Ramps

I've been thinking of getting some ramps lately. What's people's thoughts on these? They look promising, but has anyone had issues with the ramp angles and the nose?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/FoxHunte ... RTM2063750


Alternatively I was originally thinking of plastic ones (just for ease of storage etc) but 17cm max height on a low car might not be enough to really be useful.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CAR-RAMPS-2-5 ... Sw6dNWThFg

All ramps of that style will bottom out on the front bumper ,rear end should be fine .You need a helper board of some type .I made up some longer runs from a scaffold plank,noggin of wood to lock into the ramp .

You can buy some extenders...I was going to get some of these..from machinemart



Not sure if they would be 225/245 wide though..

For the front you need something very shallow.

The mobile AC man use some railway sleepers cut to a wedge...they worked great for his needs.

I bought some of these from Machine Mart. They are useless. They are too narrow & not long enough for the front of a GTA, & they move about when you try to drive up them. As suggested by lee, you are better off making up a couple of helper boards. Mine are 30" long and with a block of wood to drop between the slats they don't move.

As for the ramps themselves, the hydraulic ones do look good. It would be useful to get a bit more height when working under the car sometimes.

Paul

[Alpineandy]

They do look useful. I'm trying to work out how to get the A310 and Bike in a small garage and was thinking ramps = car at an angle = slightly shorter. But the difference would be negligible and leaving the car 'nose up' for a while would soon show some new oil leaks... It's a bit more (OK a lot more) expensive but I fancy one of these http://www.cjautos.eu/product_p/cl01.htm

I've been eyeing some of these for a while, should be a lot easier to drive on...

http://www.cjautos.eu/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=CR02

[BIG_MVS]

Yes those extenders from machine mart are bobbins. They just don't get the lift.

09042010018.jpg

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In the end the good old scaffold boards came to the rescue and I managed to get the car all the way forward on the ramps.

20052010045.jpg

They do look useful. I'm trying to work out how to get the A310 and Bike in a small garage and was thinking ramps = car at an angle = slightly shorter. But the difference would be negligible and leaving the car 'nose up' for a while would soon show some new oil leaks... It's a bit more (OK a lot more) expensive but I fancy one of these http://www.cjautos.eu/product_p/cl01.htm

If it is an atmo, I don't recommend jacking the front too high for long periods. Mine was transported on a car transporter at a steepish angle and the fuel siphoned back into the engine...

I was concerned about the widths of all this as you've shown. Made my own from some nice timber with shallow angle to avoid catching the underside of the nose and proper wide for the rear wheels.

[Alpineandy]

If it is an atmo, I don't recommend jacking the front too high for long periods. Mine was transported on a car transporter at a steepish angle and the fuel siphoned back into the engine...

A310 and I was thinking nose down, but thanks for the info.
I've got the car back here now and the bike just about fits behind it. It's close but it's in....

So Martin, how tall are your ramps (I'm assuming approx. 25cm)? Do they give enough lift to get properly under the car?

Basically should I go normal ramps (plus a chunk 'o' scaffold board) OR posh ramps with the jacking function (to get 37cm lift), plus scaffold board to get them on in the first place? What's your opinion big man?

[BIG_MVS]

I'll check how high they are this weekend Darren. From memory they were nowt special.

With my poor spannering skills and of course the uber reliability of the A610 that's the only time I have used them in five years. They were high enough to get I would say a third of the way down the car to work on it. The trickiest part was lining everything up and the ramps not moving. My drive has a slight incline so I ended up facing the other way to get it on.

Ramps........Don't like 'em every time I have tried using them I always end up with them moving about, and I end up half up one and not up the other.
The only time I have ever had any success using them is when I have another spanner man watching /footing them to get up, one of the kids or the other half just don't cut it !
I also remember a cheap H*****ds pair buckling and trapping my mates dad when we kids, full ambulance hospital job. It was only an Astra estate, not a Transit van or anything weighty.
I don't want to go all health and safety, 'cos I'm as foolish and reckless as anyone ( more so in the past ) but I always double bubble when under a car, jack and stands, plus the wheels on their sides pushed under somewhere.
If you want it on ramps, I personally would jack it on them, you can also jack the rear on some timber or concrete ( not breeze ) blocks, which will give you some more height and keep you leveller.
Take care and I always have my phone in my overall pocket, not out of reach, I remember Alans face and him struggling to breath, if it were not for a sunny afternoon on his drive with everyone about it could have been different.......sorry to be morbid...
That's what two post lifts are for and that's why pro's charge what they charge.

Have you changed your 610 Martin I thought yours was red? Or do you now own 2

[BIG_MVS]

Yes that was my first A610 which I sold in 2012.