Has anyone made their own car ramps from wood?

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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A few YouTube videos on this.

Seems like they would be more trustworthy than plastic or metal ones.

I will struggle with a jack and axle stands because my driveway is slightly sloped. Ramps however should be fine.

Has anyone done it?

Unfortunately I think it will still cost around £50, a 2x8 is over £20 and I'd need two of them.
 
Is it worth the risk, however small, over proper commercially available ones? It might be fine, but you'll be in a whole world of hurt if it goes wrong.
 
Uther said:
Is it worth the risk, however small, over proper commercially available ones? It might be fine, but you'll be in a whole world of hurt if it goes wrong.
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Exactly.

If you are really that concerned about the safety of commercially available metal ones just go heavy duty so they are hugely over specified for you cars weight.
 
I use heavy duty metal ones and put two short axle stands under the car also and wheel chokes

Wooden ones sounds like a really bad plan to me.

I actually avoid going under a car, I change oil and oil filters by just reaching in and using hollow bars to extend the length of tools if needed.
 
danlightbulb said:
A few YouTube videos on this.

Seems like they would be more trustworthy than plastic or metal ones.

I will struggle with a jack and axle stands because my driveway is slightly sloped. Ramps however should be fine.

Has anyone done it?

Unfortunately I think it will still cost around £50, a 2x8 is over £20 and I'd need two of them.
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What’s your life worth?

Find someone selling European or USA made proper steel (not made from Chinese pot metal) ramps and buy a pair.
 
danlightbulb said:
I can't see that a skinny metal frame ramp can be stronger than a solid piece of wood?
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Depends on grade of metal and the type of wood you're thinking of.
Low grade aluminium vs a hardwood and maybe you're right.
A decent grade of carbon steel vs a softwood and you'd be surprised at how thin a well-designed frame can be (or how thick "solid" wood can fail)
 
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Cadder said:
Depends on grade of metal and the type of wood you're thinking of.
Low grade aluminium vs a hardwood and maybe you're right.
A decent grade of carbon steel vs a softwood and you'd be surprised at how thin a well-designed frame can be (or how thick "solid" wood can fail)
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It would be 2x8 c24 construction timber.

Do you have example of heavy duty ramps? As a google search brings up Halfords 2 tonne ramps or Clarke 2.5 tonne ramps. Both look very skinny in terms of frame.
 
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had made some chocks in the past neighbour had some 8x6 cedar end cuts from terrace roof; put under jack points when I'd raised car.
also recently had some old panel fence posts replaced with concrete where I cut them at an acute angle 6x5ish to be able to drive up onto them;

neighbour, has some nice plastic ramps I spotted, now he's no longer pcp'ing - that I'd buy over metal.
 
Metal ramps are surprisingly strong made from angle. For most cars with a front mounted engine 500-600kg is the load per wheel on the front axle.

I've used a set for 30 years.

I doubt you'll do better with wood and just end up with something more awkward to use. The ramp needs to dig into the ground a little to stop it sliding or moving while you drive up it.
 
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The forces are not that great. The trick is to ensure they are evenly distributed. That's not a problem with the car, because the tyres will do that. What I would be concerned with is the floor. If that is very rough, then it could apply very uneven forces, dig in to the surface of the wood, and eventually cause cracking and failure. I would be happy if the garage floor is nice and smooth and flat.
Don't forget that the wood is several times stronger when the force is applied with the grain rather than parallel to it.
There are some woods that are specifically chosen to support very heavy loads during construction. Thing is, the cost of these are probably higher than steel.
 
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I prefer decent jack and axel stands.

Ramps can be tricky to get on and also they're in the way if you're working near the wheel. Not to mention storage space etc.

In my experience, as a DIYer working on your own I feel there is more control with a jack and stand, you're not relying on driving up and stopping on a peice or metal/wood/whatever. You can vary the height etc.
 
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decto said:
ramp needs to dig into the ground a little to stop it sliding or moving while you drive up it.
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Yeah I had a wheel spin and the ramp flew under the car. Admittedly I was young and naive but that was a lesson.
 
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problem with axel stands - we have rectangle paving blocks maybe 10x6 so stands have to bridge several so I wouldn't trust axle stands without a couple of backups,
and drive has a slight fall too, so have chocks behind non-lifted wheels too.
could put some ply wood under axel stands, I guess.

.. so ramps are needed
 
My drive slopes slightly and is block paved. I have a good trolley jack and some axle stands but don't like using it on slopes ground, it does not feel stable when lifting.

Ramps placed at the low end of the drive would effectively make the car level with a decent gap under the front.

Another option is just trying to find a public location I can drive to where my wheels can span some kind of cut out, and I can just walk under the car.
 
I have wooden ramps. But solid lumps stacked, so they're stepped. I also nailed some roofing felt on the bottom to try and add a bit of grip.
I've no idea what the wood originally was. Maybe roof joists. They're pretty hefty.
 
Uther said:
If you plan to actually go under the car, ask yourself how much your life is worth first before cheaping out. It's a very silly way to die.
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I don't like going under cars at all. When I had my previous car up on stands I hated it. I also hated even lifting it without me even under it. Being able to drive on to something to give me some height without even lifting the car would be perfect.

Like I said earlier, I can't really see anything I would class as heavy duty.

marinersfan said:
I have wooden ramps. But solid lumps stacked, so they're stepped. I also nailed some roofing felt on the bottom to try and add a bit of grip.
I've no idea what the wood originally was. Maybe roof joists. They're pretty hefty.
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Yeah I can't really see a skinny metal frame being more sturdy than a few layers of solid 2x8.

I only want to do my own oil changes.
 
The problem for wood ramps is the weight of them compared to steel ones, the car shouldn't weigh more than 2 tons (for a very large saloon\estate) in total so the front or rear one the ramps wouldn't be more than maybe 3/4 ton so if you get the 2 or 2.5 ton rated ones you'll be fine for tolerances, and they should be easy to manoeuvre over solid wood ones.

As a few people have said, what price do you put on your life, this is the issue with the DIY'er they tend to 'cheap out' and are completely surprised when it all goes **** up.
 
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