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I know this is an old thread, but I've been looking recently at doing something like this. In regard to the structural integrity.....I would have to think, with just a few modifications this would be extremely sturdy. I built houses for several years through college. One of the things I did most of was framing. I've been an avid house remodeler ever since even though I don't do that stuff for a living any more. As one person mentioned, most systems like this are double plated, at least on top. I would even double plate the bottom. One thing I don't like is the void in between the bracing blocks. I would add vertical blocking down the center in between the inner support blocks, so that at no point would tires never have a vertical support under them. I just don't like the idea that as the car rolls down the platform there are times when the point load of the tire sits on nothing but the flat side of a 2x10 with no vertical support under it. One interesting note....an 8 foot 2x4 standing upright can support roughly 7000 lbs assuming it is perfectly straight and encounters no load from the side that would cause it to buckle. The idea is to make these pieces of wood a part of a 'system', which is what is presented here. Like I said, I would make a few changes, but I think it would be just fine. Heck, this looks a LOT sturdier than the Rhino ramps I typically use
GS, ZO6 and ZR1 would not be able get on those beacuse the ramps are too steep. I have the 67 inch race ramps with extenders, which brings the incline under 10 degrees. No they are not $2500, I paid $400 plus something including the rear 10 inch cradles. They are lot wider and safer. Solid. Those look very iffy to me, I only have one life, I will not get cheap with it.
I do like the 300ZX's ramps with the lighting built in.
Other than that, if I were to builds ramps like this, I'd fill the framing in with concrete. Of course that would make them stationary, but like the 300ZX, if I had a back patio I could just always park the car onto the ramps and work on it without ever needing to move the ramps anywhere else. When using ramps like these, I'd definitely have long jacks or some other kind of independent steel support to take the load off the wood if the wood decides to buckle or crack.
Wonder why more people don't cut their floors, dig a hole, form and pour 4 walls? Of course I'm a concrete contractor . But seriously, shouldn't cost more than a couple grand and you would always have it and not worry about failure.
Race Ramps introduced a less complicated and less expensive version of its Portable Pit Stop full lift ramp in 2015. The RR-RESTYLE-16 ramp is 19' long by 16" wide by 14" high. It consists of 10 pieces with a combined weight of about 200 pounds. One person can set up the ramp in about 5 minutes.
Full lift wooden ramps made from 2x12s are less than 12" wide. Compared to driving up the RR-RESTYLE-16 ramps which are a stable 16" wide by 14" high, 11" wide wooden ramps are like driving on a tight rope. When backing up onto the Race Ramps with the side view mirrors angled downward you can easily see the edge of the ramps next to the rear tires.
Reverse Logic ships one set of the RR-RESTYLE-16 ramps to six of the Car Shows in Carlisle, PA. This year we have the ramps available at the Spring, Import/Kit, Ford, Chrysler, Corvette, and Fall Shows. Customer who can transport the ramps from the show can purchase a set for $1400 including Sales Tax. A full size pickup (8' bed) or equivalent is required to transport the ramps.
If one is looking to spend over a grand on race ramps, or other such ramps, I would think that a KwikLift would be a much better option IMO. http://www.kwik-lift.com/kwik-lift.html
As far as wooden ramps go, although it looks very sturdy, the cost saving is not enough to convince me that it is the way to go. Too steep an incline as mentioned.
KwikLift is definitely another option. But, when it comes to ease of handing by one person the Race Ramps RR-RESTYLE-16 are hard to beat. Plus you don't need a floor jack to raise the Race Ramps into position.
If you are willing to use a floor jack to raise the rear of the car, then a set of the RLL-78-2 12" high ramps combined with a set of 2-piece 12" wheel cribs will do the trick for under $540.
I really like the Kwiklift. The RR-RESTYLE-16 product looks OK but it has a lot less height than KwikLift, and Kwiklift is less expensive. For me, height off the floor is what I'm looking for to make it easy for me to get on a creeper and work. I have my vette in a dedicated 1 car garage. I've built a lot of things in my life, but I've not done much concrete work at all. I'm all about digging out the floor and installing a bay. I need to do some research on that.
I stacked some two by 12's in staggered fashion and screwed them together to make "step ramps" in order to get a jack under the front. I'm not so sure about this exaggerated version though...
Last edited by 06orangeZ51; 07-14-2016 at 09:45 PM.
If I am building wooden ramps & trusting my life with them... I am stacking one 2"x12" on top of another, then at that point they are so heavy that I'll just buy race ramps
Good idea. 2x12's weigh over 4 pounds per lineal foot. A stack of 2x12's as big as the 67" L x 14" W x 10" H RR-XT-2 Race Ramps can easily weigh 100 pounds per ramp. And it would be 3" less in width.
Originally Posted by 449er
If I am building wooden ramps & trusting my life with them... I am stacking one 2"x12" on top of another, then at that point they are so heavy that I'll just buy race ramps
This setup looks a like great option for the price...I spent right at $400 to build my wooden set...wish I would have saved it for this or the MaXX Jack.
I took a lot of ideas I found on this thread (and others) and made some ramps for myself. it takes 1 sheet of 3/4" plywood. I drew up the plans so i could use 4 2'x4' pieces. Here's the plans and the pics. Some of the measurements might be a little off but overall it worked out pretty good. I had extra wood so I added cleats to each center support to make the top part 1.5 inched thick and thats not in the plans.
07-13-2016, 05:21 PM
. But seriously, shouldn't cost more than a couple grand and you would always have it and not worry about failure.
