The DIY Car Lift for the Practical Mechanic's Garage

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Half of the selling price should be product liability insurance. I hope none of my mutual funds own any of that insurance carriers shares.

Assuming it's refined:
(1) designed to lock
(2) side rails to keep the car from sliding sideways
(3) a dashpot to slow down the tilt action
... why is this unsafe?

If anything, this is more stable and idiotproof than either a hydraulic lift or jack stands.

Heavy hydraulic shocks to assist the landing and the roll-off of the vehicle would greatly improve the design.I can see the military using this if it was improved upon ,one field operated service platform designed on a humvee as a roof rack /missle deployer .It also needs a protection cage around the fall of the front lift plate ,I can imagine having safety shoes would not help you if that load came down unexpected .

That's just an oversized ramp turned upside down. Great if you have the space for it.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

You see these things all the time at car dealerships to display the cars hp a little higher.

__________________
-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I've never noticed a tilt feature on those dealer ramps.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Here's another. I think I like this version better, especially since it has wheels to tow it around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_NJ1iok3AE

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Of course they do - the vehicle rolls forwards and the ramp pivots and voila the car is parked 3 ft above ground.

some even have a locking mechanism to prevent it from lowering down again (windy situation or accident)

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

I've only see the ones with ramps going all the way to the ground.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Some dealer ramps are just an incline leaving the car on an angle, others tilt leaving the car level like the first post.