DIY wood car ramps

[Kelvrick]

Personally, I feel like an idiot driving up the rhino ramps. They always seem to move around on me and I hate the feeling of them maybe slipping out. The wooden plank type ones always work so much better for me, but I honestly almost never use them anyway. The only time is when I want the suspension under load when i'm doing something like sway bars. I don't have any ramps myself, so I just jack up the car and lower it back down so the wheels are on some some stacked 4x4s. I prefer the top steps to have a little "pocket" for hte wheels. That way, when driving up, you go over that first bump and then you know to stop once you feel the tires go down the other side. Something like this.

 

[996GT2]

Personally, I feel like an idiot driving up the rhino ramps. They always seem to move around on me and I hate the feeling of them maybe slipping out. The wooden plank type ones always work so much better for me, but I honestly almost never use them anyway. The only time is when I want the suspension under load when i'm doing something like sway bars. I don't have any ramps myself, so I just jack up the car and lower it back down so the wheels are on some some stacked 4x4s. I prefer the top steps to have a little "pocket" for hte wheels. That way, when driving up, you go over that first bump and then you know to stop once you feel the tires go down the other side. Something like this.

That's a good idea, and I think I'll do that when I build mine. How long is the top level on yours? I'm planning to make the top level between 18 and 24 inches long, but haven't decided on exact dimensions yet. The cars that I'm going to be using the ramps with have 205/60 R16 and 225/65 R17 tire size.

As far as overall height goes, I'll probably go with 4 platforms using 2x10 wood for a total lift of 6 inches (+ the car's original ground clearance).

 

[nedfunnell]

I did this.

I cut the angle I wanted in 2x10s, leaving 12" or so , then nailed 5-6 of them together to make a full-width ramp for each side. The lumber is up on its edge in the design I used.

I didn't like them- super heavy and 10" was too high. I accidentally left them in a shed when I moved and never bothered to go back for them. I have a jack and jackstands now, although I would go for some stacking steel or plastic ramps if I saw some cheap at a yard sale.

 

[996GT2]

I did this.

I cut the angle I wanted in 2x10s, leaving 12" or so , then nailed 5-6 of them together to make a full-width ramp for each side. The lumber is up on its edge in the design I used.

I didn't like them- super heavy and 10" was too high. I accidentally left them in a shed when I moved and never bothered to go back for them. I have a jack and jackstands now, although I would go for some stacking steel or plastic ramps if I saw some cheap at a yard sale.

I agree that 10" may be too much. The Rhino Ramps only provide around 6 inches of lift. The ones I'm planning to build will either provide 4.5 or 6 inches of lift, which should be enough for oil changes (basically the only thing that I'll be using them for, since I don't need to jack the car up for ATF changes).

A lift height of 10" on wood ramps would probably result in ramps that weighed over 50 lbs each, haha.

 

[NutBucket]

That's my beef with Rhino Ramps. Plus the angle is too severe for our WRX (and previously CR-Z). I bit the bullet and bought race ramps. Plenty of clearance, they don't slide around and the removable ramp portion is actually quite useful.

 

[BUTCH1]

This is zargon's idea of safety.

LOL, those are not ramps but a rather horrid attempt at jack-stands.

 

[JulesMaximus]

LOL, those are not ramps but a rather horrid attempt at jack-stands.

I know that. I was just giving zargon a hard time.

 

[Wuzup101]

I calculated that the wood ramps would weigh around 25-30 lbs each. Somewhat heavy, but not quite 100 lbs. As for a jack and stands, I do plan to get a nice jack eventually for doing suspension or brake work. The things I DIY right now don't require lifting the car with the wheels off, so a ramp seems more convenient since you can drive the car on, drain the oil, add the appropriate amount of oil, start the car, and drive off.

Yeah you are probably right... 2x10s are like 3.3-5lb per linear foot I was thinking 100 lbs for the pair, but they probably will be lighter... depends on your measurements. Those ones with that mustang in the first picture seem quite large lol.

That being said, it takes me well under 10 minutes to jack the car up and have it on 4 jack stands, and I'm a slow worker when it comes to my car lol.

Don't you plan on ever rotating your tires while you are changing your oil? I do that every time. One of the benefits of having it up on jackstands.

 

[shabby]

Yeah you are probably right... 2x10s are like 3.3-5lb per linear foot I was thinking 100 lbs for the pair, but they probably will be lighter... depends on your measurements. Those ones with that mustang in the first picture seem quite large lol.

Speed holes in the wood is the answer.

 

[JulesMaximus]

lol. Jules, I think you'll chuckle yourself when you do see the image.

:biggrin: Okay, I see it now. What I originally posted was idiotic. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I never would have posted that if I had seen the picture.

 

[nedfunnell]

Yeah you are probably right... 2x10s are like 3.3-5lb per linear foot I was thinking 100 lbs for the pair, but they probably will be lighter... depends on your measurements. Those ones with that mustang in the first picture seem quite large lol.

That being said, it takes me well under 10 minutes to jack the car up and have it on 4 jack stands, and I'm a slow worker when it comes to my car lol.

Don't you plan on ever rotating your tires while you are changing your oil? I do that every time. One of the benefits of having it up on jackstands.

You put it up on 4 jackstands to change the oil? I just do two in the front.

