i was new car shopping today for a truck and realized that in front of dealerships they have those ramps that you drive a car up about 5-6 feet into the air. It looked like a basic design and i was wondering if this type of thing would be safe to put in a garage to lift my camaro 3 feet or so by just driving up some ramps and work on it that way with all 4 tires still on the ramps but giving me a lot of access underneath. Anyone have any ideas on how to construct one and how much that much steel would cost?

 

go back to the dealership, after hours, and pull a tape on theirs. might want to take a camara along too. draw back is it'd be in your way when you weren't using it and i bet you can't move it around by yourself. i bet with a little planning you'd be able to attach clips to mount wheels to it to move around.

 

And do the rest of us a favor, post the pics and measurments.

 

While I'm thinking about it, if you get some basic idea of how strong their setup is you really could design the whole deal to fold flat, even if it ends up a 6 or so inches tall folded flat, with as low as f-bodies are that would actually make it easier to work on stuff

 

after hours this week i'm going to check it out and post back. i know it would be in the way, but since that is the only car in the garage in that bay, i can't see it being anymore of a problem than anything else. and my buddy and I were already discussing putting wheels on it for the front when it is angled forward and using the 4 ton aluminum jack i have with a crossbrace in the back to jack it up for relocation purposes as needed.

 

I suggest putting wheels with a spring loaded center post. You'll easily be able to roll the ramp where you need it when there is no vehicle on it. When you drive a car on it the extra weight will overcome the spring force keeping the wheels on the ground and plant the feet of the ramp.

Lon

 

Anything that is going to be prone to rolling around while you’re trying to drive up on it is going to be a big PITA. Instead I would suggest building it so that the wheels only touch the ground when you tilt it at some angle to move it or with wheels that retract or lock down, like what they sell for assorted woodworking equipment like tablesaws.

 

there is a lift company out there that makes these drive-on platforms I can't remember the exact one but I remember seeing them for like 800-900 bucks. put the car about 3 feet off the ground so you could roll aruond under it with a creeper. I plan on getting one at sompoint as it is just so useful.

 

Yeah, you see them advertised in the back of hot rod and car craft with the other lifts. Not a bad price either.

 

i was hoping to make something much cheaper. i can buy a real lift for $1200-1300 that is a two post, so i'm going to investigate this instead, especially since i have a welder so all i'd be buying would be the steel.

 

My dad has a pair of the dealer ramps that he is trying to sell. PM me if you are interested, and I'll get you his email. We are in illinois too, right by joliet.

I don't know exactly how tall they are, but we put my stock height ranger on them to change the oil right after he got them and the front bumper was up to my neck. I'm 6'3". I had to get on a ladder to put the oil in

 

How tall is the ceiling in your garage? This will be a determining factor in what kind of lift/rams you make or buy.

 

ceiling is right around 9 feet or so. realistically i would only want to raise the car/truck 3-4 feet to work under them instead of laying on my back which causes neck problems from prior injuries with my head cocked.

 

Thinking about something similar to this?

http://www.kwiklift.com/

Been considering trying to fab up something similar to this. If nothing else there are some interesting design ideas to be had.

 

I like that kit. Wouldnt take long to set up and it could be stored out of the way when finished.

 

Here is the ramps I made. Might help in your design

 

another

 

VernW has dibs on the ramps currently, but if he doesn't want them due to his being in texas and my being in illinois my dad just wants the ramps gone (I.E. Free). If anyone is interested shoot me a PM and we can talk. I'm in illinois near joliet.

Mods, if you don't want this here, feel free to delete it. I figured since the ramps are free and these guys are discussing it I'd throw out the free option.

 

84406 I would love to see a few more pics of those if you've got any. How much do those bad boys weigh? thats pretty damn close to what I had in mind for mine. What guage steel? Details man details!

 

can i get a rough idea on height and weight of these things so i can figure out if a pickup truck would be a suitable option to move them....? i'm in school in romeoville, so i'm right next to joliet.

 

What ever happened to pits?
I personally never used a pit (too young). I'd rather have a pit than a 2' lift. It would have to go at least 4-5 feet in the air for it to be worth anything to me.
I still haven't seen any pictures of these "dealer" lifts. Anybody have any?

 

84406

I would love to see more pics of your rams too. How much did those cost ya to make?

 

I'll see if I can get some measurements and snap a few pics this weekend.

 

My ramps also double as my loading ramps for my trailer so might be a little different than others might want. Most of the construction was with 2 1\2" and 2' angle. All 4 pieces probably weigh 250 lb. I had some stock but think they cost me about $75 plus cut off and welding supplies. The car is driven or winched up and then the rear of the ramps are lifted with a floor jack.

 

another

 

http://www.backyardbuddy.com/

 

Forgive my lack of knowledge of standardized imperial sizing, but, with 2" angle i'm guessing this is essentially a 4" long piece of flat bar bent into an "L" shape correct? But, what is the thickness? 1/8"? 3/16"?
Thanks -J

 

I should have used " angle iron" to be more correct. Long pieces were 3\16 and cross pieces 1\8

 

They are 17'4" long, 17" wide, and 35.25" tall. The little end ramps are about 36" long as well, but will need to be extended to get a car up. We tried to get my dads 91 TA on them, but only made it halfway up before bottoming. If you are going to reduce the height that would also likely correct the issue.

Here's a few pics:

 

2

 

3

 

My dad said he can deliver them if you don't have anything to pick them up with, but the delivery wouldn't be free anymore. His email is farmer2@cbcast.com if you want to talk to him about it.

Even if you wanted to redesign from scratch, it would be worth it for the steel in these alone.

Let me know if you need any special measurements or anything.

Matt

EDIT: Those center support pads pivot, as do the ramps. As the weight of the car moves forward on the ramps, the ramps pivot level. As the ramps reach level, the entrance ramps swing back under the rear of the ramps and act as a support. Alot of time and design went into these things

 

I wish I was closer to Chicago... Anyways - You can always use an open center car trailer as a poor man's lift. It makes working on the car at the track much easier. Other than snakign around the 2 trailer axles, it's pretty open to work on the car.

 

I'd love to have them, but there's no way I can get them from Illinois to Dallas, TX. SO I guess I have to back off and let the next guy in line have them. Sure would like to find some kind of higher (2-3' clearance) ramps for working on my 'Bird though. I've got 2 tranny/clutch swaps planned for the next month.......

 

Thanks for the interest guys, I guess I'll throw them on the classifieds and see if anyone bites. Someone local has to have a use for these things