DIY Car Ramp

[KEH]

I made wooden ramps just to drive the front wheels on for oil changes. Got a sawmill to saw out a beam long enough to make 2 ramps sized about 10 x 10. Took the chains saw and cut it in two diagonlly to from the ramp. Chain saw left the wood rough which was fine for extra traction for the tires.

Interesting post. My thoughts for building a full length ramp along the size of the ones pictured is to make it of steel welded together. I have some light 10 inch I beams from a mobile home if I could just get the famous round tuit and get it together.

KEH

 

[e-tek]

I may have found the ultimate answer: PAPER MACHE Ramps! They are insanely light, I can add to them in length or height and they are easy to move. I haven't tested them yet, but I'm sure they'll be fine.

 

[Joe From NY]

They're also $2,800, as shown, before shipping (240lbs) from Michigan to you.

$2800 ??? WTF, are they made of titanium?

 

[FrustratedBaboon]

All of you will end up killing your selves. Those photos look nice and pretty. They are not safe if nails are used!!!!

If you build one use 2x12x16s and use lots of wood glue and decking screws where your joins meet. NOT NAILS!!!! Nails will creep out and your ratchet arm will stuck inside your heart or throat!!!!

Use thick coated grey decking screws and make sure to drill so you don't have cracks.

Welded steel is the way to go. And again there is a chance that some can get hurt. Please be safe.

 

[SgtRauksauff]

I use two sets of ramps. First set is a 4x6 cut at an angle with a 2x6 on top, making a stepped 8x8.

second set is just a plain 8x8, sawed diagonally.

usually just the front for oil changes, or just one side for things like exhaust.

This is 90% done in a gravel driveway. When I get the chance to get into the garage, it's uber-comfy, because there aren't any rocks poking through the cardboard I'm laying on.

One thing that really makes it easier to get underneath so you have "enough room": portion control.

 

[SVTFOREGON]

BUMP::

Anyone think of making box lifts with I Joists?
stronger and lighter weight than a solid wood set up.

 

[PeterT]

I made a pair of ramps from some scrap 2x4s and plywood. I haven't tried them out yet because wal-mart was running a 12 point oil change for 15.99,, but I'll break em out in 5000miles

 

[Hawk]

$2800 ??? WTF, are they made of titanium?

You forget you are on the site of "Why spend 50 dollars when you can spend 5000>

 

[Forgez]

Hi guys, newbie to the forums here....

Sorry for the thread necro, but I wanted to chime in on the DIY car ramps and hopefully answer some questions.

I am the "crazy 300zx" guy who built the ramps with the lights; and I am happy to report that they are still working wonderfully many years after their construction. There are a few things I would change if I had to do it again, and I have had to rebuild the approach ramps, but for the most part these ramps fall into the "why didn't I do this 20 years ago?" category. If anyone is interested in details, ask away

 

[GTO]

..........................

 

[Magnum517]

Hi guys, newbie to the forums here....



Sorry for the thread necro, but I wanted to chime in on the DIY car ramps and hopefully answer some questions.



I am the "crazy 300zx" guy who built the ramps with the lights; and I am happy to report that they are still working wonderfully many years after their construction. There are a few things I would change if I had to do it again, and I have had to rebuild the approach ramps, but for the most part these ramps fall into the "why didn't I do this 20 years ago?" category. If anyone is interested in details, ask away

I am actually interested in some more pics and details on your set up and construction. I only saw the pic but have no details on it.

 

[tomsmith]

OP here! Oh man, I clean forgot about this thread

I wish I had some pics but those ramps served me very well. I had the 740iL on there frequently and never had a problem. About 2 years ago, I purchased and installed a MaxJax (I posted another thread here) and then, last year, I had to sell it because I purchased an Avalanche and the truck was too heavy for the lift. I'm on the hunt for another 8000lb+ rated lift now.

I don't regret building the ramps one bit, it was a great exercise and would have bugged me to no end if I hadn't made them

 

[KEH]

Let's cut to the chase, no pun intended. Find a sawmill. Get them to pick out 2 logs the proper length of their less than furniture grade wood, choosing pine or some local type of softwood. Have them saw it into pieces of you chosen for ramps(8 x 8, 10 x 10, etc) Have a means of carrying the pieces, yours or a friend's light trailer will work well. (Sawmill will load for you.) The green wood will be heavy. GEt friends to help you unload. None of you should try to pick up the pieces, use some method to drag them off into position.

I did not see explained how the car is driven up on any of the ramps illustrated, if I missed it, my bad. However, I once made short ramps by taking a short piece of 8 x 8 wood and chainsawing it in two at an angle to make ramps. Use whatever suits you.

Bugs are either in the wood or will be attracted to it. Therefore, paint all surfaces generously with used motor oil to inhibit decay. As time goes by and the wood dries out it will lose much of its weight, don't know what percentage, probably more than 50%.

KEH

 

[TractorJeff]

A couple of local Dealerships have a steel ramp similar to the restorationramp. they use it to show case a particular car. When the one Dealership went out of business in the next town, had I been thinking I would have bought that!

 

[shepherd]

I'd be inclined layer up the lumber flat rather than a torsion box...one of the posts about using wood screws or even lag bolts would scare the hell out of me.

