How to make aluminum tubing stronger

I have some light weight ramps made to load 4 wheelers etc. They are made from 1" square aluminum tubing. I am wondering if I filled the tubes with same if it would make them stronger and if so how much? Reason I ask is I've heard you could fill copper tube with sand and bend without kinking it. Well onetime I needed to bend some and no tube benders where I was. Light bulb came on remembering this. I filled the copper tubing with sand and I couldn't bend it by hand. Had to put in vice and use box end wrench for leverage to bend. If it will work on these ramps like that copper tubing it would make them a lot stronger.

Filling with sand or a fluid was to
keep the tubing from deforming as it
was being bent. So filling tubing
with sand or fluid might help lead
you to a total structure failure with
no warning.

No, I wouldn't count on it strengthening them.

About all you could do would be to weld some flat plate upright on each side, something like 1/4" x 2".

That would increase the strength, but not knowing what you are trying to do, proceed with caution! I'm just
throwing out a guess on the dimension.

When you were bending the ends of the copper tubing, the tubing wall on the inside of the bend was in compression. The sand inside kept the wall from crushing under pressure. When you apply a load in the middle of your ramp, it's putting the bottom wall of the tubing in tension. I don't think filling the tubing with sand will have much effect on when the bottom wall tears apart.

Filling the ramps with sand WILL make them heavier; if you don't mind heavier ramps then make or buy a pair of steel ramps.

I do not believe it will provide additional strength, buy heavier ramps.

Agree with go to steel ramps. Aluminum will have a catastrophic
collapse. Steel starts to go. Gives you a little warning. Sand will do
you no good as far as strength.

round gas line pipe fit inside the square tubing? Or steel rod?

(quoted from post at 22:30:56 11/27/17) round gas line pipe fit inside the square tubing? Or steel rod?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the RE:'s. After reading I think the sand not a good idea. Funny the gas pipe mentioned. Today I bought some but decided against because my ramps already have a slight bend or bow. The gas pipe is a tight fit and I'm afraid that as I drive the pipe further into the tubes especially since the whole ramp has a bow in it that I would get to a point I couldn't get it to go any further. It is a tight fit but not an interference fit.

(quoted from post at 19:02:45 11/27/17) I have some light weight ramps made to load 4 wheelers etc. They are made from 1" square aluminum tubing. I am wondering if I filled the tubes with same if it would make them stronger and if so how much? Reason I ask is I've heard you could fill copper tube with sand and bend without kinking it. Well onetime I needed to bend some and no tube benders where I was. Light bulb came on remembering this. I filled the copper tubing with sand and I couldn't bend it by hand. Had to put in vice and use box end wrench for leverage to bend. If it will work on these ramps like that copper tubing it would make them a lot stronger.

Click to expand...

Another option that would add 'some' weight but strengthen the aluminum... bolt steel angle iron along the bottom length of the ramp square tubing. 3/16" x 1" angle would stiffen up the ramps aluminum rubes and decrease the deflection when you drive up them... you can straighten the ramps to remove the bow by putting ramps face down on the angle and driving over them... with the tubes straight and the weight on them, bolt the angle in place... the angle iron weighs about 1# per foot so you'd add 12#s per ramp for 6' ramps...

john

Sand won't help you in this instance. The best solution is to add more aluminum below the tube to create a taller beam. If that is not an option 3/4 round shaft should fit in there pretty well. 3/4 square tube should as well, but won't add much
strength. I don't really believe you need to worry about catastrophic failure unless you are going way beyond its capacity. Most light weight ramps are made from aluminum, I've made plenty myself, and I've never had a serious failure unless they were abused. If you can weld aluminum, or kno w someone who can, just weld something to the bottom. You can even bridge it, just get some 1"x3/16 flat and put in a 2" spacer in the middle then bolt both ends down. Run a small bolt through the center spacer to
hold that in. If you do that don't get the bridge strap too tight as then it will have to do all the work and you won't gain much. You need for thge strap to be max tight at about the same time the tube is at max deflection to get max strength. I would use 2 bolts on each end.

Try laying the aluminum ramps over some lumber or fasten the ramps to the lumber.

I use a pair of eight foot long 2x12s for pickup ramps. I added a 2x4 to one end to hold the ramp on the pickup bumper, and beveled the other end to sit flat on the ground.

Add a support half way on each ramp

One way they strengthen welded tubing is to weld squares inside every foot or so. Sort of like a tube of boxes. Keeps the walls from distorting. Common on automobiles. I don't know how you could weld them inside extruded tubing though. Maybe cement would work better.

(quoted from post at 20:56:11 11/27/17)

(quoted from post at 22:30:56 11/27/17) round gas line pipe fit inside the square tubing? Or steel rod?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the RE:'s. After reading I think the sand not a good idea. Funny the gas pipe mentioned. Today I bought some but decided against because my ramps already have a slight bend or bow. The gas pipe is a tight fit and I'm afraid that as I drive the pipe further into the tubes especially since the whole ramp has a bow in it that I would get to a point I couldn't get it to go any further. It is a tight fit but not an interference fit.

Click to expand...

Just support the ramp at each end with the bend up in the middle, put a little weight on the middle to hold it down, then just tap the gas pipe in. It will easily straighten the aluminum as it goes.