process of lifting your ramp via hand-crank then this is the perfect addition to your arsenal. We’ve managed to give your ramp the capability to harness the power of the sun, so you don’t have to work so hard. Simply connect our Solar Panel to your ramp’s battery system, charge it, and then flip a switch and allow your Solar Lift to do the rest. It’s the easiest way to find the perfect angle for the job at hand.
Maybe you already have a perfectly good Ledwell Loading Ramp, All-Weather or Standard, and wished you had the opportunity to upfit your ramp. Well, you do! We can upfit any current Ledwell Loading Ramp with a Solar Lift Kit and voila, you have your very own Solar Lift Ramp!”
RER Commentary: The Ledwell staff had heard from many customers that drivers frequently had difficulty lining up the height of the trailer when they backed up their vehicle to a loading dock. “They need to move it up or down to match the trailer height because you don’t want to jump some mower off the ramp,” says Steve Ledwell. “Some drivers either don’t wish to run them up and down because it’s a little work, or some literally can’t physically do it anymore for whatever reason. So, we came up with this plan to put a solar panel and put a switch on it. You pull a switch and it goes up or you pull a switch and it goes down. And now we have a ramp that can go up and down easily, so drivers more easily get it correct. It’s safer and easier for the drivers, it’s safer on the load and this way drivers don’t mind spending a few extra seconds to match up the height because it’s not hard.”
Ledwell emphasizes the safety benefits of the solar ramp. “The drivers are taking a chance not matching up right,” he says. “The driver will take a machine and try to drive it on a ramp that’s either six inches too low for the trailer or six inches too high because they didn’t want to crank it anymore. So, this is a much safer and easier solution.”
The solar panel is connected to a 12-volt battery system. “The solar panel may take half a day to charge, but you can run that ramp up and down probably eight or 10 times before you charge it,” Ledwell says. “But if it’s constantly hooked up, it’s constantly charging, so it doesn’t wear down.”
