I've never liked the ramps.

When working on a loaded suspension,.. I use a stack of 2 x 10's (five or six high) and just set the car down on them.

 

Bought a set of the abs plastic car ramps at Schucks/Kragen - yeah , I work there - and they are very well designed and made . The other advantage is I can use them on my fastback which is lowered and has a spoiler . The metal ramps were not compatable with my car .

 

I use both steel Ramps and jack stands for different chores. The ramps are ok for an oil change but I find there is not enough room for me and a creeper under the vehicle to any kind of wrenching.

 

Only problem I've ever run into is clearance getting the car up...slow and easy. Would never even try plastic ramps. May be perfectly safe, but I like my ramps like I like my cars....steel. I'll use ramps over stands unless it's suspension related, of course, as I find the stands always end up in my way somewhere down the line. Ramps go under the tires. If the ramp is in the way, the tire is usually in way too, it's time to rethink the process. Personally, I think ramps are safer than stands; less likely to tip or get off balance if you're really cranking on something. May be obvious, but I learned several years ago to NEVER crawl under from the side. Long story short, crawled under an '84 Cutlass from rear, car rolled off ramps (long story part), thankfully I wasn't from side. Thought REALLY skinny and ended up with not much more than a nice scar over my shoulder from the differential. Now, what I was doing, would probably have knocked the sucker off stands as well, but then I would have had a different situation on my hands. I go under from the front even if I need to check out the tranny or the driveshaft now. Don't think I've ever seen something so scary as a 3300 pound car go into motion with me under it. :horror:

 

Whatever you use, be carefull!!

A guy in our town got killed last week, from 'compression asphixiation' when his GEO Tracker rolled off the ramps, crushing him. And a Geo ain't that heavy. What happened with him is he had all 4 tires parked on 4 ramps. The ramps were all positioned with the inclines facing the same direction. He was working on the driveline parking brake shoes and had disconnected one end of the driveline, which effectively placed the vehicle into "neutral". At that point he was reefing on the driveline with a pipewrench which caused the Geo to roll in reverse...down the ramps...and onto him.

I work underneath my stang with ramps and blocks and jack stands and I don't really like it, but I'm not claustrophobic either. The whole point being, a person wants to think ahead two or three steps and realize what is going on with the laws of gravity and inertia under there.

 

At that point he was reefing on the driveline with a pipewrench

Not to make light of the poor mans plight but, HUH?? :joker:
I've used stands for 30+ years (same ones) real heavy duty ones with a wide footprint. Of course I only use them on concrete so that could make a difference.
I just picked up an extra set last fall. They were the biggest ones the guy had and looked pretty well made. They were the same size as my smaller old set.

 

What I do is use my floor jack to jack the car up and then put stands under the car, then I release the floor jack until the car is just resting on the stands and then I engage the floor jack again and leave it engaged while I work. The reason is that if something is to happen and the stands tip over, the floor jack is there for a back up and will give you enough time to get your a$$ out.

I also only use that set up on concrete, the jackstands can sink into blacktop over time.

 

I used to use the metal ramps until I got jack stands. When I was removing the seats, I had the front end up on jack stands. I placed blocks behind the rear wheels and I placed old tires and rims under the rocker panels and under the engine. I thought it might give me a slight chance should the jack stands fail.

 

I also only use that set up on concrete, the jackstands can sink into blacktop over time.

So can the metal ramps.

 

Used them when fitting both 1/4's on my 66. Wanted to keep car on it's wheels. Had the fronts facing forward, and the back ones facing the rear. Have used them for several years and have holes drilled in concrete to anchor a 2x4 on each one to prevent movement. Not the best for working underneath-height limitation.

 

I used the plastic (Rhino) ramps on several large cars and have full confidence in them supporting the weight.
I do have issue driving up on them though. I almost drove my Corvette over the front of them once, from then on I used the floor jack to get the car up on them. It was a little more trouble but safer.

I to needed the suspension loaded at times.

 

just remember to block the rear tire.

 

Well,
Sounds like ramps are even more riskier that stands so I'll just keep my stands in use. I agree about keeping on concrete.

