Bus Ramps

[dale farley]

I have found these ramps to be very useful in working under the bus. They work under the front or the rear. If interested, I have listed the procedure for making a set. Because my tail pipe was in the way, and I couldn't get the ramp in the right place I made a set of shorter ramps out of 1 sheet of plywood. I ran up the short ramp (only about 4 inches high) before going up the long ramps. The picture shows some 2 X 4s I was using before I built the 4 inch ramps.


The Ramps

Four ramps with the overall dimension of 8 feet long x 1 foot wide x 10 inches high. Bottom layer is 8 foot long, top layer is 5 foot long, with each layer cut 3 inches shorter than the last with 45 degree bevels. This resulted in 13 layers of 3/4" shop grade plywood.
Materials

Eleven sheets of 3/4" shop grade plywood
Several pounds of 2 inch galvanized sheet rock screws
Couple of pounds of 16 penny nails
About nine large tubes of liquid nails sub-floor glue

Construction
The bottom sheets of plywood are the only pieces that are 8 foot long. I cut a 45 on the ends and started each layer back 3 inches from the last layer, number 13 ended up with the 5 foot I was looking for to be able to park both the tag and drive axle on a level surface when on the ramps.

First, rip eleven sheets of plywood length wise, 12" wide. Set aside four sheets of 8' x 12" for the bottom layers and cut four 60" long for the top layers. Piece the layers (except the bottom four and top four) to obtain the required lengths. I wanted a continuous layer for the top and bottoms. Since all the wood will be glued, screwed and nails, they will be plenty strong.The ramps have thirteen layers with the following lengths:

4ea x 96" x 12"= 32sq/ft
4ea x 93" x 12"= 31sq/ft
4ea x 90" x 12"= 30sq/ft
4ea x 87" x 12"= 29sq/ft
4ea x 84" x 12"= 28sq/ft
4ea x 81" x 12"= 27sq/ft
4ea x 78" x 12"= 26sq/ft
4ea x 75" x 12"= 25sq/ft
4ea x 72" x 12"= 24sq/ft
4ea x 69" x 12"= 23sq/ft
4ea x 66" x 12"= 22sq/ft
4ea x 63" x 12"= 21sq/ft
4ea x 60" x 12"= 20sq/ft

Total 3/4" plywood required = 338 sq/feet..... or 11 sheets of plywood

I added some handles to the sides so I could pull the ramp from under the bus if I needed to.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Dale very well done. How often do you use these now that you have a pit? What procedures would you be doing when on them?

[Denny]

Dale,
Great job on the ramps! I too have made ramps but to gain even more room I will raise the body using the suspension system. For further safety, I have a pair of 12 ton (total 24 tons) adjustable jack stands that I place at the proper body support points.

[dale farley]

Joe, I do not use them much since I have the pit. I do plan to use them in the next couple weeks to rinse my OTR condenser since I don't want to be spraying water inside my bus building. The 10" they get the bus off the ground, makes a tremendous difference in working space.

[dalej]

Looks great Dale,

I'm just thinking, I would have to have a running start with my 8V. :)

[dale farley]

Dale, That sounds like a great idea. Maybe at OKC Jon can demonstrate that to us while he is showing the difference in acceleration with dirty and clean air filters. Or even better, you and Jon with a comparison between the 8V and the S 60.

[dalej]

Yea, sign me up for that one! I couldn't climb the 1/2 inch scale in South Dakota without flooring it!

[tdelorme]

I can hear it now, "Paulette, come help me move the ramps!!"

You don't mention how you have the bus blocked to prevent it rolling off the ramps in case the brakes get released, but I bet you do. Real nice work, Dale.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If you have two sets of ramps, Dale F will demonstrate the Evel Kneivel bus jumping techniques.

With enough speed he should be able to launch his coach, get enough height to clear Truk's old refrigerator and come down on the other set of ramps.

I would pay money to see that.

[dale farley]

Well, Jon if you can get enough of the other rich boys to come up with a total of $225K, I will do the jump.

[BrianE]

Many thanks Dale. Off to Home Depot.