I was hoping some one could tell me how to set the ramps up for our local race and not have cross bind in the ramps. What is the best way to improve the transion from ramp to street. can someone help with proper level usage so we can set our ramps cross bind free examples would be great
allornothing

I have never tried posting a picture to this site before so hopefully this worked.


If not, basically, each ramp has a set of scissor jacks in the rear and sits on four jacking bolts. That way we can raise or lower each corner (the front with two bolts and the rear with the jacks) to obtain the desired angle, making the ramps "level" to the road, and then set the two jacking bolts in the middle to secure the ramp. The front of the ramp is hinged sheet metal. They aren't perfect, but the best we could do with the time and space we had available when we made them out of what they first used.

If the picture doesn't show up, either send me instructions on how to do that or send me your email info and I will get a picture to you.

David Gibson

david.r.gibson@lesschwab.com

Purchase a 4 ft level

Drill then tap the 4 ft Level to allow for at least 2 6* inch long 1/4 inch all thread or 6 inch long bolts to be inserted into the Level at the distance the SBD wheels are apart.

*6 inchs is the minimum length to allow the all thread/bolt to touch the ramp surface that the wheels roll on without touching any of the other hardware on the ramps and long enough to allow the nulling to take place.


Race day

First Null the level by raising or lowering the 1/4 all thread to the road surface just in-front of the ramps

Level the front of the ramps to the nulled level

Level the rear of the ramps were Masters wheel sit to the nulled level

Now do it again to the other ramp ensuring you null the level to the road surface in-front of the ramps.

Good idea for racers to have this tool too. Great for checking the ramp crossbind then using the data from this measurement in setting up your front king pin torque. Don't forget to check the second morning of 2 day rallies.

I think I understand but I am wondering about the nulling process in front of the ramps is that across where the front wheels would be or where the front of the ramps come in contac with the road Thanks Allornothing

I received a few emails wanting pictures of our street ramps. If you are considering ramps, look at Derek's. It is normal to think that you might build cheaper than you can buy, but as is often the case, you get what you pay for.

Here are the ramps for Columbia River Soap Box Derby. These were cut down from two ramps originally 4' high in the rear and 16' long. We are fortunate to have an engineer on the team who re-worked our starting mechanism. The ramps fit on top of each other on one of our return trailers.

As you can see from the above, our street ramps hinge in the front. We use the jacking bolts and scissor jacks to adjust and secure the ramps to try and eliminate as much of the cross bind as possible.

Here are the best street ramps I have seen. These are used by the Southern Claifornia group. Extremely portable. They lay flat on the street. The on-deck car sits in the channel behind the cars in the gates. There is a stopper so the on-deck car cannot roll forward. The starting mechanism is a trigger and the entire thing is operated by one person. Light and portable.

Here is pic 2 of the Southern California ramps:

Here is a picture of the Vallejo, CA ramps. They need height to get speed for their track. Dan did a lot of work on these so I am fairly sure there is no cross bind when the gate drops. When you transition to the street though, well, that is another matter.