Car ramp material.

[bigegg]

Near where I lived, when the steelworks shut down, the old forktruck and plant yard belonging to it was gutted, but left open. I used to nip down there to do oil changes on something like these. Saved a lot of farfing around.

that's my plan for the hard standing on the front garden

 

[hotponyshoes]

I made up a set like these years back.
Most of the frame was 25x25x3mm angle.
Tops were 3mm steel checker plate. Think They were about 300mm wide,

Took a fully loaded Shogun many times and had range rovers etc on them with no problems. I think I might have welded a bit of the angle under one of them but I think it was on a join where I didn't have a full size bit of plate for them.

Probably cost about £100 for the materials, angle was new, plate was unused but offcuts. All got stick welded and a tin of hammerite.

Ended up putting them on eBay when I got a proper ramp and don't think they quite made £20 so might be worth having a look for a second hand set?

 

[ibrooks]

those have a further add on for low cars which just hook over the ramp slope

I always liked the look of the Kwik-Lift - they are telescopic too so easier for storage.

The MR1 is more like what I think I can achieve with my kit at home and what I'm effectively trying to copy. I could probably come up with a way of making it telescopic too but it's not necessary so just an additional complication I don't need to mess with.

So if the angle at each side of the ramps is 5mm do we reckon 3mm plate would be strong enough for the treads at 300mm wide?

 

[bigegg]

I always liked the look of the Kwik-Lift - they are telescopic too so easier for storage.

The MR1 is more like what I think I can achieve with my kit at home and what I'm effectively trying to copy. I could probably come up with a way of making it telescopic too but it's not necessary so just an additional complication I don't need to mess with.

So if the angle at each side of the ramps is 5mm do we reckon 3mm plate would be strong enough for the treads at 300mm wide?

no.
I would add a bit of bracing - won't need much, maybe 25x25x3mm on 300mm spacing - just to hold the sides apart.
otherwise the 3mm plate will bow.

 

[ibrooks]

Picked the angle up today - two 3500mm lengths of 50x50x5mm and two lengths of 40x40x5mm just because they didn't have four lengths of 50x50. I don't think steel supplies is their usual business but they were local enough for me to grab it on the roof rack of the Discovery.

Now looking at sources for the plate ans sizes/thicknesses versus prices.

I'm thinking that the stands at the "top" end might be adjustable to give me a couple of different heights. This may involve wooden blocks

Also thinking around how to keep the two ramps at their set widths when in use - again adjustable depending on which car is going up them. Shouldn't be anything too difficult, just thinking of ways to make it quick and easy to adjust as this is the core idea. The stretcher bar that the jack will go under at the "bottom" end is another thought bubbling away in the back of my mind.

I've also been wondering about an attachment to add a winch of some variety to the top end to possibly drag a car up them that won't move under it's own steam.

Thunks thunks - plate first and then some gluing it together

 

[bigegg]

40x40x5 will be fine.

stick to one height - KISS

The ramps won't need to be held at a set width.
there wont be enough lateral force to affect them, so don't worry about it- once you get them lined up with the wheels, they'll stay there!


the "stretcher" (sic - the bar you put the jack under) is the sticking point.
you really need a 75x50 beam across it: or idid, for a 3T payload with a 1.8m gap (and it was close at that!)


as to the winch - again, KISS. make it seperate. not part of the ramps.

 

[james butler]

could go for something like this.
i would make some sort of folding legs that lock.
once the car is up on the ramps.

i like that!

 

[bigegg]

i like that!

I think that i made them.

 

[james butler]

these dont seem a bad price at the cost of making them
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vehicle-...964155?hash=item4d7c9a3abb:g:iIYAAOSw9LlbmSUL

 

[bigegg]

these dont seem a bad price at the cost of making them
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vehicle-...964155?hash=item4d7c9a3abb:g:iIYAAOSw9LlbmSUL

that's about £80 a day wage (minimum national wage) + galv for free.

ie, cheap

 

[ibrooks]

Well they work. The plate is 5mm thick, 300mm wide and 1000mm long.

Still working on the stretcher, I used a couple of lengths of 75mm/100mm box that I had for replacing the sills on the Discovery with a couple of lengths of 32mm BS1387 tube across the gap in the centre where the jack goes. It flexes a bit but does the job. Need something beefier but ideally sub 3" high at the ends and with a 3" lift in the middle for a jack to go under.

The verticals are telescopic so will be adjustable for height when I cross drill them and add a couple of pins.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Well they work. The plate is 5mm thick, 300mm wide and 1000mm long.

What's the tensile strength of those bolts atop the front tubing? Might be the angle of the pic, but it looks like all the front weight of vehicle(s) would be dependent on one [or both] of those not suddenly giving up the ghost?

 

[Paul.]

What's the tensile strength of those bolts atop the front tubing? Might be the angle of the pic, but it looks like all the front weight of vehicle(s) would be dependent on one [or both] of those not suddenly giving up the ghost?

Assuming that they are M12 grade 8.8, in rough figures they are good for about 31kn or about 3.4 tonnes force each in single shear, more than enough for a set of car ramps, the ramp material will start to deform before the bolt lets go.

 

[ibrooks]

Assuming that they are M12 grade 8.8, in rough figures they are good for about 31kn or about 3.4 tonnes force each in single shear, more than enough for a set of car ramps, the ramp material will start to deform before the bolt lets go.

Yep M12 8.8's so in single shear each one should be able to support more than the whole thing - there's also a horizontal at the top of the uprights so if the bolts were to let go the ramp would only drop about 10mm with them at the minimum height as shown in the photo.

Not sure if I'll ever get around to cross drilling the uprights for pins to increase the height but I've got the option.

 

[ibrooks]

Well 5mm angle plus 5mm plate isn't beefy enough for the Discovery - it bends far too much as I'm trying to drive it up them (I may have put a slight permanent bend in them but I can turn them over and repeat to straighten them back out). No matter as most of my work is with smaller stuff, the Disco was just a "would be nice" (and having seen it in the garage again I'm not so sure I've enough height without it hitting the loft space). There are also options for beefing them up with additional box/angle if I feel the need to get the Disco on them in the future.

 

[bigegg]

Well 5mm angle plus 5mm plate isn't beefy enough for the Discovery - it bends far too much as I'm trying to drive it up them (I may have put a slight permanent bend in them but I can turn them over and repeat to straighten them back out). No matter as most of my work is with smaller stuff, the Disco was just a "would be nice" (and having seen it in the garage again I'm not so sure I've enough height without it hitting the loft space). There are also options for beefing them up with additional box/angle if I feel the need to get the Disco on them in the future.

told you.


it won't take a lot of triangular bracing to make it work, however.

 

[ibrooks]

40x40x5 will be fine.

Really?



It does "work" as is - just not for something as hefty as a Discovery.

 

[bigegg]

Really?



It does "work" as is - just not for something as hefty as a Discovery.

I thought you were going to build a frame - not a platform.