Has anyone made their own car ramps from wood?

Maundie said:
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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For sure I want to be safe that's why I'm asking.

And that's why I'm considering solid wood because it seemed to be stronger than metal to me. It's more effort not less, to build your own wood ramps which as you say will weigh a lot more too.
 
jpaul said:
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
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Yeah wood under axel stands in that scenario.

Chocks no big deal to buy and use. Good handbrake or car in gear depending on which end you're lifting.

When using axel stands leave the jack under also, and use a second (scissor) jack also, and place wheel(s) under the car. Highly unlikely you'll get a failure with four touch points.

Seems less risky than driving over a ramp to me. And like I said, if you're doing any suspension work you have way more space/flexibility than ramps.

Surely you can't take a wheel off if the car is on ramps?
 
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Yeah i've got a set i made ages ago, they're handy if im just changing the oil if don't want to get the trolley jack and axel stands out, works well if you've not got a concrete or tarmac surface too.

I've only got these 2 pretty bad pics I'm afraid, one of the car up on them and in the 2nd you can see them in the background leaning against the wall.

I made mine out of scrap timber i had around already (i think the top bit of mine is a 2x6 and the bottom is 2x 2x3's next to each other), i don't think it's worth paying money for timber to do this though, you're better off getting something properly made for the task given the price of timber nowadays. They're very heavy and obviously big to store, saying that mine are obviously way bigger than you need i just never cut them down at all.

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Another option for me then is to make use of my back alley. Ooh er.

There is access to the rear of my house via a shared access which goes round the back of all the houses.

It's flat there, but only soil so I would need some sort of hard standing area.
 
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The so called "skinny looking" metal ones tend to be made from angle section and it is the angle that gives it it's strength. You take a piece of flat iron bar and stick ii in a vice and you could bend it fairly easily if it's thin enough. Now take the same thickness in angle iron and there is no way you will bend it. I have a set of heavy duty metal ramps that I have had for around 10 years. They are rated for 2 tons each and they are extremely strong and have never let me down. I would take them over wood anyday. Back then they only cost me around £30 but will be considerably more now.

Whatever you end up using don't just depend on the handbrake, always chock the wheels that aren't on the ramp as well.
 
I think I'd trust a solid bit of wood over some of the cheap metal ones I've seen. Bits of wood hold entire trees and rooftops up, they can hold a car :p
 
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You're not going to die but they'll be heavy and expensive. I've been using a set of plastic ramps to get my nose up enough to get a jack on the subframe and despite being lightweight show no signs of use.
 
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Keep an eye out on ebay for a second hand pair? I dropped lucky and ended up with some custom made ramps from a garage that was closing down. They seem to be twice the height of the standard ones you normally see in the shops.
 
Absolutely do not do this unless you are extremely competent in woodworking and understanding weights and loadings.

I have a friend who thought he was , made a ramp for his Fiesta Van which was fine for a while until it collapsed on him leaving him with the loss of the use of his right arm after the van came down on it!

As already stated, just buy some heavy duty ramps and even then, I'd be wary of using them on anything other than a flat surface.
 
Scania said:
Absolutely do not do this unless you are extremely competent in woodworking and understanding weights and loadings.

I have a friend who thought he was , made a ramp for his Fiesta Van which was fine for a while until it collapsed on him leaving him with the loss of the use of his right arm after the van came down on it!

As already stated, just buy some heavy duty ramps and even then, I'd be wary of using them on anything other than a flat surface.
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Interested how it failed? Was his ramp solid timber (8x2's) stacked in layers, or did he try and manufacture something more lightweight using wood?

The flat surface is an issue. My driveway is sloped. A flat area at the rear is just soil so would need slabbing over. Or I could use the main road? Finding a suitable space is the issue really, as I have a good trolley jack and stands but can't easily use them.
 
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danlightbulb said:
Interested how it failed? Was his ramp solid timber (8x2's) stacked in layers, or did he try and manufacture something more lightweight using wood?

The flat surface is an issue. My driveway is sloped. A flat area at the rear is just soil so would need slabbing over. Or I could use the main road? Finding a suitable space is the issue really, as I have a good trolley jack and stands but can't easily use them.
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No idea as to how he constructed it, other than worse than he thought!

The last time I used a ramp, I went to a local industrial estate where the road is perfectly flat and did whatever there rather than my driveway which is on a very slight incline.
 
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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I have yeah and totally over engineered them with my dad. They are so heavy and need two people to lift them, but they were perfect for the job I needed them for, and for supporting the weight of a mustang at the time. :D

Some pics of what we made.

Ramps.jpg

Ramps2.jpg
 
Firegod said:
I have yeah and totally over engineered them with my dad. They are so heavy and need two people to lift them, but they were perfect for the job I needed them for, and for supporting the weight of a mustang at the time. :D

Some pics of what we made.

Ramps.jpg

Ramps2.jpg
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Cool. Even those are hollow in the middle, mine would be solid throughout made from solid layers of 2x8 joist.
 
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