Sabrina's Got Wood!!!
Finished sanding all surfaces of the main ramps (4x) today. Actually yesterday, the Evo was on the ramps overnight. No problem. I have made it possible to be a 1 man job getting on and off the ramp.
I did finally install my Cobb DP which sparked this whole ramp assembly idea. Really, really easy to access now. I want to buy a creeper for convenience even though I can almost sit up underneath the vehicle.
Since my system is made of 3 sections for each side LH and RH, I'm going start a naming convention to minimize confusion.
1st section - "On ramp", ~27 degree incline
2nd section - "Middle section", flat, rear tire will stay on this section
3rd section - "Last section", flat, front tires will remain on this section with stopper blocks at end
With that cleared up, even though my 1st section design/assembly worked for my AWD Sabrina, it needs to be refined to accept any car. My cousin tried his FWD MS3 and though there were no accidents, I had to modify the ramps on the fly to safely get his front wheels off the 2nd portion and back onto the ramp and off the system. I knew I had to deal with making the whole system more integrated instead of it being so modular, but I wasn't planning to do it on this trip back home. I guess the next portion of my project is to "fasten and secure" and accessorize.
I'm traveling back to Japan this morning and also being lazy with posting pics. But eventually they'll be up!
I did finally install my Cobb DP which sparked this whole ramp assembly idea. Really, really easy to access now. I want to buy a creeper for convenience even though I can almost sit up underneath the vehicle.
Since my system is made of 3 sections for each side LH and RH, I'm going start a naming convention to minimize confusion.
1st section - "On ramp", ~27 degree incline
2nd section - "Middle section", flat, rear tire will stay on this section
3rd section - "Last section", flat, front tires will remain on this section with stopper blocks at end
With that cleared up, even though my 1st section design/assembly worked for my AWD Sabrina, it needs to be refined to accept any car. My cousin tried his FWD MS3 and though there were no accidents, I had to modify the ramps on the fly to safely get his front wheels off the 2nd portion and back onto the ramp and off the system. I knew I had to deal with making the whole system more integrated instead of it being so modular, but I wasn't planning to do it on this trip back home. I guess the next portion of my project is to "fasten and secure" and accessorize.
I'm traveling back to Japan this morning and also being lazy with posting pics. But eventually they'll be up!
Well here are the pics of the ramp in use and in storage. Still gotta make a few mods to improve it, but works for now. Under body work is uber easy and accessible with them. Felt very safe underneath when I was removing my stock DP and installing my Cobb (as you know, it takes a lot of leverage to break the bolts loose).
^^ Then don't... I'm perfectly fine working under it and comfortable staying underneath for long periods. If it ever collapses (which it won't), the you can say "I told you so"....
Newbie
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
From: Jacksonville NC
You are one brave soul........I dunno about getting under a car on a wooden ramp. Keep your buddy close by, just in case say you need him for anything........I dunno like lifting the car off your chest if it falls.
Have you considered adding some support inbetween the vertical pieces of wood?
I am no expert by any means but I would feel this is the area of most concern. There is nothing to keep those pieces from moving forward of backward with the cars movements.
It might be perfectly safe. But in this case I would consider over engineering them before anything else.
Aside from that nice job. I would love to have a wide set of ramps that fit the whole car.
I am no expert by any means but I would feel this is the area of most concern. There is nothing to keep those pieces from moving forward of backward with the cars movements.
It might be perfectly safe. But in this case I would consider over engineering them before anything else.
Aside from that nice job. I would love to have a wide set of ramps that fit the whole car.
I really like this idea, however I would probably suggest a couple minor differences (one of which unfortunately would increase the price by at least double if not more).
First off, looks like pine. Pine is a pretty soft wood, and fairly easy to break in comparison to a nice hardwood say hard white maple or white/red oak. The Janka hardness of white pine is around 400 while hard maple/oaks are around 1400ish. That being said pick up a piece of red oak or hard maple and you'll see the difference in how sturdy the material feels just in your hand. Unfortunately this will increase the price quite a bit.
