Widen 4 Post Ramps?

[TraderGuy]

I've had a Direct Lift 8 Plus for a number of years, maybe 10. It has served me well. As time goes on it seems my taste in cars has widened. literally. I'd like to widen the runners, so the tires don't hang off with certain cars as well as allow easy placement of scales or turnplates under the tires for alignment work.

I'm considering simply bolting 2" angle iron to each runner, giving me an overall increase of 4" while still being within drive though clearance. Any thoughts on issues with this, or a better solution?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[matt_i]

I'm guessing here there's already a vertical rolled flange that you are going to bolt to.

Thinking of the structure, the thing I don't like is that any loading on the new angle iron horizontal surface, is just going to try to bend the vertical flange of the existing ramp inward. Causing the seam at the top to separate slightly as this happens.

If however you stitch welded the seam at the top, then this would be better at making the bolted joint function like a structural rib.

 

[38Chevy454]

Can you move the ramps out? Drill new holes and place them further apart?

I think your angle iron idea can work though. Since the tire is not all on the angle, but partially, so the forces are lower. You could add some gussets to ensure bending is to a minimum.

 

[TraderGuy]

Thanks to you both.

I hadn't considered seam welding or drilling new holes to move the runners out. Looking at the structure now, there is a provision to move the runners in via pre-drilled holes. Moving them out by drilling additional holes may well be the way to go.

Edit..
Moving the ramps out will put an end to using my sliding jack. Back to angle iron.

 

[Aahz]

Thanks to you both.

I hadn't considered seam welding or drilling new holes to move the runners out. Looking at the structure now, there is a provision to move the runners in via pre-drilled holes. Moving them out by drilling additional holes may well be the way to go.

Edit..
Moving the ramps out will put an end to using my sliding jack. Back to angle iron.

Keep in mind I am NOT telling you it's OK to do this! I'm just saying IF you do this, you may want to consider welding the angle vs. drilling into a structural component of the lift. I would think drilling into the rolled edge of that steel would have the potential to weaken the load bearing capacity of the runway itself. Welding the angle would "stiffen up" the runway, (potentially) depending on the thickness of the angle iron vs steel used for the runway thickness.

Drilling holes in the side of the runway could cause it to act the same way a soda can acts when you dent the sides before crushing it. Just my 2 cents....

 

[jmiller_2308]

I'm wondering how this worked out.

I am currently contemplating adding 2.5" angle iron to the rails of my Advantage Lift to make it 5" wider. I know that welding would be the strongest but I was hoping to get away with just bolting the angle iron to the rails so as not to have to muck up the factory paint.

I'm not concerned about putting too much weight on the angle iron as most of the weight will still be on the rails themselves. I am a little concerned about compromising the rail strength might by drilling into it but I was hoping that something like a 1/2" bolt would be sufficiently small that there wouldn't be too big of an impact. I was thinking a bolt every 2 to 3 feet should be sufficient to hold the angle iron.

 

[noahdr]

I've been researching a lot and plan to get an Advantage lift as well when the time comes. Talking with them, I was told they plan to release a bolt on option to make the runways wider. This didn't affect me because the 9000 has the ability to move one runner wider with a just a new hole in the cross member.

 

[thickhead]

Maybe U channel bolted on instead of angle? Overlap the end rails too.

 

[TraderGuy]

I'm wondering how this worked out.

I am currently contemplating adding 2.5" angle iron to the rails of my Advantage Lift to make it 5" wider. I know that welding would be the strongest but I was hoping to get away with just bolting the angle iron to the rails so as not to have to muck up the factory paint.

I'm not concerned about putting too much weight on the angle iron as most of the weight will still be on the rails themselves. I am a little concerned about compromising the rail strength might by drilling into it but I was hoping that something like a 1/2" bolt would be sufficiently small that there wouldn't be too big of an impact. I was thinking a bolt every 2 to 3 feet should be sufficient to hold the angle iron.

