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DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:57 pm
by teK--
Now I never thought of this, even though I already use a couple of pieces of 10x2 to get the wheels "started" so I can get my jack underneath...

http://www.diymyhonda.com/integra/ramps ... -under-40/

Screw paying a small fortune for ramps which often do not suit lowered cars or they aren't wide enough for those with phat wheels! DIY FTW :moil:

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:53 pm
by Jaz
I like it. Will take up a little more storage space than other ramps, but you can setup your own gradient of rise if your car was lowered.

I like the stands with lights and all. I'll let the wood engineers tell me about the structural integrity of them though.

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 4:05 pm
by nytrojen
Jaz wrote:I like it. Will take up a little more storage space than other ramps, but you can setup your own gradient of rise if your car was lowered.

I like the stands with lights and all. I'll let the wood engineers tell me about the structural integrity of them though.


I'm sure that fresh timber will be more than strong enough. The problem is that wood rots, is easily affected by moisture and also prone to insect damage

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 4:28 pm
by tangcla
Should be fine if it's solid (i.e. packed timber on top of another full slat) like in the pictures.

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:51 pm
by teK--
Yeah probably don't use second hand timber unless you are sure it is not rotten or has been exposed to moisture for a long time.

I just made up a set today cost $30 for 2 treated pine sleepers, 50x200x2400. I would have liked wider sleepers to accomodate cars with wider tyres, but 200 was the widest they had at Bunnings. You should be able to find 45x240x2400 at some timber stores but you should then add another step to the ramp as it will otherwise be 15mm lower than mine.

The first two landings are 9" long, and the top one is 11" long. The stopper is 3" taller than the top landing. With the wheel on the top landing and against the stopper, there is still another 1/2" of landing behind the tyre contact patch which is fine. In hindsight I could make the stopper lower which would allow the wheel to roll further a bit more, or make the top landing an inch longer.

It's all held together by several 75mm long nails (don't need many). Many extra nails were used on the stopper piece as I do NOT want this piece to come off as the car rolls against it!.

It gives more than enough height to do everything from a basic service to changing a swaybar or removing the front part of the exhaust. I might look at adding another level to the ramps (on the bottom!) to give a little bit more clearance as it's cramped to get a breaker bar into some areas.

They are light, compact and fit in the boot which is much more practical than lugging around a 45kg+ trolley jack, jack stands etc.

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:22 am
by smythie
Don't worry about the strength of the wood and weather it has been damaged by insects or wood. How many wooden framed houses have you seen fall down of their own accord? A setup such as teK's or the mustang guy's is immensely stonger than a house is. As long as the wood isn't falling apart in your hands it will be strong enough.

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:11 am
by nytrojen
smythie wrote:Don't worry about the strength of the wood and weather it has been damaged by insects or wood. How many wooden framed houses have you seen fall down of their own accord? A setup such as teK's or the mustang guy's is immensely stonger than a house is. As long as the wood isn't falling apart in your hands it will be strong enough.


The solid timber wouldn't worry anyone - it's more the box frame type that would concern me. As you said, I haven't seen a house fall down of it's own accord, but I'd still think twice about being under a 1300kg object if the wood isn't looking the best

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:21 pm
by PHAT GT
might be a little slow to reply but i just read this post and thought i had the perfect pic to explain why ramp come in handy

Image

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 6:30 pm
by Lib 3.0LR
So where can you get a set from :lol: :lol:

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:24 pm
by smythie
:rofl:

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:32 pm
by Sentinel
Isn't that the new inflatable jacks???

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:39 pm
by smythie
BMW specific

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:48 pm
by Sentinel
smythie wrote:BMW specific


I was thinking more like Porsche "drivers" aides... Maybe we should call them Edelstien jacks... :shock:

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:49 pm
by teK--
haha Phat, your driveway, right? :)

Re: DIY car ramps

PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:15 am
by smythie
Not enough Liberty owners milling about