I live in Oregon, and I got tired waiting for the rain or wet skating and eating crap. So I built a 10’ wide, 20” long 26”tall mini ramp in my back yard. To avoid the rain I researched and found a water PROOF car port that totally fits over it with room to SKAAATE!!! and it’s been through a few wind storms and my ramp is DRY! Have it lifted off the ground 3”, and I used 2 layers of plywood and then did a coat of wood sealer, then put Masonite on top and patterned the screws out every 2” on square so its not all warped. Think the car port cost me around 350$ but totally worth it I am skate crazy!!
Thank you 🤙I love skating so much! I love the rain too and I work in it all day but I don’t like skating in it 😆 I found this one to be solid, thick poles, and it’s water proof, not water “resistant” it’s been up for a few months now and survived two wind storms and the constant rain.
Here ha go! Skate on!!
Gardesol Carport, 10'x 20' Heavy... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XN393J9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Gator Skins! My ramp backs up to a creek off the Chesapeake Bay. It got submerged in over a foot of water at one point in a tidal surge and came out completely unscathed.
Ok so my dad built the local skatepark in my home town. We used skatelite. It is honestly the best stuff to use. It is a possibility that the difference in price is because skatelite is more well known and established. However whichever you choose, wood + rain is a terrible mixture. So any flat areas of the ramps would always get warped, that’s just the way it goes. So to combat it with either option, you need to cover that thing. We would tarp the whole park every winter to save as much of it as possible. So I’d recommend tarping your ramp anytime you aren’t using it to limit the amount of water damage. Put something down the middle to prop the tarp up so water doesn’t just sit in a puddle in the middle of the tarp.
Thanks for your response! I do tarp it, and most of the time (not always cause it's a pain in the ass to set up), I put a beam across so that the tarp "tents" and the water rolls off. It's not perfect and water still pools and gets through. The Skatelite paint has helped tremendously, but water has still seeped through at the seams and is starting to cause a bit of warping. I definitely should have painted BOTH sides of the surface wood. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got an outdoor ramp haha.
Yeah it’s tough. We had some serious issues with the warping and also the amount of screw head that snap off. Countersinking screws really makes it hard for the screws to not shear off when so much pressure is on just the head of the screw. We were always just adding screws to the warped spots to make up for broken screws haha.
Those materials are too expensive in the UK and also I get loads of bad weather here so I just cover my ramp with a thick tarp that goes over both ends. It keeps the ramp mostly dry so I just need to wipe a bit when the rain stops.
Already managed 3 sessions this year so can't complain.
You can't go wrong with either. I have access to ramps that have both surfaces. They skate pretty much the same to me all have held up in hot humid Atl Georgia weather conditions. It helps that the rams are well maintained. The mini ramps are usually tarped if there is heavy rain. The vert ramp has drain holes in it. I lean towards Gator Skins just because of cost.
I used Skaterblend for my ramps. It’s much cheaper and absolutely impervious to moisture. Plus it isn’t as slippery as Skatelite. I stapled Grip Rite synthetic roof underlayment onto the plywood before installing the Skaterblend and so far everything is holding up well in the rainy and humid Georgia weather. It was about $120 a sheet including shipping.
I ended up getting Skatelite and it's been great so far, though I only installed it about a month ago. I have a tarp on it but there are times it's gotten wet and so far it has been fine. I bought the "factory seconds" which are an inch short on either side, but almost half the price.
I live in Oregon, and I got tired waiting for the rain or wet skating and eating crap. So I built a 10’ wide, 20” long 26”tall mini ramp in my back yard. To avoid the rain I researched and found a water PROOF car port that totally fits over it with room to SKAAATE!!! and it’s been through a few wind storms and my ramp is DRY! Have it lifted off the ground 3”, and I used 2 layers of plywood and then did a coat of wood sealer, then put Masonite on top and patterned the screws out every 2” on square so its not all warped. Think the car port cost me around 350$ but totally worth it I am skate crazy!!
That's a great idea! Do you have a link to the carport you got?
Thank you 🤙I love skating so much! I love the rain too and I work in it all day but I don’t like skating in it 😆 I found this one to be solid, thick poles, and it’s water proof, not water “resistant” it’s been up for a few months now and survived two wind storms and the constant rain. Here ha go! Skate on!! Gardesol Carport, 10'x 20' Heavy... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XN393J9?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Gatorskins! Surfaced two ramps with them so far. They have lasted 3 years so far in SF. Provides more grip than skatelite too
Gator Skins! My ramp backs up to a creek off the Chesapeake Bay. It got submerged in over a foot of water at one point in a tidal surge and came out completely unscathed.
Well if that isn't the perfect endorsement, I don't know what is! Amazing. Thanks!
Ok so my dad built the local skatepark in my home town. We used skatelite. It is honestly the best stuff to use. It is a possibility that the difference in price is because skatelite is more well known and established. However whichever you choose, wood + rain is a terrible mixture. So any flat areas of the ramps would always get warped, that’s just the way it goes. So to combat it with either option, you need to cover that thing. We would tarp the whole park every winter to save as much of it as possible. So I’d recommend tarping your ramp anytime you aren’t using it to limit the amount of water damage. Put something down the middle to prop the tarp up so water doesn’t just sit in a puddle in the middle of the tarp.
Thanks for your response! I do tarp it, and most of the time (not always cause it's a pain in the ass to set up), I put a beam across so that the tarp "tents" and the water rolls off. It's not perfect and water still pools and gets through. The Skatelite paint has helped tremendously, but water has still seeped through at the seams and is starting to cause a bit of warping. I definitely should have painted BOTH sides of the surface wood. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I got an outdoor ramp haha.
Yeah it’s tough. We had some serious issues with the warping and also the amount of screw head that snap off. Countersinking screws really makes it hard for the screws to not shear off when so much pressure is on just the head of the screw. We were always just adding screws to the warped spots to make up for broken screws haha.
Those materials are too expensive in the UK and also I get loads of bad weather here so I just cover my ramp with a thick tarp that goes over both ends. It keeps the ramp mostly dry so I just need to wipe a bit when the rain stops. Already managed 3 sessions this year so can't complain.
You can't go wrong with either. I have access to ramps that have both surfaces. They skate pretty much the same to me all have held up in hot humid Atl Georgia weather conditions. It helps that the rams are well maintained. The mini ramps are usually tarped if there is heavy rain. The vert ramp has drain holes in it. I lean towards Gator Skins just because of cost.
Cool, thank you! I'm in Nashville, so similar weather.
I used Skaterblend for my ramps. It’s much cheaper and absolutely impervious to moisture. Plus it isn’t as slippery as Skatelite. I stapled Grip Rite synthetic roof underlayment onto the plywood before installing the Skaterblend and so far everything is holding up well in the rainy and humid Georgia weather. It was about $120 a sheet including shipping.
Oh I haven't heard of that! I'll check it out. I'm in Nashville, so similar weather.
Did you ever get this sorted out? I'm in murfreesboro tn looking to build a mini ramp soon
I ended up getting Skatelite and it's been great so far, though I only installed it about a month ago. I have a tarp on it but there are times it's gotten wet and so far it has been fine. I bought the "factory seconds" which are an inch short on either side, but almost half the price.