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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: acepedro45 on December 18, 2018, 09:31:48 PM

Title: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: acepedro45 on December 18, 2018, 09:31:48 PM
I have a steep ramp leading up to my garage...too steep.

My regular sized sedan now just baaaaarreeely scrapes bottom as it enters the garage. It hits just as the rear wheels approach the ramp. An ASCII depiction is given below.

O
*****\_O__

O = car wheels.
* = garage floor.
_ = driveway surface.
\ = ramp.

So, if the car were just a few inches higher off the ground in the rear wheels, I would have no problem.

Things I'm wondering:

1. Do cars ride lower and lower as time goes by and suspension components wear out? The problem seems to be getting worse slowly in the last year. For awhile, if everyone but the driver got out, the car would slip into the garage bay just barely. But even a load of groceries in the trunk was enough to touch bottom. And now it happens all the time.

2. Would a product like this help?

https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Rubber-Curb-Ramp2/dp/B011AKN91K/ref=pd_sim_263_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B011AKN91K&pd_rd_r=127b4a41-0344-11e9-a088-a167811d1016&pd_rd_w=b1Rg4&pd_rd_wg=Nk7H3&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=PYYX8X8W5SMEB68VV6DV&psc=1&refRID=PYYX8X8W5SMEB68VV6DV

I guess I'm imagining putting these babies in before the concrete ramp starts and getting a little more height that way.

3. Should I consider suspension changes to the back of the car in an effort to get a few inches more of height or is that a wild goose chase? It seems like a dumb idea to me.

4. Is there a DIY modification to a concrete ramp that sits on asphalt? The ramp seems too steep for anything short of an SUV. I feel like there was another poster with this same problem years ago but I can't find his posts.

Brainstorm with me!
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: Linea_Norway on December 19, 2018, 02:47:57 AM
I think you should make the ramp longer and flatter.

If is is made of asphalt, I'm not sure how to DIY. But in my community, when they only close the potholes with a spade full of asphalt, they drive around with a small van that has a flat back, where some hot samping asphalt is laying on. The man who does the work, spades off some asphalt at each hole. This lasts for quite some time. Maybe there is on option for you to order some asphalt that is delivered hot and semi-fluid, so that you can make a new, flatter ramp quickly.

Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: mrmoonymartian on December 19, 2018, 03:30:17 AM
Where I live we bolt (T) a length of metal/concrete [*T*] or pile a similar strip of asphalt  in front of the ramp if needed. If it's the street gutter you're talking about normally you need to make sure the water can still flow through at (L). And if it's not on your property you better check with your local authority first.

O
***\
        L[*T*]_O__

(The idea is that rolling over the installed add-on boosts the mainframe before it can scrape your hard drive)
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: honeybbq on December 19, 2018, 11:46:37 AM
We have a very similar problem with our garage being below the house and driving down into it.

We thought about a lot of different ideas, but the best one was to have an architect lengthen the driveway and make it curved so the angle wasn't so sharp.

That's the $$$ solution, that really sucks though because it basically would ruin the look of the front yard.

So, right now we park on the street. :(
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: acepedro45 on December 19, 2018, 12:49:41 PM
Quote
Where I live we bolt (T) a length of metal/concrete [*T*] or pile a similar strip of asphalt  in front of the ramp if needed. If it's the street gutter you're talking about normally you need to make sure the water can still flow through at (L). And if it's not on your property you better check with your local authority first.

O
***\
        L[*T*]_O__

(The idea is that rolling over the installed add-on boosts the mainframe before it can scrape your hard drive)

That's what I had in mind with the ramps that I linked to in my OP....just a little boost to help get me over the hump, so to speak.

Quote
I think you should make the ramp longer and flatter....Maybe there is on option for you to order some asphalt that is delivered hot and semi-fluid.

The ramp is concrete and the driveway is asphalt. I don't think asphalt on top of concrete would hold up, but I'm not an expert. 

Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: Syonyk on December 19, 2018, 01:21:59 PM
Yes, springs will sag over time.

I'd just get some cold patch and pack it in.  See how it works and how long it lasts.  If it comes apart, consider better options.  If it holds up, great!

Or you could chop down some 2x4s into a ramp.
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: Goldielocks on December 19, 2018, 05:16:48 PM
Where I live we bolt (T) a length of metal/concrete [*T*] or pile a similar strip of asphalt  in front of the ramp if needed. If it's the street gutter you're talking about normally you need to make sure the water can still flow through at (L). And if it's not on your property you better check with your local authority first.

O
***\
        L[*T*]_O__

(The idea is that rolling over the installed add-on boosts the mainframe before it can scrape your hard drive)

If you have sufficient overhead space, you could raise the upper portion slightly, so the front end does not come down so soon, allowing the rear wheels to be higher on the ramp first...?   Put the increase partway along the top, on your property.


    O
   ----
********\
                \ __O__

Where the ---- are those rubber  curb ramps you linked to, placed end to end like a small hump at the top?
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: acepedro45 on December 24, 2018, 08:46:07 PM
I installed a very mustachian easement. I ended up laying down some old particle boards I had lying around the basement to get a little more clearance. I only needed a half inch or so. All is well unless the car continues to sag further and further down.
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: Dicey on December 24, 2018, 09:00:27 PM
Hooray for a mustachian solution!
Title: Re: Steep garage entrance and my poor car
Post by: Syonyk on December 25, 2018, 11:37:00 AM
Or until the stuff disintegrates when wet. :/