Maximum vehicle weight for parkign structure

[ajk1]

I have to design a ledge repair in a parking structure. The ledge is on the side of the beam and supports a slab. I know there are concentrated loads in the Ontario Building Code for various vehicle weights, but they go in big increments, from 4000 kg vehicle to 9000 kg vehicle. Anyone know where I can find the gross vehicle weights of the heaviest vehicles likely to use the garage? Would they be SUV's and contractor's trucks? A quick search of the web did not turn up much, but maybe I just don't know where to look.

 

[JStephen]

I've seen fire trucks mentioned as the heaviest-likely-vehicle in some similar circumstances.
Is there some way to find what the original design was based on?

 

[dcarr82775]

The US code uses a 3,000 point point load for a typical parking garage where headroom limits the size of the vehicle that can enter. My understanding is the load is intended to cover the load of a SUV type vehicle on a jack. Curb weight on a a Ford Excursion is around 6,000.

I guess the question is how big a vehicle can get to the area in question?

 

[ajk1]

JStephen
There is no way a fire truck could get around the spiral ramp that is the only entrance. So we don't need to concern ourselves with fire trucks in this case.


JStephen
One of the vehicle weight categories of the 2012 Ontario Code is for vehicles < 4000 kg (8800 pds); that requires design for a concentrated load of 18 kN (4000 pounds) spread over 120 mm x 120 mm (5"x5") according to the Code. So that load is more than your 3000 pds but is in roughly the same ballpark. My question boils down to whether SUVs have GVW in the 8800 pds range. Is there anywhere that lists the GVW's of SUV's? I am not that worried about other vehicles.

 

[dicksewerrat]

Check the weight charts in the various manufacturer's websites. Ford, GM Chrysler and any others you may see on the treet.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[dicksewerrat]

Sorry, Street

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[ajk1]

dicksewerrat - that of course was the first thing I tried for about half an hour before posting the question here, but I was unable to find very little on manufacturers' sites about the Gross Vehicle Weight of various vehicles. Do you have any particular site in mind?

 

[manstrom]

I'd go with 3000#. This is the weight of half of a big SUV. i.e. back tires on the edge of a slab, or a jack lifting up the whole thing.

A passenger vehicle garage shouldn't need to be designed for fire truck or trash trucks.

When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

-R. Buckminster Fuller

 

[dcarr82775]

I googled Ford Excursion GVW and found it in a few minutes. It was a page or two deeper than the link Google gave, but not too bad. That Ford is about as big as anything you might find in a typical garage. Saw a full sized HumVee in a garage once, parked in the handicap space of course. Doesn't fit anywhere else I guess.

 

[ajk1]

dcarr82775 - ok, thanks very much.

 

[SWEG]

Ensure that ambulance loading is not necessary. After designing a parking garage in Fairfax, VA for a health center, I found that the County/AHJ required us to use the worst case ambulance weight which was 25,000 lbs, since you can never guarantee what vehicle they have available during an emergency. The wheel load for this ambulance was also not equally distributed amongst 4 wheels; there's an uneven weight distribution between the rear and front axles.

If ambulance and fire truck loading is not necessary, the code requires a uniform live load of 40 psf or 3000 lb. concentrated load applied anywhere along the deck. The 3000 lb. conc. load accounts for typical wheel/jack loading.

Of course, there could be special, project specific load requirements beyond the above that I'm not aware of.

Good luck!

 

[msquared48]

I have a 1993 GMC Suburban with a GVW of 6000#, but with the ski racks I need 6'-6" clear to enter. That limits me from entering most buildings in downtown Seattle.


Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)

 

[XR250]

FWIW, an F350 Truck can be around 7500 lbs. Add some payload and you may be at 10k