Patent ID: 6843635

Claim:
A ramp assembly, comprising; (a) a frame attachable to a vehicle having a floor; (b) a platform coupled to a portion of the frame; (c) a ramp having a weight; (d) a reciprocating mechanism coupled to the ramp and disposed between the ramp and platform for reciprocating the ramp between a deployed position and a stowed position in response to a load, the reciprocating mechanism applying a preload to the ramp to counterbalance the weight of the ramp during actuation of the ramp between the deployed and stowed positions to reduce the load required to reciprocate the ramp between the deployed and stowed positions; and (e) a preload adjustment assembly coupled to the reciprocating mechanism and operable to adjust a magnitude of the preload applied to the ramp by the reciprocating mechanism by selective longitudinal adjustment of a component of the preload adjustment assembly.