Bendpak extended ramps

[DerStig]

Are these ramps strong? My floor is on a slope, when I hang them obviously a good portion of the ramp wont be making contact with the ground only the tip will.

I also have the lip of the garage door in the way (the one that prevents water from coming in), so part of the ramp might rest on that piece and tip might be in the air.

Would the ramps bend? Are they wobbly and would they come off easily?

Thanks.

 

[DerStig]

Bump

 

[Matt M PA]

I have the extended ramps. Mine are very much like the shorter ones, just longer. Meaning, they aren't aluminum or simply "lift off". They are hinged, roll along the floor and seem as strong as the originals.

I can post a pic of them, but they are currently off the lift so i can double park over the winter.
So, you could see them...just not in use...

Also, at least in my case...I wouldn't want them sticking over the edge of the cement as it would contact the door when it closes.

 

[DerStig]

Thanks, I dont know what ramps you have, curious to know. I am not going to leave the ramps on when the door closes, they wont fit in my garage. I will attach them only when I have to operate the lift.

The concern here is as follows:

- Bendpak told me the height of the highest side of the ramp is 4.25". My crossmembers/runways where the ramps will be attached is about 1.75" off the floor (due to slope). Adding the runway height of 4.5-5", that means these ramps will be 6.5" or so above the floor when they are attached leaving at least 2" of space. That space will result in pretty much 50-60% of the ramps surface not making contact with my floor.

The concern is when the weight of the car gets on it, will these ramps bend because they are aluminum not steel.

The lip of the garage door, the little raised area is another problem.

I basically want to know how strong they are.

I already have backup methods right now that works but its a hurdle to be honest:

- I have race ramp extensions which I had bought because my cars wouldnt clear regular race ramps. I place those under the steel ramps and the car clears.

Or for lower cars

- I also built a little platform made of 4 2x4s with their tips cut at an angle (i used 2x4s because I had plenty spare). I screwed them together and I place it underneath the steel ramp extending out by 20" or so.

The problem with either of these is well its too much work wood is heavy and steel is heavier. Storage is a problem.

If I could get the 48" ramp to work, that would be great.

 

[Al G]

I would recommend adjusting your cables so the runways rest on the floor when lowered. Now when raising the front locks will click before the rear locks, but as long as both have cleared the same lock when you stop they'll settle back into the same locks and be level. You just have to be sure both front and rear have passed the same lock before you stop raising.

 

[thickhead]

I had a photo of someone that had made a set using two 6' 1"x12" boards.
Cut each one into 1', 2' and 3' pieces then screw them together.
That is what I'm going to build.

 

[DerStig]

I would recommend adjusting your cables so the runways rest on the floor when lowered. Now when raising the front locks will click before the rear locks, but as long as both have cleared the same lock when you stop they'll settle back into the same locks and be level. You just have to be sure both front and rear have passed the same lock before you stop raising.

I cannot do that, at my top lock (which is the one I use the most), there is exactly 3" of ceiling clearance (after it rests on the locks). Now think about when you are raising the lift if I lower the cables so it rests on the baseplate, that 3" will be 1", its extremely close.

I actually went back and looked at all the pictures. I also measured the steel yellpw ramps. Bendpak told me the aluminum ones have the same height. Steel ramps have 4". Even if I were to lower my cables all the way, that would be a minimum of 5" plus 1/4" (crossbar plus baseplate) off the floor meaning a large portion of the ramps wouldnt make contact with the floor even in the best case. I m guessing they were designed with the idea that not the entire ramp will make contact with the floor.

I also just did some more measurements, with the 36" ramps, my car will clear but probably with a few microns. Not even a mm of clearance so I need the 48" ramps.

 

[LX-Markham]

...if I lower the cables so it rests on the baseplate, that 3" will be 1", its extremely close.

When the lift is lowered to the ground, you're saying the beam (crosstube) is not resting on the baseplates? It's still in the air resting on the cables?

 

[Al G]

I have the 3' aluminum ramps. Even with the cross beam resting on the baseplates there is a little gap between the sides of the ramp and the floor. I don't worry about it.

