>> Well from experience most cars are pretty equal for left/right weight 
>> distribution, and as I said worst case is probably 70% on the front 
>> wheels. So yes, probably 35% of the total weight is the maximum on any 
>> single wheel.
>
> Hmm, interesting. I wouldn't have expected that to work.

What, that a car has more weight on the front wheels than the back?  Most 
front wheel drive cars on the roads are configured like this.  Some rear 
wheel drive cars have more 50/50 weight distribution, others (if they have 
the engine in the back) can have more weight on the rear wheels than the 
front.  Of course the car's suspension and so-on is designed for this, so 
you probably won't notice much when driving normally.

> Sure. I just meant that they probably design them to easily support more 
> weight than any common car that somebody might try to put on them.

You would think so.

> Isn't the worst-case when you drive the car onto the ramp and the 
> suspension jiggles it up and down over one support column?

Probably.  But I really suspect in the design of these things that they just 
make a few and test them.  I highly doubt they do some computer simulation 
or really complex calculation to figure out what size metal to use - it just 
wouldn't be worth it because it's so quick to just make a few and test them.

> So... what the hell is the thickness of a tin can then?

0.2 mm or thereabouts.

> Those seem to deform pretty easily.

You mean by squeezing them on the sides?  Well yes, I can bend my ruler too 
pretty easily and that's 1mm thick!  What you're doing there is essentially 
using a huge lever, you are moving your fingers a few cm to cause a 
contraction/expansion of a few microns in the surface of the material, 
generating a huge stress which causes it to permanently distort.  Now try to 
permanently stretch a tin can by pulling on each end :-)

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