Scale Levellers

[RickyBobby]

Hey Guys.  I am almost done making my own scale levellers with roll off area.  The factory ones sell for $800+.  I made  ones for about $150.  Let me know if anyone wants the dimensions and how to.

[justfreaky]

Hi RB,
 Don't have my scales yet, but always looking to save a buck by building what I can.

Steve

[JGRacing]

If you have any pics to post, I would be curious to see what they look like.  At the moment, I just have roll off pads made from plywood and 2x4's and use 12 inch linoleum tile to level the scale pads. 

[justfreaky]

Haven't seen the pics yet, but I belive that his are made of wood also.
Please post a couple of pics of yours also.

Thanks,

Steve

[JGRacing]

I would almost be embarrassed to post pics of the ones I made.  They are seriously just 14 by 12 inch (or somewhere in that ballpark) pads of leftover plywood and 2x4's sandwiched together to about the thickness of the scale pads.  The linoleum tiles are shims to raise the scale pads up to get the pads all level.  It is true redneck engineering inspired by the day my modified rolled off the pads when I was scaling it.  RickyBobby's actually sound like something that was made with actual thinking and measuring involved.     

[justfreaky]

That backyard engineerin' works.
Doesn't always look purdy.
I have my frame sittin' up on on some pieces of  firewood (for lack of a garage, or anything else handy at the time).
 

Steve

[MegaMang]

If it works, it was intended.  If it doesn't work, it's still in progress.

When I was building my house, there were times that things didn't quite go the way it was intended...  People got used to me referring to "Features".  It meant I'd turn a mistake into something that did work.

There were no mistakes in my house, but there was the odd feature!

Mike

[RickyBobby]

I am just painting them up so they look a little better.  I will post pics and dimensions this weekend

[MegaMang]

They look pretty good.
 

[justfreaky]

Hey Mike,

So your saying that missing section of roof is a "skylight"?

 

Just Razzin' Ya! 


RB,
 Looking forward to the pics and dimensions.

Thanks!


Steve

[justfreaky]

RB,
 Are they the ones sitting under the car in the "How You Doing '08" thread?
They look good! Give up your dimensions. Or, post a build thread and list of materials.
We're all looking to save a dollar where we can. 

Thanks!

Steve

[RickyBobby]

yes they are the ones under the car.  I am having an issue with the legs.  They are carriage bolts the go into a nut that is threaded on the inside for the bolt and the outside threading into the wood frame.  They move too much so I have to come up with a different design.  I thought of putting small squares of MDF on either side of the bolt head so they have a wider flater surface to sit on but the other problem is the nuts move too much in the frame and want to pull out.
If anyone has any ideas on the legs I would appreciate it.

[JGRacing]

maybe replace the rods with pieces of 2x4 for legs and then use shims to get it to level?  Not sure how to get it completely stable attaching bolts to wood.  You could also just make a simple frame out of angle iron or old bed frame that the setup could sit in.  You would be able to weld nuts to the metal frame for the legs.  Just a couple of ideas.  I might convert the roll off pads I made into something like your design.       

[justfreaky]

The idea is there.......
Now to figure out the finer points to get everything to work properly.
I have to run off to work for a few hours, so haven't given it too much thought.
The pic. looks fine though RB.


Steve

[RickyBobby]

The dimensions are cut the outside boards to 34.75 inches long and the inside ones to 15.25 inches.  There are 3 inside baords.  The pads I have are 15x15x2.5 inches.  I used 2x2 under neath to get the pads to sit level with the roll off area.