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Wait a minute. When I calculate the horizontal force of a 6000 lbs weight on a 20 degree incline, it comes out to 2052 lbs! If the car only puts 1700 lbs of forward force to the wheels in 1st gear, then it isn't going to go forward at all. Please tell me I'm calculating it wrong.
20 degrees is approx a blue ski run. It is really steep. You said this ramp is really shallow. Go out and measure it with an inclinometer. Or just use a level and get the pitch ("rise over the run"). Most people seriously overestimate the steepness of slopes, unless they have trained themselves for it.
You were right. The boat ramp isn't even close to the incline that I expected. Unless I am doing my geometry wrong, it seems to be 7.1 degrees at its steepest point. I measured the rise and run at 4 points. The run (length of my level) was just a hair over 26", and the rise was between 3" and 3.25".
My dad is going out on the boat with me this weekend, and will be bringing his truck. I plan on having him video my attempt to haul, launch, and un-launch the boat with the S2000. If something doesn't work out, we'll use his truck to get the boat out.
You were right. The boat ramp isn't even close to the incline that I expected. Unless I am doing my geometry wrong, it seems to be 7.1 degrees at its steepest point. I measured the rise and run at 4 points. The run (length of my level) was just a hair over 26", and the rise was between 3" and 3.25".
My dad is going out on the boat with me this weekend, and will be bringing his truck. I plan on having him video my attempt to haul, launch, and un-launch the boat with the S2000. If something doesn't work out, we'll use his truck to get the boat out.
I'll post the evidence one way or the other.
Good luck dude!
Hope you prove all these S2000 crap-talkers wrong, and give them a big finger to boot.
You were right. The boat ramp isn't even close to the incline that I expected. Unless I am doing my geometry wrong, it seems to be 7.1 degrees at its steepest point.
That sounds right.
One of the typical things we do when teaching an avalanche class is point to a slope and say "guess the angle". People usually guess a 15-20 degree slope to be 30-40 degrees. It's really important to know the difference, because 30-40 degrees will avalanche and kill you, but 15-20 degrees won't.
I've never seen anybody who was inexperienced at gauging slopes guess too steep.
I am about to head out to the lake. I removed my rear bumper cover so that I can inspect the attachment points throughout the process. I am also going to paint the joints with white-out or touch-up paint to indicate any movement (cracks in the paint).
Here are some pictures of the hitch without the bumper cover. It turns out that there are 5 bolts holding the bumper to the car (3 on the driver side and 2 on the passenger side). Take note of how high the ball is in relation to the hitch. This will distribute the horizontal load to the bumper and the lower trunk mounts some. I'm not really sure how to calculate the percentages, since the upper and lower mounts aren't free to pivot.
09-03-2004, 12:28 PM
