Hi all, Getting older etc... Been thinking about the idea of building some sort of outdoor ramps/pit to pull cars up on for under car work. I live where my yard has some slope, so I was trying to figure an idea of a partially underground, partially above ground idea. I've done some searches online about pits etc. but find very little about the subject anymore. Anybody here built something like I'm thinking about? Thanks John
Beware of a pit as fumes tend to gather in the pit. It could be a bad outcome. That is why some jurisdictions have outlawed them.
We did this when I was a kid...but since the invention of concrete, floor jacks, and jack stands, I have not felt any desire to do it again.
Great minds think the alike John! The "hill" would help! I'm thinking 8 Large post dug down as deep as I can get them on flat ground. That would be 4' ? in gravel. 4 on each side about 16' so 4' space. dig out between them, down about 2 1/2' and cut of post~2 1/2' leaving me about 5' of room once I set my "rails" on top.
There would be no pit fumes outside 1/2 in the ground. John's "hill would alow him to walk in and also the benefit of rain water to drain out.
A true pit, as hole in the ground may fill up with fumes. A lot of that has to do with what is in the ground in your area. The biggest problem is most insurance companies will give you a hard time if you have one in your garage. Somebody may fall in or you may be trying to sneak commercial work by them. Also the fume thing. What you are talking about is ramps. That is a different thing. I am sure an insurance company will give you plenty of reasons not to have them too. Tornado shelter looks interesting. How could they say no?
never had one, but i have worked in a few and i like them. insurance company's do not like them however
I remember in the 60’s, in Michigan, this was a desired thing. It was not up to code to do or have one. The workaround was to pour the garage slab over the dugout pit with a piece of plywood over it about a half inch below the surface. After the county inspections the top was knocked out. Nothing quite like a 6’ pit in your garage to fall into, or to be able to work on your vehicle from.
Mines fema approved and i can drive right over it with no problems. In texas SPAG offers grants and will pay 50% up to 3k. Only qualifications is that you own your home. I paid 3k out of pocket for turn key job. You cant beat that. Has an exhaust fan and lights. Oh and i also get an insurance discount for having a tornado shelter.
They are very illegal, almost everywhere as far as I know. They can be allowable in commercial installs, but the requirements there are such that an above-ground lift will be cheaper. And even the semi-open ones can be dangerous; there was an incident a number of years ago here where the guy got pretty seriously burned when fumes ignited. If the county ever finds mine they'll make me fill it or lose my fire insurance. But even so, they're not as useful as you might think. I've got one in my shop (I'm EXTREMELY careful about fumes) that I might use once or twice a year. Great for changing transmissions or clutches, but how often do you do that? Handy for exhaust work, but again not something you do regularly. Fluid changes and grease jobs, only middlin' useful. Brake/suspension work, pretty much useless. And if it's deep enough so you're not constantly banging your head, you'll need to pour retaining walls so it won't cave in. I got more use out of mine as a threat to misbehaving children…. Keep it up and you'll be going into the PIT!!! LOLOL...
Not sure what the regs are in Scotland, but you can still buy domestic ones. https://www.mech-mate.co.uk/ Agree with all the comments made but if your under a car on jack stands or a lift then the dangers could be worse. The major risk from my perspective would be how long it takes to get out of a pit in an emergency. Sent from my SM-A105G using Tapatalk
Have one in my dads garage, he framed angle iron for the layout. I'd guess this was in the mid-60's. IN the mid 70's I dug it out, he then rebarred it and poured the sides and floor. Thing is, if it's not in regular use, it's a haven for black widows...cool and dark.
Nothing poisonous in western Washington, but I have found a lot of dead critters in mine over the years...
I have a magnetic tarp cover for mine. It looks brand new inside and is about 4 years old. I never get bugs or spiders or even water in it.
I had a friend build one out of "mafia" blocks , notched into a hill. he would service his back hoe and trucks with it. it worked perfect
I fell into the same one twice, it was about 5'6" to the bottom. Once because I thought I was good enough to hop the gap. The second time was about a year later when I lost track of where I was standing and thought I made it onto a plank that was spanning the gap. Both falls resulted in heavy bruising, the kinds that leave hard lumps behind for better than a year. Haven't work on one since. Great for truck transmissions and clutch jobs, hated doing exhaust work because of the potential fume issue.
friend bought old house that had one in a garage bay - he rarely used it - once in a blue moon a buddy would use it - just had wood planks covering it - had ladder to get in/out - some oil change places use heavy duty ones - arms get tired fast doing over head work
everyone reread, It's OUTSIDE built into a hill most likely beside his shed. Maybe build for.... $400?
I had a pit in my garage and I filled it in. While you should have plenty of room, the one I had required the car to be moved rearward enough that you could climb down under the car......which meant I often had to leave the garage door open. Again, not a problem if you're outdoors, but anyone considering an indoor pit needs to make it longer than you might think. With an outdoor pit, I would be worried about caving in and rain. No matter what type of pit you build, the tool you need will ALWAYS be up in your toolbox and NEVER down in the pit with you.
Boy that gives me a timely idea. I've been prepping for pavement in front of my new shop. There is a road behind the crawler, I could notch into that slope, pour three walls and drive onto it from the back side. Hmm, thanks!
If I were building one on a hillside I would make sure the ground I was building on was strong enough first. I would dig out the whole length of the car down to two foot deeper than I am tall and two feet wider than my car. Frame out the whole bottom with re-bar and pour in a two foot concrete slab. Then build a U-Shape cement block wall into the hillside to hold back the ground not to support the vehicle. I would then build a cube out steel I- Beams and Square tubes heavy enough to hold ten times the weight of my car. Lastly I would make two steel troughs to corral the wheels so I couldn’t drive off of it and mount them to the top of the cube. This is way over built but for my purposes but given the opportunity this is how I would do it. A lot of overkill but no concerns about safety. The whole back would be open, the vehicle would be over supported, I could drive right on to it and not worry about driving off.
Guy up at my parents cottage built one into the side of a hill. he worked at a structural steel mill. He built a retaining wall against the hill then built his ramps out of large I beams With two I beams at the end to support them sunk into the ground and concreted in place. what he did that was really neat was he had two I think 1/4”plates on top of the I beams that where bolted loosely in place so they slid in and out a few inches. He could work on his old ram charger or his riding mower by sliding the plates in and out. One thing that’s important is at the end of your ramp you have a wheel stop so your car can’t roll off !! Lol
mafia blocks The other pic is cement shoes. just so there’s no confusion. bit the mafia don’t exist, all imagination invented by Hollywood to sell movies. just a bunch of legitimate business owners getting together to discuss stuff and things is all.
Yes using something like an I beam would be good to run the tires out on. Biggest thing might be different tread widths to accommodate? I've heard in garage pits usually end up getting water in them etc... Plus I don't want one in the garage. I figure with a hillside I could leave the lower side open to allow water to run out from rain or snow and for access in and out. I had wondered about whether block walls to retain the back and sides would be good to use or whether I would need to cast concrete. Maybe block and B-Bond?? I hear that is what they use in longwall coal mining. Just stack the block and parge with B-bond to construct walls.
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