The Different Types of Threshold Ramps

Threshold ramps come in many shapes, sizes and materials.  While we always recommend that you begin your threshold ramp search by measuring the height of your threshold, many people like to understand the types of ramps that are generally available as they begin the discovery process.

While a ramp can be made of virtually any construction-strength material, the two most popular types of ramps are made from either rubber or aluminum.

Rubber Threshold Ramps

Rubber threshold ramps are best known for their myriad of styles, affordability and heavy weight. Available in lengths of 14″, 24″, 25″, 48″, rubber ramps weigh between an easily manageable 18 pounds, to a whopping 127 pounds that takes two people to maneuver.

Made from recycled tires, a rubber threshold ramp is usually affordable, durable and easy to install. Rubber ramps are designed for continued use with minimal wear and tear. The ramps will not rust or corrode, but they can become slippery with snow and ice and aren’t always easy to shovel in the winter.

Rubber threshold ramps do not rest on the edge of the threshold itself, like many of their aluminum counterparts do, but rather are self-supporting structures that typically butt up against the raised threshold of a door or landing.

Unlike aluminum ramps, rubber threshold ramps can be trimmed to size (width, length, and height) to fit your individual needs. Rubber threshold ramps are also often made in modules, allowing individual pieces to be built up in ¼” or ½” increments to suit your needs.

EZ-Access Transitions Rubber Threshold Ramps Rise: 1½” up to 2½” Width: 36″
Rubber Threshold Ramp

Adjustable Ramps

Designed for single step rises of up to nine inches in height, adjustable threshold ramps feature sturdy, supporting legs on the high end of the ramp with a 2-inch range of vertical adjustment to create an exact, customized fit. Adjustable threshold ramps excel in situations where the door threshold or landing does not perfectly match the height of a standardized ramp, or where the threshold is higher or lower on one side. The adjustability allows you to perfectly match the height of the threshold within a fraction of an inch.

The standard sizes of adjustable threshold ramps include 32″ or 36″ wide by 12″, 23″, 24″, 36″, 42″, or 48″ long.  Of course, Handi-Ramp can manufacture any particular size that you need.

Our stand-alone adjustable threshold ramps can support weights of 600 to 750 pounds, and the ramps weigh from 6 to 40 pounds, depending on the size. The Handi-Ramp exclusive non-slip button or expanded metal surface make adjustable ramps secure in all weather conditions including ice and snow.

One of the unique features of the Handi-Ramp adjustable aluminum ramps are the side safety skirts that are beveled from the bottom to the top of the ramp. These protective skirts reduce the chance of a wheelchair or scooter having a wheel slip off the side of a ramp, while also insuring that a door will be able to swing freely across the ramp and the beveled side skirts.

Adjustable Threshold Ramps

Aluminum Threshold Ramp Plates

Aluminum threshold ramp plates are a very popular choice when you need a ramp to rise 3 inches or less.  Handi-Ramp aluminum threshold ramp plates are strong, light weight, easily maneuvered and affordable.  Threshold ramp plates are attached with screws to the door’s wood base plate, (or with lags on concrete sills) so they’re suitable for situations where there is at least a full inch to the plate lip to rest upon. Our aluminum threshold ramp plates can support 600 pounds of weight, come in a 36-inch width, and lengths of 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18 inches.

We also sell EZ-Access angled threshold plates that have a slight angle at the base, making them appropriate for walkways that approach a threshold at an angle.

EZ Access Transitions Angled Entry Plates
Threshold Ramp Plates

Aluminum Self-Supporting Threshold Ramps

Unlike threshold ramp plates, aluminum self-supporting ramps butt up against a door plate, threshold, or landing and do not rely on that surface for support. Handi-Ramp’s sturdy, OSHA and ADA approved aluminum threshold ramps support up to 750 pounds. Suitable for rises of up to 3 inches, Handi-Ramp threshold ramps feature our patented raised button surface that increases traction in all types of weather including rain and snow. Used in combination, two self-supporting threshold ramps can create a bridge over a raised threshold, such as a sliding glass door support channel.

Handi-Ramp self-supporting threshold ramps weigh between 3 and 40 pounds, are available in two widths: 32″ or 36″, and come in the following lengths: 8″, 10″, 12″, 16″, 23″, 24″, 42″, and 48″.  These ramps are available in a non-slip black grip surface for indoor or covered areas, or our patented raised button surface for threshold ramps that are exposed to rain, ice and snow.

PVI Self Supporting Threshold Ramp
Self-supporting Threshold Ramp

Bariatric Threshold Ramps

A unique category of threshold ramps is the bariatric threshold ramp that is designed to support weights of 800 pounds or more. According to the Cleveland Clinic, bariatric patients are those who are 100 pounds or more over their target weight with a body mass index of 40 or more. The need to size a ramp based on the weight it will carry is critical.  Specialized electric scooters can weigh well over 100 pounds and when you add the weight of a bariatric patient and the objects they might be carrying, the load capacity of the ramp must be sufficient.

Aluminum Sliding Door Threshold Ramps

The Sliding Door Threshold Ramp Kit is a unified accessibility solution for sliding doors. Before the HandiRamp Sliding Door Threshold Ramp, the only solution was to purchase two separate threshold ramps – one for the inside of the home and the other for the outside of the sliding glass door. This not only made finding the right interior and exterior threshold ramp cumbersome, but it also left the center u-channel or rail unprotected. 

The Sliding Door Threshold Ramp rests on the floor and/or deck on each side of the sliding door’s track, meaning it does not have to be assembled and moved every time it is needed. The hinged crossover bridge acts as a sturdy platform that can be folded down for smooth passage through the threshold or folded up and out of the way in order for the sliding doors to fully close without having to remove the ramp.  

The kit allows for full customization, meaning you choose the specifications for each of the parts (the indoor ramp, the outdoor ramp, and the crossover bridge) in order to create the threshold ramp that will flawlessly function with your sliding glass door. 

Sliding Door Threshold Ramps
Sliding Door Threshold Ramp Kit

Contact Handi-Ramp!

Ask a Question

Don't Miss Out!

Sign up for Cargo Van Ramp Specials