 

[996GT2]

Don't you plan on ever rotating your tires while you are changing your oil? I do that every time. One of the benefits of having it up on jackstands.

I go to Costco for that. Free rotation/balance/nitrogen inflation for life if you buy the tires from them, plus they actually use a torque wrench when doing your lug nuts. I know nitrogen is a gimmick but I don't mind when it's free

 

[olds]

...

...

Built this for my motorhome. Not fun to handle but worked great.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You put it up on 4 jackstands to change the oil? I just do two in the front.

I have a lift and a tunnel in my garage. I have to stand on a ladder to change the oil.

 

[Zargon]

I know that. I was just giving zargon a hard time.

:biggrin:

 

[skyking]

Speed holes in the wood is the answer.

truth! you could cut the blocking and space it out. a 2x6 will span a foot and carry a car no problem, so make the gaps 8". That would save a lot of wood, would it not?

 

[Subyman]

I'd trust the wooden ramps more. No way is a car going to crush wood. Pine has a compressive strength of ~5000psi. The typical contact patch for a car is around 35sqin. Car weighs ~4000lbs, split between 4 tires gives roughly 1000lbs per tire. 1000lbs per tire divided by the contact patch = 28psi on the wood. 5000psi rated versus 28 psi of the car... There is no situation where a car could crush the wood Now that is peace of mind.

If you are storing them in weather or if they could be potentially rained on then I'd consider getting treated wood. They'd last a life time and it would only be a couple of bucks more. They would weigh more though. Cedar weighs slightly less than pine and has weather resistant properties, so that may be a way to go as well.

Another option is to buy a cheap can of bed liner and coat them in that to provide some protection.

I'd drill a hole in the first board and run a length of rope through it. Then you can drag it in and out of the garage without having to lift them.

 

[Thump553]

Storage is a problem-in addition to being very bulky these are going to take up a lot of storage space. For safety reasons no way would I trust my life to wooden ramps stored outside, pressure treated or not. I had a retaining wall built out of treated railroad ties (not the wimpy things Home Depot sells as landscape ties) which was junk in little more than a decade. Leave firewood lying on bare ground for a year and it will be full of bug holes.

If you use treated wood make sure you take proper precautions when cutting it. Most carpenters I know won't work with treated wood as they feel the risk of the big C is too great.

A tip for rhino ramps (or that type) is to block them with a two by four buttressed by a wall to keep them from sliding, if that is a problem. My ramps have a one foot long flat rubber foot/lead-in strip which eliminates all ramp sliding.

 

[KillerBee]

Will they make it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbUBjnz9llQ

 

[BUTCH1]

I go to Costco for that. Free rotation/balance/nitrogen inflation for life if you buy the tires from them, plus they actually use a torque wrench when doing your lug nuts. I know nitrogen is a gimmick but I don't mind when it's free

Yea, I get the same service with Discount tire with the exception of the "high-performance" nitrogen..

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

When I saw this thread I was sure it was about this:
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/truck-boards-a-ship-by-wildly-driving-down-two-thin-woo-1707055405

 

[BUTCH1]

I know that. I was just giving zargon a hard time.

What's nutty is the idea that people actually work on vehicles like that, I don't think I'd want that dude doing my brakes! :awe::awe:

 

[Subyman]

Storage is a problem-in addition to being very bulky these are going to take up a lot of storage space. For safety reasons no way would I trust my life to wooden ramps stored outside, pressure treated or not. I had a retaining wall built out of treated railroad ties (not the wimpy things Home Depot sells as landscape ties) which was junk in little more than a decade. Leave firewood lying on bare ground for a year and it will be full of bug holes.

If you use treated wood make sure you take proper precautions when cutting it. Most carpenters I know won't work with treated wood as they feel the risk of the big C is too great.

A tip for rhino ramps (or that type) is to block them with a two by four buttressed by a wall to keep them from sliding, if that is a problem. My ramps have a one foot long flat rubber foot/lead-in strip which eliminates all ramp sliding.

Making a few cuts in treated to make these ramps isn't going to give you cancer. I have a pole barn where the treated sill around the concrete pad has been laying flat again the ground for 20+ years and there is no damage.

Weight and size is a legitimate complaint, but rotting treated wood isn't. Even normal wood wouldn't be a problem unless you store them outside for years.

 

[996GT2]

Making a few cuts in treated to make these ramps isn't going to give you cancer.

I think I'm going to make things easy for myself and just have Home Depot cut the 2x10s to length for me. I'll store these indoors so I'll probably end up going with regular pine. Since each step is only 1.5 inches in height, I'm not going to bother to angle the edges of each "step" since I don't think any car is going to have trouble going over a 1.5 inch ledge.

So really all I'd need to do is drill some pilot holes and screw the cut pieces together.

Finished weight of each ramp should be approximately 24 lbs per ramp if I build 3 steps (18-28-38 inch, 4.5-inch lift), or 33 lbs if I build 4 steps (18-26-34-42 inch, 6 inch lift). I'll probably attach some handles for easier carrying.

 

[reallyscrued]

This is zargon's idea of safety.

Stupid mounting principles aside...that's an argument *for* wood. Think about it, one 2x4 plank is strong enough to hold up the half of a pickup truck?