Bendpak approach ramp locks

[climbabout]

Anyone have a picture of the Bendpack approach ramp locks and how they install?
Tim

 

[Matt M PA]

I can take a picture once I get to the garage today. In short, they resemble Pacman, except they're square in shape. The rods that go through each ramp go thought the "eyes" and the mouth straddles the air line tube on the crosspiece. They are flat, cast pieces.

I do not use them and frankly thought they were a terrible design, especially considering how nice the rest of of the lift was made.

I don't know if it's because I have the longer ramps or not, but in use, they hang down too far to get another car underneath.

Instead of using them, when I want to double park...I just raise the lift a bit...put my shoulder under a ramp...push it up and put a bar clamp between the ramp and the runway. Drive under. Then take the clamps off. Yes, it's a pain in the **** and not what I expected.

Id be very interested to hear if BendPak has come up with a better idea...but before I spend any more on this ramp lock ordeal...it has to work. As it is...I've invested $50 in something that is completely worthless. If I have a disappointment with my hd9...this is it. In fact, I rarely double park with this lift due to the hassle that it is.

 

[climbabout]

Thanks for the explanation - that is how I thought they would install. No picture necessary.
Tim

 

[NitroPress]

I ordered them with my lifts and they did nothing - according to BP, they are designed for the longer ramps of the HD-9 and should not have been ordered with my 7's. (I sent them back for full credit, kudos to BP.)

I agree with Matt, though, they are an underengineered and somewhat overpriced solution to a non-problem. If you really need your ramps chocked up higher after lifting, you can use a strip of 1/2 inch lath or something similar - or, if you're even slightly handy and can fab metal, can make something more permanent and better for your needs. I'd pass on them in any case.

 

[Matt M PA]

Nitropress....very interesting. I did not know they were expressly for the longer ramps...I just assumed my longer ramps were why the perhaps didn't work.

Now I'm even a little more annoyed at the purchase...I never even thought of sending them back. In fact, now as I think about it...I even had to grind some material off of the locks I got as they would have pressed directly against the tube that holds the air line to the crossmember.

I hope Jeff is reading this and can give some info.

 

[Old Moparz]

I can take a picture once I get to the garage today. In short, they resemble Pacman, except they're square in shape. The rods that go through each ramp go thought the "eyes" and the mouth straddles the air line tube on the crosspiece. They are flat, cast pieces.

I do not use them and frankly thought they were a terrible design, especially considering how nice the rest of of the lift was made.

I don't know if it's because I have the longer ramps or not, but in use, they hang down too far to get another car underneath.

Instead of using them, when I want to double park...I just raise the lift a bit...put my shoulder under a ramp...push it up and put a bar clamp between the ramp and the runway. Drive under. Then take the clamps off. Yes, it's a pain in the **** and not what I expected.

Id be very interested to hear if BendPak has come up with a better idea...but before I spend any more on this ramp lock ordeal...it has to work. As it is...I've invested $50 in something that is completely worthless. If I have a disappointment with my hd9...this is it. In fact, I rarely double park with this lift due to the hassle that it is.

You said it perfectly.

I tried using them & struggled quite a bit just to assemble them. Aside from a bad design, the overall quality was very poor. Absolutely NOTHING lined up the way it was intended to, & could only go together with a hammer. Getting it apart was just as bad & the inconvenience forced me to scrap the thought of using them at all. It's actually easier to pull the cotter pins, slide out the rods & remove the ramp entirely to not have them in the way.

 

[NitroPress]

Raise the car, then lift each ramp and put a piece of 1 x 1/2 x 18 inch hardwood lath under the ramp "tongues" to hold it up straight or even tilted up a little. Adjust dimensions for your exact equipment. Easy to put in, easy to remove, and I don't think any way they could fall out with the weight of the ramp clamping it... but you could put some friction material on the side against the crossbar.

My ramps hang straight enough and are only in place on the higher-lift side (74 inches of walkunder space), so I don't even bother with that.

 

[Matt M PA]

Thanks Nitropress...I'm going to try that.

 

[JMURiz]

I got those ramp locks too...and after having them for a while I should have just ordered the alumn ramps and removed them when not in use.

 

[James E]

I have them, they installed and worked fine. I agree, however, that they are an inelegant solution.

Also, I am parking an S2000 under my HD-9, so I have alot of clearance, even though the ramps hang down a bit. Most normal-height cars would not fit unless I removed the ramps entirely.

 

[ket-tek]

I have a set as well. No much to them, the did eliminate about 50% of the droop distance, but the still droop way more than I would like.

I would rather something that held them straight out, but I'm sure BP didn't do that for the same reason the ramps were designed to droop in the first place, so you don't poke your eye out or stab your head on the corner of them.