Krypton factor meets scraphead challange, HELP!
Turbo Mini Forums

Make the ramps 6m long but hinged in the middle (so they can be folded up for storage) and make two rigid supports to go under the hinged joints.

BUT, make these supports 600mm high (not 450) then there will be two virtually equal transitions to clear, one from the first half of the ramp to the second half and then from the second half of the ramp to the deck of the van.

By doing it in two stages, the overall length required is much less, or your clearance is much better, whichever you prefer.

For example, at 3m plus 3m you would only use up 50mm of your ground clearance at each of the transitions.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

find a damaged luton with tail lift, retrofit the equipment and make a larger but lighter platform

lol some good ideas here guys, and great pics, Nic, can you send me that one in hi res, I think I need to print that out for the workshop wall!!, although you have spelt sheepspeed wrong.

the biggesrt problem with the tail lift is the weight of it, as the van is only 3.5 ton so getting pretty close the the weight limit anyway.

Iain, your drawbridge idea is what my second idea was, I still think a jack under the back of the car may be easier.

Paul S I did think about your idea of having the mini going up high in the van, but I need to keep the mini as low as possible as the bed is going over the roof of the mini, although it could rise a bit, and I could drive the van onto some ramps.

I have also thought about curved ramps.

Any more?

Team Racing

Why not make a ramp that slides into itself (like a ladder). If you make each length 4m, then you middle section will be 2m worth of doubled up area which should be strong enough for the mini

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

There is room between the floor of the luton box and the chassis to store the ramps, it could handle a little angle in the middle but nothing major.

How can I work out the maxium angle between the floor of the van, and the ramp?

I suppose if if I have another angle this is just double the single value?

Team Racing

Either check my maths or draw it to scale on some graph paper !!

Note clearance used is 73.6mm not 72 as I said earlier - I had used the better angle figure instead of the worst one originally.

You could optimise it a bit better, I just used 600mm as the mid height (ie, 2/3) as the sine tables are pretty linear at small angles.

EDIT - you could also do it in three parts which would give you a bit more clearance and less height, or even more sections... the more you do, the closer it becomes to a curve :)

Edited by Rod S on 9th Oct, 2009.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Something like the race car lifter on this site??

http://www.blsearle.co.uk/Specialist-Vehic...onversions.html

Scroll about half why down

Tom