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Sloping driveway - any safe way to work under the car?

22K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  SimonT 
#1 ·
Hi all,

My driveway has enough of a slope on it that with the original boot struts fitted the boot would always close unless you had it propped (fixed with the 156 bonnet struts now! :) ).

I have a debate going on with myself that if I get two of these:

Halfords Ireland | Halfords Car Ramps

secure them down through the cobble lock with spikes and then drive "down"the driveway and up onto them (or reverse down onto them) it might not be too bad...... but I keep telling myself that's a tad unwise. Even with the car suitably chocked.

the slope is not too mad but I would guess it's 2-4 inches from front to rear (I really must get out the laser level and measure).

what do you think or has anyone done/seen anything that's safe to use to get under the car when on a slope? Its a pain in the proverbial to have to take her away from the house if I want to do any work under the car.

thanks

NF
 
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#5 ·
Those ramps will probably be useless as the bumper will foul on them. .
you can get round that by putting a thick length of wood or something in front of the ramp so the wheel rides up high enough on that approaching the ramp to lift the bumper clear - maybe. Bought metal ramps tend to be too steep to fit under the bumper - I made some timber ones with a much gentler slope, worked a treat (and didn't slide). Up to you to make them substantial enough of course ...
 
#3 ·
secure them down through the cobble lock with spikes and then drive "down"the driveway and up onto them (or reverse down onto them) it might not be too bad...... but I keep telling myself that's a tad unwise. Even with the car suitably chocked.
I don't see any problem with that - in fact it's probably safer than using ramps on a level surface, as, in effect, to roll off the ramps the car's got to roll uphill. I've done it on steeper slope than the one you describe, without securing the ramps, to give a bit more clearance under the car.

A word of caution on ramps: most modern cars have long overhangs with relatively low clearance, particularly at the front, which means that the underside of the bumper fouls on the ramps making it impossible to drive the car onto the ramps.

Edit: Mr Caine beat me to it!
 
#4 ·
Well, no-one is going to advise you to do anything "risky" in this risk averse world but I use ramps on a sloping drive, why not? Ramps at downhill end, wheels on drive suitably chocked, handbrake on, gear selected. Putting a piece of carpet under the ramps stops them from sliding when you drive on. If your heights are correct then the slope is only about 1:100 - regarded as "level" in accessibility terms!
 
#14 ·
Oops! Just worked out from the block work in the wall that the slope is a bit more than I thought.

On average the block work drops by 1 block every 5.5 blocks. Or 8.5 inches every 95, which if my calculator is to be believed is 1:11 - not quite the 2-4 inches I thought. Or have I got that right? :confused:

Looking at the measurements of the wheelbase and the width of the tyre footprints, my back of the envelope calculations give me a 7ft long ramp to get 12inches of height at the wheel if I do one of the very simple stepped ramps.

Wheel footprint - roughly 10 inches call it 12 to give wiggle room - that's a foot per 2"rise - so to get 12 inches I will need 6 feet minimum - give the top step double the length of the others to give room for chocks => 7ft length which is just less than the distance between the wheels.

Hmmmm.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the quick replies.

When I used to store a boat on the driveway I used to have to use a tetris arrangement of blocks to get the trailer straight (and off the tyres) and while I was doing it I never fancied the axel stands on the slope until I had the blocks in place.

Even as I was typing it I thought about getting ones made with a longer run up to clear the bumper and I remembered I have an engineering shop where I can get "mate" rates.... I think I may have my answer there - perhaps even getting the Halfords ones and getting then to Weld on attachments.

Mind you this webpage might have food for thought for people with Flat surfaces.......

Corvette C3 Ramps - Build Home Made Car Ramps

or these

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=...AKcLmswbsyoGIBA&sqi=2&ved=0CEYQ9QEwAQ&dur=234

Cheerio.

NF
 
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