 

[Tehvine]

If these wooden ramps scare you guys, take a trip to the local pet store and look at the fish tank stands. Most of them are press board ****. I have a 75 gallon tank stand that is all press board junk. Loaded 75 gallon tank with lights / hood / sand / water will easily approach 1000 lbs.

The wood won't break, just can't let it tip over / fold. That's all.

 

[MarkG]

I'd be inclined layer up the lumber flat rather than a torsion box...one of the posts about using wood screws or even lag bolts would scare the hell out of me.

That's what I did. You can't get anymore solid than SOLID! I made mine 'stepped' with a landing after each step so I can stop at any level without any tendency for vehicle to try to roll back down. Of course I block the rear tires anyway. The sides are covered with MDO and flush trimmed, just to clean up the looks.

If you don't know FOR SURE about your own skills or basic stengths of construction, by all means DO NOT build your own ramps! If you can't understand that solid wood is safe, you probably don't have the mind to be working on your own car anyway. :S

 

[Forgez]

Hi guys; I'm still here! The ramps are holding up wonderfully, and see use about once a month on average (they don't get used at all in the winter, however). If anyone has questions about how they were built/used/maintained, ask away! I'm happy to answer as best I can.

 

[vettex2]

I bought a used scissor lift for under a grand
I would never waste time, money and possibly my life on these homemade junk stands

 

[LS6 Tommy]

If these wooden ramps scare you guys, take a trip to the local pet store and look at the fish tank stands. Most of them are press board ****. I have a 75 gallon tank stand that is all press board junk. Loaded 75 gallon tank with lights / hood / sand / water will easily approach 1000 lbs.

The wood won't break, just can't let it tip over / fold. That's all.

The weight is all on the frame, not the pressboard...

Tommy

 

[Theruse]

Until I purchased my lift, I used rhino ramps for my 2000 740i Sport. However, to give me more height i ran two 2x12 under the rhino's. The extra inches made it easier to get under the 740i sport which sits about an inch lower than the iL I also put a small wood block nailed into the 2x12 so the Rhino ramps would not move on the wood.

 

[pi_guy]

If these wooden ramps scare you guys, take a trip to the local pet store and look at the fish tank stands. Most of them are press board ****. I have a 75 gallon tank stand that is all press board junk. Loaded 75 gallon tank with lights / hood / sand / water will easily approach 1000 lbs.

The wood won't break, just can't let it tip over / fold. That's all.

If it does break the water just runs, cars do not do that they sit and crush what is underneath. closer to 650 lbs than 1000

 

[NewShockerGuy]

here are my simple ramps that I am very confident in and they work great.

I have something very similar just smaller when I needed to jack up my STi. With it being lowered and a front lip it was impossible to get any type low profile jack in the front.

Side note I clicked on the thread and was wondering why half the links weren't working... then look at the date...2010... lol

Some of these are a little shoddy but what is psoted by rmousir and MarkG are fine. I see no issues with them. Hell if you copied MarkG's style you could get the car pretty high up in the air without fear of the wood or anything moving... mind you it would be heavy as **** to move. My little versions of rmousir's are heavy and they only lift the front end of the car up 5" or so... I don't really use them anymore now that I have a maxjax.

-Nigel

 

[penright]

I used rhino ramps

I have two sets. One that I bought, the other I found at a pawn shop for unbelievable cheap price. Just like anything else watch for cracks. They are lightweight, fit together so as not to take up a lot of room. In fact I can hang them on my peg board. Not expensive and very strong vs the weight. I have a pair of old metal ones, I cannot get my car past the bumper. These are sloped enough to reach the wheels. The only issue I had was, the finish on my floor is slick. One time I started to roll back, gave a little too much gas and the wheel pulled the ramp under the car. Not like I drove over it, the car did not move, just one ramp. Since then I am careful about the start and never have had another issue. The good news nothing was tore up, either car or ramp. Jacked it up and started over.

 

[Narddog]

I am considering doing something like this. At least until I can find a smoking deal on a lift that will fit in my garage of course.

 

[vettex2]

those things must weigh a ton!!

 

[doorfx]

2 tonne

 

[Lhorn]

2 tonne/QUOTE]

Lol. Looks solid as heck. I'd use those. Only problem for my purposes would be storage. They're big and heavy, but if that's not a problem they look good to me

 

[matt_i]

I am considering doing something like this. At least until I can find a smoking deal on a lift that will fit in my garage of course.

I like that design with a couple of additions.

• 
  
  Make the first level longer so the front wheel can apply load and thus friction to the ramp before trying to ascend to the next level.
  Otherwise the ramps can "spit out" in a forward direction.

• 
  Use a low angle block plane to shave the angles a lot more acute.

• 
  Use 2 x 8s or 10s to make the leading edge of the first cross-piece easier to make more acute.

• 
  Place a vertical piece at the end to keep from inadvertently rolling off the edge of the cliff.

• 
  Construction adhesive + torx drive screws

• 
  Hangup / carrying loops

 

[vettex2]

2 tonne/QUOTE]

Lol. Looks solid as heck. I'd use those. Only problem for my purposes would be storage. They're big and heavy, but if that's not a problem they look good to me

Yeah, they won't fail but what a hassle.

 

[timbuk2]

check these out, not mine but good ideas with less lumber, lighter

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/113036-diy-car-ramps.html