How to Choose the Right Cable Ramps

Cables, hoses and tubing running along the ground at your job site, special event, or throughout your facility can be dangerous trip hazards, therefore it’s imperative to ensure that pedestrian and vehicular traffic can easily spot and surmount them.

Cable protectors and cable ramps are designed to not only be highly visible, but also provide a sloped surface that offer better footing for individuals, cars, trucks, and even wheelchairs without damaging the lines. When selecting a suitable cable ramp for your needs, consider the following factors:

Number of Channels

Cable ramps are available with grooves to allow the line to pass through them easily and stay protected. These grooves can range in number from one all the way up to five channels for large scale operations. To ensure that you’re choosing a cable ramp with grooves that are the right size, measure your cables and use the largest measurement. Interestingly, less channels in your cable ramp means a slightly greater slope will be needed in order to keep those few cables protected.

Weight Capacity (or Load Rating)

An important factor for any cable protector that will see traffic, the weight capacity or load rating gives you a clear idea of whether a cable ramp will be strong enough to support the people, vehicles and equipment that will cross it. Here are the standard weight capacities associated with specific traffic types:

• Pedestrian traffic: Light duty up to 1,999 lbs.
• Vehicles: Medium duty, between 2,000 lbs. and 19,999 lbs.
• Large vehicles like forklifts and semi-trucks: Heavy duty, over 20,000 lbs.
• For extremely demanding jobsites:  Extra heavy duty, up to 68,000 lbs. per axle

Many factors contribute to the final load rating of a cable ramp, including rib (ribs refer to the barriers between each channel) and lid thickness. Because the ribs run the whole length of the cable ramp, they provide additional vertical support for passing vehicles or pedestrians. With cable ramps that are designed for higher load ratings, you'll notice that the ribs tend to be thicker. Similarly, the more heavy-duty the cable ramp, the thicker the lid will probably be. It's worth noting that not all cable ramps with high load ratings will have really thick lids, however it is highly likely.

Material

Rubber and polyurethane are the two most common materials used in cable ramps, as well as plastic and foam, which tend to be used in lighter duty applications. Polyurethane has become a superior choice thanks to a variety of innovations. Polyurethane weighs 75% less than rubber, it holds up better under use and abuse, and it has a higher load bearing capacity. It also has better oil, chemical, fuel and lubricant resistance, along with higher cut and tear resistance, and it has a higher abrasion point. It’s also UV stable so it can be used indoors or outside, and it has a much broader range of hardness, which means it can be used in a greater variety of applications.

Connector Style

Each brand tends to have a different style, so if you already have cable ramps from one manufacturer, be careful about mixing and matching as the connectors could be different. If you need to gang multiple cable ramps together, make sure their connectors are congruent. A lot of manufacturers use T-shape connectors, however Checkers is one manufacturer who has incorporated a special dog bone shape connector to link certain models of their cable ramps together.

Brand

There are multiple brands on the market today who offer quality cable ramps. Elasco Products are made in the USA and offer a full line of light to extreme-duty options, and boast the only seven-channel cable ramp on the market. Checkers is one of the industry leaders, and they produce some of the world’s top cable ramp brands: Yellow Jacket, Linebacker, Guard Dog, Bumble Bee, Grip Guard, Fastlane, and Diamondback. Discount Ramps is proud to offer our own in-house brand, Guardian, for cable ramp customers looking for resilience, functionality and simplicity in their products.

Color

Not just an aesthetic, cable ramp colors are important for visibility, color-coordinating with certain area markings, and identifying any visible hazard or safety symbols. Cable ramps are manufactured in ANSI compliant colors and should be available with the full gamut of safety symbols.

ADA Access

If your lines are running through a pedestrian area, you will have to account for potential pedestrian traffic from individuals with disabilities, particularly those in manual wheelchairs or power scooters. ADA-compliant cable ramps have a 12” long, gradual slope on either side to help wheelchairs, walkers and mobility scooters cross the ramp with little difficulty.

Accessories

Consider the location and purpose of your cable ramps, as you might need some accessories such as left turn or right turn fixtures, end caps for smooth ramp-to-ground transition, intersections for converging cables, etc. Transport carts are also available, as large cable protectors can be heavy and cumbersome to move.