making ramps

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Jul 21, 2005 | 04:23 PM

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From: 8000DA Land

making ramps

well, ramps too, i dont know how to call this thing (false floor?)

But i have searched on it and some people said they can be unsafe..

A Welder told me that if i bring up the materials and measures he will only charge me 100 bucks to do them including ramps.

I am no engineer so i dont know if my design works or the car will fall on me.. Any thoughts PLEASE?

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Jul 26, 2005 | 11:47 AM

BJM

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There is nothing inherently wrong with your concept but your drawing gives no indication of what size the various members will be. There is an association to which reputable lift makers belong and that organiztion has settled on an industry design safety factor. The supporting structure should be able to handle 3 times the rated load. This load is to be applied in the locked position, in the case of a lift. The lift does not need to pick up something 3 times too heavy. If you choose your car's mass as the rated load then proof test it with triple the load before using it. As far as safety goes, you would want to be able to bolt it down to the floor to prevent tipping sideways since it taller than it is wide and a vehicle will never be perfectly centered. Also, when you proof load it, the load should be applied with the maximum possible offset from center that a car could be to bias the load to one side.

Jul 27, 2005 | 08:48 AM

robertbartsch

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From: Hartsdale, NY

there is a guy on this board who made a set of ramps from white pine wood. He had pictures of the car on top of the ramps....

This looked VERY dangerous, particularly because he was not even using a secondary source of support like jack stands on each wheel....

What ever you do, be careful and use a secondary source of support. Cars are heavy and kill many dumb people each year who climb under them without proper support. This happened in my town last summer...

So be smart and don;t take ANY chances - you may end up dead!

Jul 27, 2005 | 09:42 AM

Mr Incredible

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From: Just This Side of Damnation

It's too high a price for failure. I'd get some big-*** jackstands and a good high-lift jack.

It's a sometimes sh*tty world, but I prefer it to the alternatives...

Jul 27, 2005 | 11:20 AM

BJM

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As I suggested, a proof test is necessary. Do a proper proof test and you will be fine. Skip the proof test and you are definitely risking a lot.

Jul 27, 2005 | 04:12 PM

1fastWS6

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Quote:

Originally Posted by BJM

As I suggested, a proof test is necessary. Do a proper proof test and you will be fine. Skip the proof test and you are definitely risking a lot.

Or, you can always hire a licensed structural engineer to design it for you. I design stuff like that all the time, along with building/industrial structures. However, you'll spend more on the engineering than the material/labor combined I'm sure. All depends on what you want as an end result.