Recently I developed an exhaust leak on one of the cars. Since I don't have a garage with a hoist, and don't really want to pay for a shop to do a sub-standard repair job on it, I figured I should just get a set of ramps to give me clearance to get under the car (and a set of wheel chocks to keep it from rolling when on the ramps).
I started looking online thinking I'd find a set of steel ramps, and found that there are now a number of plastic or resin ramps out there that are spec'ed for fairly high loads (like 12,000 lbs for example). So, I realize that I should trust the spec, but still the idea of getting under a car supported by plastic ramps spooks me a little.
Maybe I'm being silly, but does anybody here have any experience with them, and if so are there any brands that you would recommend? Like, are the Crappy Tire Motomaster brand ramps alright, or should I go for the Rhyno ones that seem to be popular? Or should I stay away from them entirely? I've seen people building ramps from wood online, which seems like a good alternative, but I'm kind of busy these days and don't want to take the time to build a set.
Just wanting to collect some thoughts on the matter. Thanks in advance.
I have been using a set of plastic ramps for years without any issues. They are ribbed underneath. Mine are rated for 2000lb each and made by "Rhino Ramps". I've had dozens of vehicles on them and they are quite stable.
I trusted the 12,000 lb rating and bought the crappy tire set on sale last year. Have used numerous times, good for oil changes etc and easier than jack stands. They have stops already built in but I use blocks behind bay wheels too. They are light and easy to store.
My Pontiac weighs say 4000, Tacoma 4600, one axle is maybe2500-3000lbs tops.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Thanks Todd and Don! I should realize that they wouldn't be selling them if they were regularly collapsing and hurting people, but it really helps to hear (read) the voices of experience!
I have a 12,000# set of rhino ramps and they work well with my GMC 2500HD. The ramps are 12,000 per pair and should be used on asphalt or concrete. I think the ramps would be damaged and/or unsafe if used on the ground. Paul
There was a video on YouTube years ago with a guy trying to drive a pickup onto four ramps at the same time. He underestimated the power needed to get up four ramps and failed to stop in time and drove off of the end of the ramps. The back of the ramps tipped up and he did some body damage. Paul
I would think a good pair of ramps with a pair of jackstands under as a safety should be pretty secure.
That's what I do with the ramps. If using the stands, I'll leave the jack under, just touching the lift point, in case the stands fail. Phobias.
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
I would think a good pair of ramps with a pair of jackstands under as a safety should be pretty secure.
That's what I do with the ramps. If using the stands, I'll leave the jack under, just touching the lift point, in case the stands fail. Phobias.
Same here. Always two separate means of supporting the vehicle. My wife gets very concerned if I'm lying under a car that's jacked up, even when it's the jack and often 4 jack stands under there.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I would think a good pair of ramps with a pair of jackstands under as a safety should be pretty secure.
That's what I do with the ramps. If using the stands, I'll leave the jack under, just touching the lift point, in case the stands fail. Phobias.
This is my plan - drive up on the ramps and then put the floor jack up under the front lift point until it just starts to take some weight (and chock the rear wheels). I figure if something wonky happened with the ramp, the jack would be enough of a redundant support to at least give me the chance to get out from under.
I'm curious how you use jack stands in that case as the ramps are at a set height and (my) jack stands are not infinitely adjustable in that they have teeth that give me a number of height settings but will not likely be close enough that there isn't a gap between the support points and the jack stand when up on ramps.
As far as a surface goes, I just got the driveway paved last year so I have a nice straight surface to work with.
Ah... makes sense, Carl. I'm working on a "newer" car with set lift points, so that's not available to me.
Thanks!
Catching the car from falling on you or causing damage to the bottom of your car MC?
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63 Parisienne sport coupe (The Big GTO), black, maroon interior, 409 4 speed; former owner of a 59 El Camino, 63 Corvette SWC, 62 Chev Bel Air SC. 1963- Pontiac top selling car in Canada
Mahone Bay, NS Still not old enough to need an automatic
Ah... makes sense, Carl. I'm working on a "newer" car with set lift points, so that's not available to me.
Thanks!
Could you not put a shorter stand under that pad and then some blocks under the stand?
Could probably rig something up, but I think I am more comfortable using my 3-ton floor jack as a redundant support. I trust the jack to lift the car, and I can use the jack to partially support the car so there is no slack or weird angles. If in some unlikely case the 16,000 lb rated Rhinos I just bought were to fail, there would be no movement and therefore no risk of slipping off of a jack stand, since the floor jack would already have a small load on it.
I don't like to say, but I'm not really a fan of jack stands as they can be prone to slip, tip, or buckle if the load becomes off centre. Blocking them up (in my mind) just creates another variable that can go wrong.
It really all comes down to what you are comfortable with, I suppose. Either of those support methods would be fine on their own, so both should provide a reasonable overlap. IMHO.
Ah... makes sense, Carl. I'm working on a "newer" car with set lift points, so that's not available to me.
Thanks!
Catching the car from falling on you or causing damage to the bottom of your car MC?
See my post above. I'm not overly confident that a jack stand will catch a car in the event of it starting to fall. It would be hard to predict the loads if a ramp were to fail.
That said, I feel somewhat confident that 16,000 lb rated ramps won't fail under the weight of a car. Whatever extra is done is just for peace of mind - jack stands or a floor jack are better than what most people would use, which would be nothing.
Thanks again to everybody who offered their opinions and advice. All is greatly appreciated.
I feel that my concerns have been addressed!
Another suggestion I picked up on in one of the videos posted was to put a rubber mat under the ramps to prevent them from slipping when you are driving up on them. So I bought some mats that were on sale at the same time for this purpose. We'll see how it goes.
I got one of these jack systems, call it a sort of poor man's hoist. Don't need a lot of garage height, lifting around 22 inches and takes up little space when collapsed. Best money I ever spent for doing tire swaps etc. Costco around $1,400.