I didn't end up doing it. Was looking at picking up a car that would have needed the extension, ended up with something that didn't. Would still like to, so I have more room, but it hasn't been a priority. Be interested to know what you end up doing, and I'll post back if I finally make the modification

 

[jmiller_2308]

I've been researching a lot and plan to get an Advantage lift as well when the time comes. Talking with them, I was told they plan to release a bolt on option to make the runways wider. This didn't affect me because the 9000 has the ability to move one runner wider with a just a new hole in the cross member.

Thanks for the heads up on the bolt on possibility. I'll have to contact them to see if/when they might have it available for my lift. If nothing else, they may be able to give me advice on my own modification.

Maybe U channel bolted on instead of angle? Overlap the end rails too.

I looked at rectangular tube, channel, and i-beam options but decided that all of those were likely overkill. I want to widen the rails a bit mostly because my truck tires overhangs the rails a bit and although I know that the rails are easily carrying all the weight I'd like to have a little safety margin when driving on. I don't think that there will be significant load on the rail extensions and that as such the 2.5" angle at 3/16" feels like a comfortable solution to me.

And yes to overlapping the ends onto the beams that the rails currently sit on. Doing so will make fabrication easier as well as plug a gap when rolling on/off the lift.


I looked at the rails a bit yesterday and realized they are boxed in the middle third of the rails and are only formed like a c channel at the ends. Seeing the boxing makes me feel better about how strong the lift is but also makes me a bit more concerned about drilling holes in the rails. I'll have to see what Advantage Lift can tell me before moving on.

 

[jmiller_2308]

Advantage Lift customer service continues to shine! I'm really glad I have an Advantage Lift.

I sent email to Advantage Lift after the post above (just before 7:00 am CST). One hour later and I've already received a response of which I've included the relevant information below. Thanks Advantage Lift.

From Ken:

Increasing the width of the runways with the addition of angle iron works well as we have custom fabricated ‘widening kits’ for customers in the past. Out of our warehouse in Hanover, PA, we have 4” x ¼” angle cut to the length of the runway and the notch 8” sections from each end (see below). This allows the angle to rest on the crossbeam, same as the runway, and the additional space accommodates the hydraulic hose fitting near the power unit.



To attach, we drill four (4) 3/8” holes through the angle and runway. You’ll need a longer bolt the get through the boxed section in the middle of each runway, but 4 hardened bolts is plenty. This will not compromise the integrity of the runway. If you want to paint, Sherwin Williams off the shelf ‘Safety Red’ paint will match the Advantage Red pretty well.

 

[c39er]

Wonder how much those two 4" angles cost?

 

[jmiller_2308]

Wonder how much those two 4" angles cost?

I didn't ask but at my local metal supply each side would be nearly $100 for the metal alone. Add fabrication, paint, and shipping and you can probably guess a ballpark price.

 

[jmiller_2308]

Extensions are on now. I went with 2.5"x2.5" angle iron at 3/16" but in the end I wish I had gone with 1/4" as it would have allowed for a better match up with the top of the diamonds on the rails. I also went with a rust-oleum safety yellow to get a run way affect but dang... is that ever yellow! I also considered that I'd likely be stepping on the extensions and decided to add 80 grit striped safety tape on top to make it less slippery as well as to tone down the yellow. All in all, I think I'll be quite happy with the extensions when I end up putting my truck or other wider wheel base vehicles on the lift.

One note on working with heavy and long items is that I found that my mobile work stations were invaluable for moving them around, providing multiple work surfaces, and even providing jack stations to line up holes.

 

[Pluribus]

Nice that it worked out so well! I like what you did with the high-vis paint scheme for the extension pieces.

Advantage is high on my list for a future 4-post lift purchase, so I'm glad they were prompt and responsive in customer service. It's also good to hear that the runways are stout enough to allow some hole drilling.

 

[LXCam]

Nice job miller, that turned out slick.