"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,

We gave away our 'old' car, replacing it with a scooter for local
journeys. We only need the car for its carrying capacity and towing.

That's one reason I keep the old Rover - it's huge inside with the seats
lowered and can carry most things - even a door with the hatch closed. My
similar sized BMW has trouble with a cardboard box...

As I said earlier, the Rover 70 was written off. We gave our second car to a
son, it was a hatchback. Neither it nor the Rover would have carried what we
need to transport these days.

snip

Did you have a decent trolley jack and axle stands? Ramps the car
could be driven up onto?

Yes, but you're still on your back and it's not easy to access the top
of
the engine from the ground when the car's lifted. With a pit you can get
both under and over with ease.

That's my point. Clambering in and out of the average domestic pit is
easily as difficult as getting up and down off the floor. Unless it's much
longer than they usually are.

I've covered that.


That's the other real pain. Providing a strong level flush covering.

What sort of DIYer are you? It's not difficult at all.

I really don't think you've used one in anger as part of a reasonably
active hobby...

I don't do anything in anger - it's not productive :-)

Most
use old chunks of wood which get filthy and put splinters in your
hands
when removing.

We're not talking about 'most' here - are do you include yourself in
that
category?

Well?

I've often wondered about a way of providing some form of decent
cover. But then anything one piece that was strong enough couldn't be
lifted...

It doesn't have to be one piece, just snug fitting. That doesn't mean
cabinet built but it's within the capability of most DIYers I'd have
thought. If it isn't they shouldn't be doing things for themselves.

It needs to be strong enough to support the weight of the car on a jack.

No it doesn't. Why jack a car when you have a pit? And where do you put
jacks under a car?

That means hefty timbers. And usually lots of them. Indeed, such a pain to
put back that most just leave the pit open.

How do you know that most leave a pit open?

You do have a tendency to generalise without evidence.