Sloping driveway - help !?!?

[charles]

I've moved house and my 40 is away on its holidays at a nice air conditioned hotel - but I think there's going to be a problem with my driveway!

It slopes down from the road to the garage and I don't think the 40 will fit - firstly I reckon it'll ground as it as it goes over the edge, and secondly, the nose will scrape at the bottom as it levels out again.

I'm resigned to splashing out on having the whole front garden landscaped anyway, but I want to try to arrange it so the 40 will just drive in without any drama.

So - what do you think? Maybe you guys who use trailers have some experiences to share? Any measurements etc????

Thanks in advance.

Charles

[Bill Bayard]

Charles,

I had the same worries, as my garage is

below my house. I built a wooden jig,

simulating the wheelbase and ground

clearance of my car, and then tested that on

the hill leading down to my garage. I figured

that becoming stuck in my own driveway would

be an embarrassment that I couldn't live

with! Although it didn't look as though my

car would clear the crest of the hill, I was

pleasantly surprised to find out that it did,

by a few millimeters!

I hope that yours does, as well. Good luck!


Regards,


Bill

[ April 15, 2003: Message edited by: Bill Bayard ]

[charles]

Bill,
building a wooden jig is exactly what I had planned. Great minds, etc....!

As my car's away, could I trouble for the measurements of your jig? I guess the important dimensions are the wheelbase, ground clearance and front overhang.

Cheers.

Charles

[Bill Bayard]

Charles,

As my driveway test was done over a year ago, the jig has become so much firewood.
Great minds don't necessarily have photographic memories, so you'll need to measure your car.
The wheelbase might be the same, but ground clearance likely is not. Play it safe. Measure twice, cut once, then pray that the jig (car) will clear all obstacles!
I hope that you are not in for a new driveway! Best of luck!

Regards,

Bill

[josvdp]

I know its a bit late but shouldn't the car be the first priority when buying a house ?

[charles]

quote:

---

Originally posted by josvdp:
I know its a bit late but shouldn't the car be the first priority when buying a house ?

---

Yes it should. I'm sitting here hanging my head in shame about this. Please don't give me a hard time!

Charles [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[Neal]

I have a fairly steep driveway and never had any issues with my cobra. It was 4.5" at the lowest point. I attacked the curb at an accute angle, stomped on the gas to get to about 30mph [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img], gave hard right input to correct power-induced oversteer [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] , and then slammed on the brakes once inside. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] The 40 should be OK.

[charles]

Cobra?
That sounds more like a Dodge Charger with a big flag on the roof [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Or perhaps that black car with the red LEDs on the front that can drive itself!!

Nevertheless, I take my hat off to you. I reckon that if I tried that, I'd end up either in the living room or in the back garden. One wrecked house and one wrecked car.

Boy, would I be in trouble then..... [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]


Charles

[Rotary Killer]

I'm probably too late...
But don't forget, measure and make the jig with you in the car - if it comes down to millimetres, the extra weight with you (and/or somebody else) in the car could make the difference.
Just get somebody else to measure it all up for you...
Cheers,
Adrian

[Simon]

Charles

Move!

Simon

Hi Charles.....

Seen your problem. Would you like me to post a picture of just how extreme your problem is? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] If you only get clearance when you are not in the car, then wirte TRACTOR on the side and let young Henry drive it out. I'll give him lessons on driving! Isn't that a Godfathers role?

At least console yourself that at your house you have a garage that the structural surveyor felt comfortable standing in. My house purchase has a condemned garage as you well know.

Hey, maybe the lady who you bought from could give you some ideas on how to fix this problem with sticky tape. It worked for, well, your whole house really! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Kindest regards

Malcolm

PS if you enjoyed Saturday helping me, you would have loved Sunday. Removed the fireplace in our bedroom and the chimney breast virtually fell down! Oooops. But I have this great idea for that ceiling....

If worse comes to worse, you can always get some of the nylon (or some kind of plastic) rub blocks that some race suppliers, Pegasus is one that I know of, and place them in the spots that will take the abuse. Of course, this will only work if it is a scrape you're dealing with. Then you can employ the technique described above by Neal.

I have a similar problem with an upsloping driveway and a swail (gutter) at its mouth. I have found a certain angle I can approach from that allows everything to clear. If I get to close to the right side or don't have enough angle, the underside of the nose will rub just a bit.

[keithk]

the grown up solution i found was to cement into the driveway (in my case) three pairs of threaded steel inserts. I then had fabricated screw in uprights each with a welded capture plate to the top. the plates each accept two scaffold boards end to end which secure by simple locking pins. the result provides a graduated track to my garage. so when winter comes etc i can remove the kit without any fuss. cheap, easy effective. i guess the deluxe version would use perforated steel sections -

[charles]

#Update#

I manufactured a jig to check the ground clearance coming in to the drive and it seems to be ok. That's if the wheelbase is 95" and the ground clearance is 5".

Now as my car is about 1hour away, could someone help me out?

I need to know the distance between the front axle and the end of the nose - to check whether it will scrape at the bottom of the driveway. Who will pop out to their garage and measure for me?

Thanks again in advance.

Charles

[Bill Bayard]

Charles,

My car measures 42"+or- from the centerline of the front wheels to the tip of the front clip.
Have you considered changing the grade with
a little bit of asphalt in the low spots? A small elevation change may be enough to make the difference between success and disaster.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Bill