SCOUTS CANADA
NORTHERN ONTARIO COUNCIL

Great-Grand Daddy of KubKar stop ramps
& KubKar parking lots

Start by elevating the last 3 feet of the KubKar track. This is easily done by slipping a 1 5/8" strip of quarter inch plywood 30" or 32" long under the existing lane. This will raise the KubKar wheels off the track, and cause the car to skid on it's undercarrage.

Apply a 1 5/8" strip of "spider mat" to the track using double sided carpet tape. Spider Mat is available at "A Buck or Two" or other dollar stores for $2.00 a roll. It is the no-slip shelf liner used in RV's and also sold for Tool Box tray liners. It comes in different colours, and is easy to cut with scissors.


Most of our KubKars stopped within the 3 feet. Even the 2 pound 18-wheelers skidded to a stop and stayed on the track!

No more broken wheels or bent axles due to crashing stops against the back stop!

Parking Lot Organizer

I have always thought there must be a better way to park and organize KubKars so they didn't roll off the table. We traditionally parked them on their roof or on a blanket to keep them from falling on the floor.

Cubs would put their car in the first available spot on the table. Cars always got mixed up, so the search was on for that illusive KubKar needed for this race. Judging "Best in the Show" was also a chore.

One day, while watching Toronto rush hour traffic on Highway 401, the light came on! A multi-lane parking Lot! Just like on TV!

Preparation

• Using either 1/2" or 5/8" plywood or other suitable boards:
• Rip into nine 1 5/8" strips 8 feet long.
• Cut 56 1" x 1 1/2" spacers.
• Cut 14 1" x 1" spacers.
  
  
• Rip 1/4" plywood into seven 1" strips a little over 30" long (Cut to length later).

Construction

Place 9 of the 8' parking lanes on an 8 foot table.

• Start with 1" spacers on the outside of the front and back lane.
• Place the 1 1/2" spacers in between the parking lanes. At this point I added a shim of heavy paper to give some clearance between the spacers and the lanes.
• Measure and cut the 1/4" plywood strips to length.
• Glue and brad-nail the strips to the spacers. You will need 7 spacer strips for each 8 foot length of parking lot.

Setup

Arrange a spacer strip at the end of the table and every 15" down the lanes to allow 2 cars to park in each space. Number the parking spots on the spacer strips. Storage and transportation is easy, and I only have to sort the spacer bars, not the parking lanes. If you do 18-Wheelers, you could get 6 lanes on a standard 30" wide table by using 3" spacers instead of the 1 1/2" ones.

You can paint the lanes checkerboard, or plaid or whatever you have available.
Each table will park 108 cars in numeric order, firmly secured against rolling, with enough space between to prevent parking lot "dings".


At the Rally I clamped the first and last spacer bars to the table, and had no problems with slippage. The KubKars remained upright (what an easy way to judge the "Best in the Show", and we could always find the KubKar we needed for the races. "At the Pits" and "Retired" place cards indicated cars either being fixed or no-shows, so time was not lost searching for missing KubKars. The Cubs had no problem putting their cars back in the right spot.
Best of all, two tables worth of parking lanes, along with the spacers all fit in my small car, along with the rest of the Rally material! (Someone else had the track).

KubKar links

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Updated on: March 23, 2003	Copyright © MMIII Scouts Canada - Northern Ontario Council http://my.tbaytel.net/scouts/stopramp.htm