Access Under Low Cars

[Grimly]

That has happened to me when using angle cut 2x8s. The wheels hit the ramp, you give it a little gas, and the rear boards shoot out the back of the car while the front ones may push forward. The idea of using thin plywood or Masonite glued/screwed to the bottom of the boards should prevent this. I'm definitely going to do that when I make my next set (which I should do soon, one of the ones I am using now is starting to split because I just used cheap pine.)

An old trick is a tongue of carpet fastened to the front of the ramp so the tire rolls onto that first, and the ramp simply can't slide.

 

[Ray-CA]

How about something like this; http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239561?

Ray

 

[nicksnothereman]

Just thought i would see how others get under a lowered car. What do you use, home made ramps or a commercially available product like race ramps?

I have been driving on blocks of wood to get the side of the car high enough to squeeze my jack under. Takes a while and gets annoying, especially on my sloped driveway. I have a low mount jack but it touches the side skirts before getting to the jacking point.

When the garage is finished i would like an efficient and secure way that i get enough access room under the car.

Ideally i would have a scissor lift but i will need to save up before thats a possibilty.

Lee

I use a jack then put it on jack stands. My skirts don't hang that low; I can get a jack in there without much of an issue.

For you...you might have to sacrifice the skirts (or one skirt) or remove them prior to working on your car. Possibly if you put a different pad (i.e. a raiser) on the jack pad it could stop the issue but some people don't trust that, I'm too lazy to try it.

I don't remember how much clearance I have maybe 5-6 inches...but probably a little bit less.

 

[aar0s]

I built these to get under my mustang a few years ago. Now Ive got a different mustang and almost need to make the bottom board a little longer. They work great for oil changes and stuff and I dont have to worry about them collapsing.

 

[gtr cook]

Thanks for all the responses, some great ideas out there.

I think i need to make a better effort out of wood than my current attempt, something like aar0s posted and the pic on the first page seem to the most cost effective solutions.

Ray-CA will look into those abit more.

Lee

 

[gtr cook]

I use a jack then put it on jack stands. My skirts don't hang that low; I can get a jack in there without much of an issue.

For you...you might have to sacrifice the skirts (or one skirt) or remove them prior to working on your car. Possibly if you put a different pad (i.e. a raiser) on the jack pad it could stop the issue but some people don't trust that, I'm too lazy to try it.

I don't remember how much clearance I have maybe 5-6 inches...but probably a little bit less.

Unfortunately the skirts are a pain to remove whilst its on the floor, they are braced to the underside of the car and hard to get to.

I do use hockey pucks cut out so they line up and match the jacking point, more of a protection thing to the underside. Unfortunately they dont help with the lifting issue.

Will see what i can make.

 

[gtr cook]

It can, but they are worth it imo. I have a set of ramps and two sets of 10" lift blocks. They work great for getting things up in the air to work on them while leaving the suspension fully loaded.




Yep. I have mine hanging on the wall right now.

Another great fetaure of the Race Ramps is that they're light weight, hang on the wall

Will look to get these in the future once the garage is paid for and other house projects completed. Thanks for your thoughts on the products, good to hear they work well.

 

[usmc_noma]

I have a lowered Blazer that I had to drive up ramps to get a jack underneath up front. The rear, I'd have to remove the spare first. I'm actually in the process of lifting it back up a few inches to make it easier to get a jack under it and less bottoming out. I went from stock to a 4/5 drop to going back up an inch or two.

 

[dubber]

I also had been using some home made ramps as my car is crazy low. I have maybe three inches on the sides. Life was tough jacking it up until i found this bad boy! Its very low and really long to easily reach my jack points without mangling my side skirts.




Here's a shot for reference.


Quick shot of my car on my old ramps along with my old Black Jack. Great piece but not low or deep enough.

 

[6768rogues]

Find a speed bump, hit it fast and clear off all that low hanging stuff, then the jack will fit.

 

[gtr cook]

Find a speed bump, hit it fast and clear off all that low hanging stuff, then the jack will fit.

I may loose my sump and exhaust if i did that!

 

[gtr cook]

I also had been using some home made ramps as my car is crazy low. I have maybe three inches on the sides. Life was tough jacking it up until i found this bad boy! Its very low and really long to easily reach my jack points without mangling my side skirts.




Here's a shot for reference.


Quick shot of my car on my old ramps along with my old Black Jack. Great piece but not low or deep enough.

Do you have any info on that jack, looks perfect??

 

[ludakris04]

Are you guys referring to the ramp slipping and not gripping the ground when driving up on it? I'm confused as I have used mine on both front and rear wheel drive. You need to make sure the rubber grippers are in place and that you firmly jam the ramp under the tire before you start moving. It may be harder on a very smooth floor.

no, on my last car, 03' jetta, I put it up on the ramps. it seemed a little wonky. I got out and found the right side was pivoting on the back corner of the ramp. It torqued the ramp up with the front of it half way up the wheel well.

The differential seems to throw the torque to one side and it does weird things on the way up the ramps. If they were longer it would work better..

 

[poor1]

Forget all these Heath Robinson ideas. This solves all your problems. There are other sourses which cost less.
http://www.cjautosheywood.co.uk/hyramp.shtml

 

[ludakris04]

Forget all these Heath Robinson ideas. This solves all your problems. There are other sourses which cost less.
http://www.cjautosheywood.co.uk/hyramp.shtml

I prefer Rube Goldberg myself.

 

[Grimly]

Forget all these Heath Robinson ideas. This solves all your problems. There are other sourses which cost less.
http://www.cjautosheywood.co.uk/hyramp.shtml

I don't see much there I'd trust as a locking mechanism.

 

[crewchief888]

I second the use of stacked 2x's.

Low ground clearance definitely can present it's own set of problems:

i dont see a problem

 

[Harrison2]

my buddy uses some decking board like others have to get it high enough to squeeze ramp arms under.

this is how low it is for refrence

https://scontent-a-lhr.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1796507_3968421666318_303423229_n.jpg

it will smash subframe on bumps on the freeway

 

[MonoxieChild]

^ Thats about how high my summer daily driver is. Ive made it a game of throwing sparks crossing rail road crossings if i dont creep over them. It keeps you on your toes. haha.

 

[Boost Creep]

when i had a low car i found it easiest to just pull off the front bumper and jack up from the engine cradle. then blocks under the tires and then i could get in from the sides. had 2.5" of ground clearance so there wasn't many other options. i made my front easy to remove though, only took a couple minutes so it didn't take forever

 

[jakemac]

These....

Yup, these are what we used to build to drive trucks and forklifts over the curbs when I was building outdoor events on Boston Common. Just make sure you chock the back tires before you crawl under the car.