Hi All,

I'm new to the site and after searching some of the posts I've seen some great ways to get your vettes in and out of some unusual driveway setups.

I am having a problem with mine, I'm hoping some of the more creative guys can help me out with an issue Im having.

I have a steep downward driveway has a hump in it (towards the top) in order to prevent rainwater from coming down fast (the town put this in because we were getting water coming down our driveway (and eventually into the garage) when it poured

Here's my issue. From the street I can make it over the initial 'lip' however this 'hump' in the driveway causes me to bottom out because it's near the top of the driveway

Aside from renovating the driveway, has anyone made anything to circumvent this?

in this pic http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-8156343..._2220_74878141 I have the opposite issue -- where the ramp would go 1.75" to 3" is where the hump is RAISED.

Hope my explanation made sense, any help or info would be great.

Thanks

 

Get a stall mat at Tractor Supply and cut in half lengthwise...put a section before and after the hump. It is heavy...over 100 lbs and you will need to cut it with a table saw and a helper.

 

I need to make something like a ramp because the middle of the car is hitting the "hump" I dont think a mat will help the angles.

 

these are no ordinary mats...they are an inch thick, grooved rubber. They are for pigs etc on a farm. the 4' x 6' mat weighs over 100 lbs and is hard to cut. that one inch height could be all you need if you cut it into 4 six foot sections...just stack 2 on each side of the hump and adjust accordingly. go to the tractor supply website and see what I am talking about...best thing about it is the price, around $35.

 

If you are not really ripping your rockers up now its probably a lot smaller increase you need than you think. Pull the car over the bump, have someone watch and let you know exactly when you make contact, stop and put it in park. Mark off where the front wheels are, thats how far you will have to pad the downhill side if you go that way.

The problem with padding the uphill (water) side is not knowing how much water you're talking about and what speed, you might put something in that will allow it to run over the bump.

Hopefully you only need it on the downhill side (after the bump, entering) and if you go the stall mat way (stated above) you may have to pound a few 10 penny common nails in along the top edge to keep the mat from moving down the hill (if its asphalt and its warm outside they should pound right in, if not masonary drill bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the nail).

Profile not filled out so no way of knowing how cold/snow it gets there so dont know if getting traction on the mat coming up the hill in winter is a factor.

Ive used that rubber sold at Tractor Supply, it really is pretty indestructable and cheap, take a look at it. If you're not crazy about that, there are rubberized garage floor tiles that are already about two inches you could look for.

Good luck.

 

Ok so here is a picture of the driveway. I tried to explain it the best way I could. If you look closley to the bottom right of the first picture you can see faint scrape marks were my mustang convertible scraped.

 

Do you guys think the mat will still work now that you see what I'm talking about? Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

bump for some more looks or ideas...thanks

 

Yes I have a suggestion.
You will not like it.

Being there is not a city sidewalk to be concerned with, on that existing concrete apron.

Remove the existing concrete apron up to the black top of the drive way. Then put fresh concrete in, with the angle starting at the black top, with a continuous angle to the street.

What you will end up with is a continuous light grade from black top to street.

 

Thanks for your suggestion, and its not that i dont like the answer, I can't modify the driveway... technically its not mine.

 

Yes, renting. I can't modify anything really. I can put something down (like a ramp) or something and keep it on the side of the house though

 

I see.
That is going to be a tough one to get around.

Seems the city should be responsible have a drain/basin with grate going completely across the driveway to catch the water coming down from the area of the front of the house & street/curb to the left of the house in which you are living.

 

You have a nice wide entry. Have you tried entering at a really narrow angle even if it means driving on grass ?

 

Im not sure if its the pic, but I dont see much of a bump to cause a problem. have you tried crossing over the hump on a deep angle as in the car is almost parallel to the street? Then once you are in the driveway straighten out the car to go into garage. Thats how i would come in and ive done much steeper humps than that. The only thing that may scrape is the airdam which is fine. By coming in on a deep angle your raising the front one wheel at a time. and then do the Same when coming out of the driveway too.

I do see how you will bottom out if you go head on over it.

 

Holy Crap!

How do you keep rainwater out of your garage. That slope down to the house would never work here in South Florida. The finished floor of the house has to be at least 13 inches above the crown of the road for us down here.

The only solution I see is to grind down the concrete to create a smoother transition. Since you are renting, that's not an option.

Good luck, that's a tough one to solve.

 

Apron needs to be redone. Where do you live? Looks like N.Y. plates on the cars.
I think the town didn't need to put that much pitch where it cuts back to curb they did it to play it safe. If you were willing to replace the apron it could be pitched a bit less and a troth drain could be added to catch the water.

 

This is the best way to do it. You could also try cutting in (lessen the angle).

 

A lift kit on the Vette should do the trick. LOL.

Looks like a tough problem. The city should, but probably won't, take care of it. Good luck.

 

Well, you dont really have much of a choice, do you?
If your corrective action must be limited to the downhill side after the crest, ya, I think some combination of layers of that matting should work ok.

Its going to have to start just after the crest, so to secure it you are going to need a regular drill (not a cordless) and a masonary bit (they are cheap and believe it or not, they do grind away and go through concrete just fine) to drill pilot holes for the masonary screws you will then drive it to hold the mat (s) in place (forgot the name but they are the blue ones with the hex head, often packaged with the correct size masonary bit, in Home Depot or similar store).

As I said, if you can drive the vette in now without getting hung up and not being able to move you probably dont need that much extra height. The mats are going to need to be a few feet wide because you need to keep the fronts high until the rears are closer to the hump. Just use the method I outlined above and it should measure out fine.

You could try dumping a few bags of blacktop and using a hand tamper to ceate the extension of the ramp, but on top of concrete I doubt it would stick for long. Concrete would be ideal (just changing the slope after the hump) but you would have to get someone who knows what they are doing to get that done properly and Im sure that would cost the most (as the best solution often does ).

Good luck

 

not really in the same boat as you but i did this from a old truck bed liner

the rubber really didnt work for me bc it wasnt high enough so i think my next plan will be wooden ramps or maybe some cold patch from lowes

i know you have an entirly different problem but maybe it will give you some ideas. keep us posted