DIY Work Ramps

[tjm73]

I really, REALLY hope that there is a lot of lateral bracing in there that we aren't seeing in this picture . . .


Norm

See all that plywood. That's a LOT of lateral bracing.

 

[Wes06]

true, enough points of contact that plywood will provide a shit ton of bracing in that direction, id still like alitle extra vertical support where tires rest but thats just me, pretty neat what people build with alitle knowledge

 

[Norm Peterson]

See all that plywood. That's a LOT of lateral bracing.

No, all that plywood is in the car's longitudinal direction which is fine for that direction (only).

I'm thinking cross-wise to the car and I'm seeing three wheel chocks (that do nothing laterally) and maybe one lateral bulkhead in the middle. Nothing else to keep the whole business from collapsing sideways (probably twisting about that middle piece) from, say, a strong gust of wind. Wouldn't catch me under there with as little bracing as that picture is showing me.

Never mind that the inclined portions are not braced at all between where they're hopefully spiked in at the ends. I wouldn't count on the vertical supports to be very effective.

As a structural engineer and one who must of necessity work on his cars outdoors, I've had some thoughts about a lift and the kinds of loads that it would have to be able to resist in complete safety. The 5.8 earthquake out here on the East coast in 2011 reminded me that wind isn't the only source of lateral load that should be considered no matter where you live.


Norm

 

[tjm73]

An idea I've been working on. Raises the car just over 13". About $400 in material by my estimation. The flat level section is just over 10 feet and the ramp is just over 8 feet for a nice gradual rise for lowered cars. It's mostly 2x12. The little wedges on the left are for really low cars to get the nose up. The little triangle is just a chock. Width is 19".

 

[RichardSATX]

<to the OP> I have the same ramps built out of 2X6's for the 2011 and 2012. They work great. Made them from leftovers from remodeling the house.

 

[46Tbird]

I noticed only a handful of ramps shown here have enough room for a wheel choke. If you put the front of the car up on the ramps, keep in mind that the taller the ramps, the more likely the car is going to roll back on you when you jack up the rear of the car.

If you are making a pair of ramps, leave some length on the top shelf for some kind of wheel choke. It doesn't needs a lot, but there should be something there to keep the tires from rolling.

Never, never, NEVER put one end of a car on ramps of any kind and then jack up the other end.

If the goal is to get the entire car in the air, drive on ramps, jack up the car, and support it on stands.

 

[Kidd]

Those concerned about the weight on my design I have had by friends F350 dually on those ramps, front and rear wheels. All pieces assembled are glued and screwed.

I had a chock for the tire that the pegs held in but they recenlty got misplaced.

I will be making another set soon that will be 3" taller. That design is ok for oil changes but anything else and it's a little cramped under there.

Would it be to much trouble to get a break down of the specs for the new ramps?
I would really like to build a set of these before I start working on my car.

 

[Darin]

PM me a phone number and I will text good pics and dims.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Kidd]

Pm sent, thanks you sir!

 

[Boaisy]

PM Sent as well. Now that I saw this thread, I'm really tempted to make a set. My dad has had metal ramps since the late 80's early 90's, but they aren't that wide for the factory tires. I usually get a bit worried that they may kick out from under the car one day.

 

[Norm Peterson]

double post


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

My dad has had metal ramps since the late 80's early 90's, but they aren't that wide for the factory tires. I usually get a bit worried that they may kick out from under the car one day.

I really hope he's got the kind of metal ramps that have metal bracing down near the bottoms of both sides running between the inclines and the vertical support end. The ones that don't have this have been known to collapse (age and abuse may have played a part, but that's what can happen).

Even the good ones are still too narrow for today's performance tires - the set I've had since the early 1970's can barely accept 235/50's and won't take 255/45's without the tire riding up on the ridge on one side. Forget anything wider than that.


Norm

 

[onehotpny]

nice design, but will be very heavy to move around and figuring where to store them when not in use would require a large garage space to store it . The ones I made are easy to store, I used them just yesterday to change the heater core in my sons '92 Ford ranger.. was perfect for getting the truck high enough to drain the radiator.

