The Cobra "Ramp Grind" - a fix

On Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 10:00:13 PM UTC-4, Michael Opitz wrote:
At 06:38 16 July 2017, bumper wrote:
New "bumper" product announcement:

The ramp sliders on my 2002 Cobra trailer were metal on metal,
bolt
threads=
gouged the extruded aluminum floor rails and there was metal on
metal
wear=
.. Some later trailers have plastic washers, but those don't last or
work
we=
ll either. I made plastic sliders for my trailer a decade ago. They
worked
=
well but the design was not suited for easy consumer installation
and I
bac=
k burnered the idea. That is, until one owner pestered me for 3
years! :c).

The SRS (smooth ramp slider) kit uses a machined one piece slider
of Ultra
=
High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW PE). This material is
almost as
sl=
ippery as Teflon, and when it comes to abrasion resistance, is
better than
=
steel for many applications. One inch will stop a .45 ACP round
(though I
h=
ave yet to personally test this particular claim). Installation is easy,
20=
minutes. The ramp moves as smooth as oil on glass.

The SRS kit is available now in limited quantities. I announced it
last
wee=
k on a glider model specific forum and had orders for 16 the first
day -
so=
I'm concerned with getting swamped (I have 20 kits available now
and will
=
make more). Price is $35 plus $4 shipping to USA, $12 shipping to
other
co=
untries.

(insert my 6 letter "car part" name) @frontier.com for installation
instruc=
tions, questions, and ordering info. Please include "SRS" in the title
of
y=
our email.


I installed the SRS kit today. It took about an hour due to the 2
carriage stop bolts on the ends of the rails being bent like pretzels
(from the rear of the trailer having occasionally dragged over the
last 18 years). If the bolts had been straight, the whole process
would have taken ~15 minutes to do. Nice smooth gliding action
now. Thanks.
RO

I installed mine yesterday (with help from PG). My bolts were also twisted, but both were exactly the same, so I think they were actually meant to be like that... I also found that you have to push the top of the bolt down while unscrewing the bottom bolt so that the bolt doesn't rotate.Love the silent gliding action of the SRS!!

I'm looking for feedback on your SRS (smooth ramp slider) installation please, especially Cobra trailers manufactured '95 and prior.

I'm fairly confident the SRS fits all trailers from 95 to present. However there's a gray area prior to 95 (and I'm not sure of the year) when Cobra was using different floor track designs.

I have seen 3 different design floor channels or tracks. An '88 Cobra with steel tracks (which SRS happens to fit), an '89 with aluminum extrusion tracks of smaller cross section than current design (SRS can be modified to fit this smaller track), and finally the current version Cobra seems to have standardized on since about 1995 and for which the SRS was designed.

Thanks,

bumper

Bumper,

You asked for feedback: I have a 1989 Cobra trailer with the smaller extruded aluminum railing. The SRS did not fit inside the rail.

After speaking with you, and being pleased with your offer of support, I modified the shape of the SRS. The effort was minimal, but it did add an extra hour to the installation because I proceeded so slowly.

Yesterday, I pulled out the ramp and realized that I had forgotten that the SRS was installed. The missing grinding sound immediately go my attention. The smooth gliding sound brought a smile. Yes, the SRS is very nice!

Raul Boerner
LS6
DM

Bumper,

You asked for feedback: I have a 1989 Cobra trailer with the smaller extruded aluminum railing. The SRS did not fit inside the rail.

After speaking with you, and being pleased with your offer of support, I modified the shape of the SRS. The effort was minimal, but it did add an extra hour to the installation because I proceeded so slowly.

Yesterday, I pulled out the ramp and realized that I had forgotten that the SRS was installed. The missing grinding sound immediately got my attention. The smooth gliding sound brought a smile. Yes, the SRS is very nice!

Raul Boerner
LS6
DM

On Monday, July 24, 2017 at 7:41:27 AM UTC-5, Dave Nadler wrote:
Bumper sent me a pile to sell at Uvalde (you save the shipping charge).

All sold, Thanks again Bumper!

On Monday, August 7, 2017 at 9:25:40 AM UTC-7, Dave Nadler wrote:
On Monday, July 24, 2017 at 7:41:27 AM UTC-5, Dave Nadler wrote:
Bumper sent me a pile to sell at Uvalde (you save the shipping charge).

All sold, Thanks again Bumper!

The sound of silence is awesome! Great product!!

On Monday, August 7, 2017 at 3:47:27 PM UTC-5, wrote:

The sound of silence is awesome! Great product!!

While the "Sounds of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkle, 1964) is great, I think that the more important advantage of the SRS is that the forward steel track bolt is no longer slowly grinding down the aluminum track into atoms. MAN, those tracks would not be fun to replace. I would be curious if the older Cobra trailers have seen any deformation of the track.

On Tuesday, August 8, 2017 at 6:46:54 AM UTC-7, OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote:
On Monday, August 7, 2017 at 3:47:27 PM UTC-5, wrote:

The sound of silence is awesome! Great product!!

While the "Sounds of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkle, 1964) is great, I think that the more important advantage of the SRS is that the forward steel track bolt is no longer slowly grinding down the aluminum track into atoms. MAN, those tracks would not be fun to replace. I would be curious if the older Cobra trailers have seen any deformation of the track.

"Sound of Silence" done better than original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7RVw3I8eg

Maybe not better in my mind, but they were WAAAAY out of their genre, they did good, thanks for the link. Worth listening to.

On Monday, August 7, 2017 at 1:47:27 PM UTC-7, wrote:

The sound of silence is awesome! Great product!!

Thank you!

Besides the obvious quiet, smooth and almost frictionless ramp movement, the SRS is designed to stop any further damage to the floor tracks caused by the original factory hardware.