 

[DerStig]

When the lift is lowered to the ground, you're saying the beam (crosstube) is not resting on the baseplates? It's still in the air resting on the cables?

Of course. How can it possibly in a sloped floor?

 

[Matt M PA]

Mine aren't the lightweight aluminum versions. They're just longer versions of the factory ramps that hang down when the lift goes up. And...they're heavy and awkward.

 

[DerStig]

Mine aren't the lightweight aluminum versions. They're just longer versions of the factory ramps that hang down when the lift goes up. And...they're heavy and awkward.

Yeah I asked about those today and was told they weigh 140 lbs together. Wow!

 

[Al G]

Of course. How can it possibly in a sloped floor?

By adjusting the cables. I have one of my lifts on a sloped floor and the cross beams sit on the floor. The runways maintain that slope as it rises and then sit level in the locks.

 

[LX-Markham]

Mine is on a sloped floor. The crosstube at the high (back) end sits on the baseplate as the low (front) crosstube continues down until it sits on the baseplate. The cables on the back crosstube just end up with a bit more slack in them while in the lowered position.

 

[DerStig]

By adjusting the cables. I have one of my lifts on a sloped floor and the cross beams sit on the floor. The runways maintain that slope as it rises and then sit level in the locks.

Yea I just cannot do that. If I did that my car would come 1" or less closer to the ceiling before resting on the top lock.

I asked bendpak today actually this question their answer was in the order of importance:

- Level runway when on a lock
- Level runway when raising
- Cross tube resting on baseplate

The only concern they had was if I am leaving the car in the lowered position extended period of time like parking because cables will stretch too much and it will eat away from their life. But i am only doing that to get my car on the ramps so the lift sits like that for a minute or so which they said is not an issue.

 

[DerStig]

Mine is on a sloped floor. The crosstube at the high (back) end sits on the baseplate as the low (front) crosstube continues down until it sits on the baseplate. The cables on the back crosstube just end up with a bit more slack in them while in the lowered position.

Then either your runways are not level when on locks OR your locks are not synchronized. There is no way to have level runways while on locks AND level runways while going up or down AND have crosstube on all 4 baseplates while its lowered fully.

To be honest my high side (where cross tubes are lowest) has 2-3 threads from the cables sticking out. Thats as low as the cables will go but even then my cross tubes are not resting on baseplates. There is a 1/4" gap and the cables have tension. Even in that corner if I wanted cross tubes to be fully lowered, I would run out of threads on one of the cables. So I dont see how what you are saying is possible.

 

[James E]

If the lift is set up correctly, even with a moderate slope towards your door, when all the way down, the rails will sit on the base plates and the rear cables will have more slack in them than the front. As you raise the rails, the front will start to go up, attain level and then there will be equal tension on the front and back cables and the rails will stay level all the way up.

The ladder locks are independent of this and can be adjusted to work properly. Setting your rails and cables in this manner will not affect how high the car sits when the lift is up.

It is not recommended that you have the lift set so that any of the cables are in tension when the lift is all the way down.

To answer your question about the ramps, they sag quite a bit as the rails go up. The rails are several inches off of the ground before the roller tips of the ramps leave the ground.

I have an HD-9 of my own so I'm not just talking out of my ****.

 

[DerStig]

If the lift is set up correctly, even with a moderate slope towards your door, when all the way down, the rails will sit on the base plates and the rear cables will have more slack in them than the front. As you raise the rails, the front will start to go up, attain level and then there will be equal tension on the front and back cables and the rails will stay level all the way up.

The ladder locks are independent of this and can be adjusted to work properly. Setting your rails and cables in this manner will not affect how high the car sits when the lift is up.

It is not recommended that you have the lift set so that any of the cables are in tension when the lift is all the way down.

To answer your question about the ramps, they sag quite a bit as the rails go up. The rails are several inches off of the ground before the roller tips of the ramps leave the ground.

I have an HD-9 of my own so I'm not just talking out of my ****.