An idea I've been working on. Raises the car just over 13". About $400 in material by my estimation. The flat level section is just over 10 feet and the ramp is just over 8 feet for a nice gradual rise for lowered cars. It's mostly 2x12. The little wedges on the left are for really low cars to get the nose up. The little triangle is just a chock. Width is 19".

 

[Boaisy]

I really hope he's got the kind of metal ramps that have metal bracing down near the bottoms of both sides running between the inclines and the vertical support end. The ones that don't have this have been known to collapse (age and abuse may have played a part, but that's what can happen).

Even the good ones are still too narrow for today's performance tires - the set I've had since the early 1970's can barely accept 235/50's and won't take 255/45's without the tire riding up on the ridge on one side. Forget anything wider than that.


Norm

Yes, they have horizontal braces along the bottom. I can't remember if there was a cross brace (just one diagonal /) though since I can fit small cinder blocks on the bottom braces. The edge of the tread rides on the raised sides of the ramps.

 

[torchred]

I don't know if some of you have had problems with your ramps wanting to slide forward as you're trying to pull up on them, but I have. My garage floor is the typical very smooth garage cement. So I drilled a couple holes through the ramps into the cement floor to help lock in the ramps so they never move when I'm pulling up on them. Each ramp has an exact location marked on the floor so I know exactly where to place them. The drilled holes are all slightly larger than the 4.6L main bolts I drop into them (I had them laying around). It's a very inexpensive but effective way of getting a lowered car up in the air quickly.

In this pic you can barely see the bolt head just below the 3rd tier. These were made from 2x12's.

not to bring life to an old thread but.....

so yeah I had a problem with my ramps moving, but I didn't want to modify my nice smooth garage floor...so I did the logical thing! Throw more wood at it! lol..I Cut 2 4x4s the exact length I needed (like 10.5 feet if memory serves me right) to butt up against the wall, then drew sharpee markings around my ramps so I knew exactly where to stick them every time, so I could drive up the ramps with them braced to the wall without the GF there to tell me if stuff was slipping or moving around. Works great.

The picture of the ramp setup above makes my skin crawl........no wheel chocks front or back and a short top pad??!??? I had mine fall off a jack from about 20" up and it is amazing the amount of speed and force your mustang develops from just that far up. That and I had a family friend killed under a Porsche that slipped off a jack so I'm ultra paranoid under a car.

 

[torchred]

 

[one eyed willy]

 

[Kidd]

Well that looks safe

HAHAHAHA

 

[DiMora]

Here are my Epic car ramps.

These suckers are big and heavy, and aren't any fun to move at all, and they don' shrink down for storage, but I cannot think of anything safer other than a lift with safety bars.

My neighbor borrows them too...

Anyway, this is what I mean (This is the early version; I since made them taller):

Current version - note they are now "7 boards tall" and have a 2x4 safety stop.

Recipe:

All boards are 2 x 12's , except for the top "Stop block", which is a 2x4

You need:

(2) 95" long 2x12's - These are your bottom boards.
(2) 82" long boards
(2) 69" long boards
(2) 56" long boards
(2) 43" long boards
(2) 30" long boards
(2) 17" long boards
(2) 2x4's cut to the width of the ramp as a "top stop".

Each subsequent board is cut 13" shorter then the bottom board. This keeps your chin spoiler from hitting the ramps while you drive up.
So...you screw the stack together, in order, the following boards on top of the above 95" long board:


Put another way, your stack looks like this. Repeat for your second ramp.

2x4
xxxxxxx17"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx30"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx43"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx56"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx69"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx82"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx95"

I have also added casters to mine to aid in moving them around. Maybe I'll whip up a video later on this weekend.

I use a piece of 4x4 as a tire block to keep the car from rolling backward, and I also chock the rear wheels unless the rear is raised, then I support the rear axles with jack-stands.

Update: I also have cut half of them off "Staggered" and I use four lag bolts if I want to join them.

After the car is up high, I can pull off the rear half and then easily get jacks under the rear sides for high-work activity such as tranny swaps.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

I'd have to buy a crane to move those around!!!! LOL!!!