The other issue I would have like other's have said is the lack of bracing, and even if you skip the lack of cross bracing you also have the issue of butt joints being the absolute weakest joint you can make to join two pieces of wood. A dado joint would be a much better alternative although it would require some more advanced woodworking tools (dado blade on your table saw, or a straight flute bit on your a router) to make and some more time but the joint strength would be well worth it. Here is a comparison of many of the woodworking joints. While a dado is not the strongest either it is much stronger (granting 3 gluing surfaces as well as no lateral movement which would be a good idea in the case of driving on them and putting lateral stress on the joints).
Also not sure if you mentioned it but wood glue for sure not just nails/screws. Do the right joint and wood glue and your joint will never break.
The ramps are in pretty good order as they are though, I would just make sure you have used wood glue to secure them in addition to nails/screws and a fairly easy update you could do to them to increase their lateral support would be to add a piece of wood that is in between the vertical supports, directly attached to the drive surface and to the bottom surface, basically making all of your joints somewhat of a dado. Something like attached, to the left is how the joints currently look, to the right the increased support version. (Pardon the quick rendering that is not to scale)
All that said, I applaud your effort, it is a very cool idea for getting the car up at a workable height in a standard garage. I may have to look at making some myself out of oak in the future.
First off, looks like pine. Pine is a pretty soft wood, and fairly easy to break in comparison to a nice hardwood say hard white maple or white/red oak. The Janka hardness of white pine is around 400 while hard maple/oaks are around 1400ish. That being said pick up a piece of red oak or hard maple and you'll see the difference in how sturdy the material feels just in your hand. Unfortunately this will increase the price quite a bit.
The other issue I would have like other's have said is the lack of bracing, and even if you skip the lack of cross bracing you also have the issue of butt joints being the absolute weakest joint you can make to join two pieces of wood. A dado joint would be a much better alternative although it would require some more advanced woodworking tools (dado blade on your table saw, or a straight flute bit on your a router) to make and some more time but the joint strength would be well worth it. Here is a comparison of many of the woodworking joints. While a dado is not the strongest either it is much stronger (granting 3 gluing surfaces as well as no lateral movement which would be a good idea in the case of driving on them and putting lateral stress on the joints).
Also not sure if you mentioned it but wood glue for sure not just nails/screws. Do the right joint and wood glue and your joint will never break.
The ramps are in pretty good order as they are though, I would just make sure you have used wood glue to secure them in addition to nails/screws and a fairly easy update you could do to them to increase their lateral support would be to add a piece of wood that is in between the vertical supports, directly attached to the drive surface and to the bottom surface, basically making all of your joints somewhat of a dado. Something like attached, to the left is how the joints currently look, to the right the increased support version. (Pardon the quick rendering that is not to scale)
All that said, I applaud your effort, it is a very cool idea for getting the car up at a workable height in a standard garage. I may have to look at making some myself out of oak in the future.
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Evolving Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 357
Likes: 17
From: Australia
Like the idea of this, probably still safer than a jack and car stands (at least the way most people set it up), I would prob throw some car stand in under there for good measure (not just one to hold up your exhaust) more like 4 of them!
I was thinking about using a concrete saw to cut a hole in my garage floor, scoop out the dirt and build some walls out of concrete or plywood, make a lip to keep water out and a seat for a ply lid to sit in and have my own floor pit. Heaps safer than any ramps and probably not much more exspensive to make (more elbow grease needed though). I was wonder if anyone here has done this, seems the obvious way to go if you ask me.
I was thinking about using a concrete saw to cut a hole in my garage floor, scoop out the dirt and build some walls out of concrete or plywood, make a lip to keep water out and a seat for a ply lid to sit in and have my own floor pit. Heaps safer than any ramps and probably not much more exspensive to make (more elbow grease needed though). I was wonder if anyone here has done this, seems the obvious way to go if you ask me.