 

What I don't like about the ramps is trying to drive up on them. They tend to slide and it is very easy to drive completely off of them. What I do like about the ramps is that getting the car off of them is easy - just roll it off.

So I use my floor jack to put the car up on the ramps, then roll it off.

I have the smaller Rhino plastic ramps (wish I had gotten the bigger ones) and they supported the rear wheels of my GT350 for 3 months while I was detailing the front end.

As for safety, I bet it would be easier to knock a Mustang off of jack stands than it would to knock it off a set of ramps.

 

These are expensive but if you have multiple cars or don't have room for a lift,like myself always under doing something under the car cleaning my painted undercarriage or fixing, these have proved great and a very safe feeling.Check them out www.kwiklift.com

 

damn i have had my explorer up on 4 stands i a dirt drive way all i do is put 2'x2' peices of 3/4" ply under them. i trust the 100 times more then i do ramps. i have driven my friedns acura integra right off a set of ramps. will never us them again. i have more trust in a cement blocks to hold the car up then i do the ramps

 

I also use stacks of 2 x 10s nailed together. The beauty is you can add or substract blocks to match the height you are looking for. The top pieces have chocks built into both ends.

Works very well.

 

The only concern I have using normal wooden blocks is the possibility of it spliting under extreme loads especially if you stack it with the weight against the end of the grain as compared to side of grain. Kinda like splitting kindling. Which end do you chop against? The weak end. But I guess most block are cut with the grain so the large flat area is not with the grain but against it. Putting a small piece of 3/4" plywood on top of the block would help distribute the load. What go one step further? OK how about laying a 12"x12" sheet of 1/8" steel plate between the floor stand and the wooden block. For lunch I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy some 12 ton floor stands.

 

For lunch I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy some

I thought you were looking for safety... :: :rofl:

 

I used old factory Ford rims. Jack the car up & put them under the tires. They won't bust, crush, splinter etc. And they have their own chocks built-in.

 

I have used all, steel ramps, plastic ramps, cement blocks, wood, old tires and wheels, several size jack stands and anything else that would work for the job at hand. All work well within the designed usage and with regard to safety problems that each can have. No matter what you use, at one time or another, it will be in the way, failing to support the car properly, or just a pain to deal with. I also built a small pit I can just sit up under most cars and can get to the trans if pulled on from either direction. All it took to make was a small slope in the yard, some cement work and a bit of time. The car just drives out over the sloped area staying on the "ramps" that you do not drive "up" on. I have several friends who use it to do work. That has been the best thing I did to safely get under the car. Now, to just get it into the garage.

 

For lunch I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy some

I thought you were looking for safety... :: :rofl:

No kidding. I received a jack / stand set from that place, not thinking much of it. The next day I was using that person's (the gifter's) harbor freight 6" vice and I frickin' broke the vice IN HALF. (No cheater, just me!) Needless to say, the jack / stands went back to that narsty place the next day - traded for two pairs of (brand name) vice grips.

Hmmm...jack and stands the same price as two pairs of vice grips. Yeah, that's quality. ::

 

harbor freight is cheap........what do you expect? If you want reliable buy Snap On and other higher dollar stuff.

 

All you really need to know is that the jack stands or ramps have been tested to and meet ANSI standards. Jack stands, for instance, need to be able to hold an "offset" compressive load equal to 2-1/2 times their rating. If a 12 ton jack stand has a sticker indicating that it conforms to ANSI requirements, then it's a pretty safe bet that it will hold up part of a 3500 lb car. Even some of the cheapest Chinese jack stands are plenty strong engough to meet this requirement. That said, I wouldn't buy anything safety related from Harbour Freight. Did I just contradict myself? Maybe, but in any case you won't go to far wrong if you just apply a certain amount of common sense to the decision making process.

 

I have a set of metal ramps I have had for ages, how can a car roll off the ramps? At the top of the ramp where the car sits when up on the ramp it is recessed the width of a tire so unless you are completely incomptent I do not see how a car could roll off. Am I missing something here? I have used the ramps for the front wheels & heavy duty jck stands under the rear axle to do a clutch in the past with good luck.