DIY Curb Ramp for Cars

I have an extra car that’s parked on a RV (Recreational Vehicle) spot that doesn’t have a driveway (ramp). To save my cars’ shock absorber, I needed to get a car ramp. The cheapest plastic ramp I could get costs upward of $45 at Amazon (RhinoGear 11909). I thought it would be fun to make one.

At first, I made one with cement, the same one used to make fence post. It cost about $5. But structurally it’s brittle (I broke one of them because it didn’t mix the cement well) and heavy (40+ lbs, difficult to store away when not used, instead of 10 lbs when made of wood). So I came up with this idea of using a 8′ long 2×4 when it was on sale at Home Depot for less than $3. I cut the 2×4 (1.5″x3 3/8″x8′) into the following segments:

3x 16″ = 48″ (for the parallel-to-curb pieces)
4x 12″ = 48″ (for the orthogonal-to-curb pieces)

Then I stacked them like match sticks. Next I drilled them using spade drill bits:
3/8″ first to drill through the stack. Then I use 5/8″ spade drill for just 1/2″ deep for the hex nut side (so the hex doesn’t stick out) (top side of the ramp) and use 3/4″ spade drill for just 1/2″ deep on the nut/bottom side for just 1/2″ so it’s easier to tighten the nuts on the bottom. The final pictures are here:

2013-07-17 08.43.09

2013-07-17 08.42.55

Bottom View:
2013-07-21 12.52.17
Now, here’s the final test:

Update:
Check out how I made it again here.

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