Can you please explain this to me in a bit more detail?

- my columns are all plum
- my runway is level in 4 direction while on locks
- my runway is level in 4 direction while in operation

I have a slope of 2" from high side to low side. Now given above, mathematically, what you are saying isnt possible.

What I should add is to obtain the above levelness, 1 corner of my cables are tightened all the way (2.25-2.5" of threads showing) and the diagonal corner to that the cable is all the way down only 2-3 threads (so 1/4-1/2" of threads) showing. If i were to loosen the low side cable, it wouldnt be level.

 

[James E]

Let's say for the sake of this illustration that in your current situation, when your rails are lowered all the way down, your rails are level, at the rear they are sitting on the base pad and at the front they are 2" above the base pad and at both ends, your cables have no slack in them. This is how I have interpreted your description.

Now, to get the lift so the rails sit on the base pads at all four corners when it is fully lowered (which is how it ought to be when at rest) you need to add 2" of slack at all four corners. What this does is it allows the front of the rails to reach the ground with little to no slack in the cables, and it will put some slack into the cables at the rear (the rear was already on the base pads).

After doing this, when you raise the lift, the cables spool in evenly so the first thing that will happen is the front of the rails will begin to rise. During the first 2" of lift, the rear of the rails aren't moving because the ram is still spooling up the 2" of slack cable you have dialed in. After the front has risen 2" and the slack cable has been reeled in at the rear, the rear end of the rails will then begin to raise. At this point, the rails are level and they will continue to be level all the way up.

This doesn't change your lock settings because the lock ladders aren't engaged until the rails are a couple feet off of the ground.

 

[James E]

BTW, 2" of fall towards your garage door over the length of your lift seems to be a lot. It's no wonder that you've had trouble working this all out.

 

[DerStig]

Let's say for the sake of this illustration that in your current situation, when your rails are lowered all the way down, your rails are level, at the rear they are sitting on the base pad and at the front they are 2" above the base pad and at both ends, your cables have no slack in them. This is how I have interpreted your description.

correct

Now, to get the lift so the rails sit on the base pads at all four corners when it is fully lowered (which is how it ought to be when at rest) you need to add 2" of slack at all four corners. What this does is it allows the front of the rails to reach the ground with little to no slack in the cables, and it will put some slack into the cables at the rear (the rear was already on the base pads).

how can I add "2 of slack on all corners? that is impossible. On the low end the cables have been tightened so that 2.5" of threads show at the top of the columns (which is fine) on the high end however, there is barely 1/4-1/2" thread showing. That's the part i am not following. There is no way for me to have that much slack on all 4 corners. I can do it on the low corners but then the lift wont raise level.

After doing this, when you raise the lift, the cables spool in evenly so the first thing that will happen is the front of the rails will begin to rise. During the first 2" of lift, the rear of the rails aren't moving because the ram is still spooling up the 2" of slack cable you have dialed in. After the front has risen 2" and the slack cable has been reeled in at the rear, the rear end of the rails will then begin to raise. At this point, the rails are level and they will continue to be level all the way up.

If I lower the rear (low end) cables by 2", and not touch the high end, what will happen is the lift's front and rear will start moving where rear will always be 2" behind.

This doesn't change your lock settings because the lock ladders aren't engaged until the rails are a couple feet off of the ground.

Please see above

 

[DerStig]

BTW, 2" of fall towards your garage door over the length of your lift seems to be a lot. It's no wonder that you've had trouble working this all out.

I have rounded it to 2". It's more like 1.5". The high ladders are 3/8" or so off the baseplate whereas the low ladders are 1 7/8" or so off the baseplate.

My ceiling height on the high end is 89 3/4" where as the same in the low end is 91 1/4". It's exactly 1.5" give or take.

 

[DerStig]

Bump, someone please explain to me about the cables please

 

[DerStig]

Also for the sake of the OP, I decided not to get these ramps. I actually own race ramp extenders which provide I believe 4-5 degrees of incline. I am just putting those on top of the yellow ramps for now. $435 is too much.