G’day Gents,

Over the years, with several Jags I have owned, I have had problems using car ramps in that due to the low clearance of our cars the underside of the front bumper or underbody hits the ramp before the wheel starts to ride up the ramp. I tried placing a thick plank in the runup before the ramp, to lift the car a bit, but as soon as the wheels contacted the ramps they skidded on the concrete floor.

I needed a ramp with a much shallower incline which would solve both problems but none were available so I put my thinking cap on and came up with a solution. I used a sturdy plank 900 mm long with an inverted V notch in one end tapered at the other. The inverted V notch fits over the third uppermost crosspiece on the ramp with the tapered end on the floor.

See pix.







Now the car runs up onto the ramp easily and smoothly with no skidding and no contact other than the wheels.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

Well done Jeff. I assume there is a landing platform for the tire? L@@K at that beautiful lower bumper. No scuffs at all, not even from the ramps.

I have a set of resin plastic ramps that I can use without any mod. But I did have to use 2 sheets of plywood with stops at one end to keep the ramps from slipping. The weight of the car is on the plywood first so that method works well. But I think I would feel better if the ramps were made of steel frame.

Oil change time? I just did mine last week. Although I did it with the left side of the car jacked up, from behind the front wheel. Hydraulic jack under the front spring pan. That oil filter is hard to reach and sure makes a MESS when removed.

 

G'day Richard,

I had thought about a landing platform but as the car would never be on the ramps for very long I hadn't done anything about it. It is a good idea though and I have a couple of pieces of plank lying around so that will give me something to do for a while. I might make them a permanent fixture of the ramps.

Quite a while ago I replaced my prop shaft centre bearing and needed the whole car off the floor so I ran the front up the ramps and then jacked the rear up and put it on jack stands. It worked a charm and was as solid as a rock and gave me plenty of working room.

The bumper looks great beause I had quite a bit of remedial paintwork done recently and have been extra careful ever since.

Cheers,
Jeff.

 

I find the ramps useful but I jack the car up and then position the ramps under the wheels. Likewise to remove. I tried backing my XJ6 off the ramps and cracked my washer tank when it scraped on the ramp.

 

Been there done that!