PRODUCT EVALUATION: It’s Safer, It’s Smoother, It’s Super-Glides.
Last winter, it was almost humorous watching people slide down the rear ramp of our four-bed enclosed trailer. It seems every enclosed becomes as slippery as a freshly zambonied ice rink. The laughing stopped when one of our guests twisted an ankle and ended his snowmobile season early. We knew a fix was in order, so we put a call in to Randall Bowman, inventor of the Superclamp and Super-Glides to have their product installed on our ramp door. I’m sure all trailer companies will be interested in looking at this product.
The Super-Glides are plastic guides that are ideal for loading ramps, tilt-trailers, and truck ramps and they make loading both snowmobiles and ATVs a breeze. Some guides we’ve seen on the market are tall, and won’t let your skis move side to side. They also don’t provide any grip, and in some cases, are more slippery than the wooden floor deck itself. The Super-Glides are shorter than any of the competitor’s products, so even if you don’t line up your skis 100%, no problem. And with the special grips, your snowmobile tracks or ATV tires will have no issues climbing in or descending out of the trailer.
Over the years, we noticed that sometimes the carbides would bite into the wood, either bringing you to a complete and unexpected stop, or would take chunks out of the plywood easier than Paul Bunyan could. With the Super-Glides, the friction is all but eliminated, making it far safer to load your sled on the trailer.
Another issue we’ve witnessed are the studs gouging the wood flooring making your trailer look worn long before its time. It doesn’t take long before replacement is necessary but Super-Glides can solve this problem and help extend the life of the trailer. Each Super-Glide is 8.5 inches wide, more than enough to accommodate snowmobiles and ATVs, and on average, are a full 2 inches wider than the competition.
An industry exclusive is the venting on the bottom of the Super-Glides that minimizes the presence of moisture that otherwise would remain trapped under the glide. This unwanted dampness is a major cause of premature wood rot.
Installation of the Super-Glides is a snap, and can be done in no time at all. There are just three simple steps: Step 1: Measure the width of your sled and/or ATV to get the correct width. Step 2: Lay out the lengths needed. There must be an expansion gap of -inch between each Super-Glide piece to prevent buckling or bowing. Step 3: Secure the Super-Glides to the deck flooring using the shoulder screws provided, and to allow for expansion and contraction, remember not to over-tighten the screws past the shoulder.
After slips, falls, and one particular near-death experience, we can say that based on safety alone, the Super-Glides are worth every penny. The kit contains eight (8) pieces measuring 30" long by 8.5" wide, and forty-eight (48) custom designed shoulder screws. The slides cover twenty feet in length and the kit has a suggested retail price of $99.99.
