Good Car Ramps
- Thread starter Squddle
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rmalkow2
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I was in the market for ramps a year ago after not having any for many years. Typically use the hydraulic jack and jack stands for safety but sometimes that is not practical or just takes longer. After much reading on the different brands I decided to go for the Race Ramps and never look back. Yes they are expensive but since I'm alone at home many times when under a vehicle I compared them to my life and it made the decision easier. No regrets at all as they are fantastic and easy to use. Light weight and not slippery like the old metal ramps of other smooth surface ramps. Depending on your geographic area weather conditions may be a consideration. It's not always sunny and warm where I live.
The Rhino ramps get good reviews too and were my second choice because of cost. But after comparing performance reviews and the non slip feature of Race Ramps I do not regret getting them. I bought them in winter and first trial out of the box was to see if they would slip in the driveway. Stayed rock solid.
Great performance and safety for my money.
The Rhino ramps get good reviews too and were my second choice because of cost. But after comparing performance reviews and the non slip feature of Race Ramps I do not regret getting them. I bought them in winter and first trial out of the box was to see if they would slip in the driveway. Stayed rock solid.
Great performance and safety for my money.
Zapp Branigan
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I have older Rhino ramps. They were made by Blitz before they got sued out of business by people pouring gas on open fires and blowing themselves up. These are the ramps that get the good reviews from what I've gathered. The new ones are not the same and I've read about those being the ones that fail.
Toolfool
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Ign
Well-known member
Digging this thread up 'cause I bought some Rhino Ramps at O'Reilly today. But then I got poking around on Amazon and there are some scary failure reports and pictures, seems like mostly 2013 to present. I think I'm gonna return mine before even opening.
https://smile.amazon.com/RhinoGear-...s/B0117EESNC/ref=dpx_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1
edit: similar sentiments here:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311266
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Rocket1
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I have an older set of Rhino Ramps but I don't care for the new ones that are sold now.
I also have a set of Race Ramps and they are by far my favorite. They may be pricey but I think they are worth it
I also have a set of Race Ramps and they are by far my favorite. They may be pricey but I think they are worth it
LEVE
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I've both metal and Rino ramps. I've used both on everything from my CJ7, Prii, Ranger Pickup, a Dodge Powerwagon, Broncos (full and II), Caravans, Buicks and a Ford LTD over the last 20 years.
Whenever I reach for a set of ramps, I use the Rino Ramps. Yeah, they're a little beat up after two decades. Why? Where I used to live I needed studded tires for about half the year. Studded tires can scar up a Rino ramp pretty darned quickly. They can also be a little difficult to drive up on if the tires are wet, they'll slip on ramps. Aside from that, no problems at all.
They Rino ramp is not as tall at my metal ramps. The bumpers of the cars, the Caravans and the Prii easily clear the ramp as they crawl up the ramps. With the metal ramps, not so much. Even though they clear the bumpers I still tend to park the vehicle and kick the ramp into the tire.
Do they give me enough room to work under the vehicle? Yes, for undercarriage inspections, minor undercarriage work, oil changes, ATF changes, filters, etc.. For anything else I'll use jack-stands. I have been known to put the font tires up on the ramps and use jack-stands to lift the rear of the vehicle.
All in all, I've more than gotten my money out of them. I'd buy another set if I needed them, but they're still sitting on my overhead shelf taking up little used room just waiting to be used.
Yep, I like 'em.
Whenever I reach for a set of ramps, I use the Rino Ramps. Yeah, they're a little beat up after two decades. Why? Where I used to live I needed studded tires for about half the year. Studded tires can scar up a Rino ramp pretty darned quickly. They can also be a little difficult to drive up on if the tires are wet, they'll slip on ramps. Aside from that, no problems at all.
They Rino ramp is not as tall at my metal ramps. The bumpers of the cars, the Caravans and the Prii easily clear the ramp as they crawl up the ramps. With the metal ramps, not so much. Even though they clear the bumpers I still tend to park the vehicle and kick the ramp into the tire.
Do they give me enough room to work under the vehicle? Yes, for undercarriage inspections, minor undercarriage work, oil changes, ATF changes, filters, etc.. For anything else I'll use jack-stands. I have been known to put the font tires up on the ramps and use jack-stands to lift the rear of the vehicle.
All in all, I've more than gotten my money out of them. I'd buy another set if I needed them, but they're still sitting on my overhead shelf taking up little used room just waiting to be used.
Yep, I like 'em.
Ign
Well-known member
I think you're missing the point of the apparent recent decline in quality of the Rhinos.... some of the pics on Amazon are f'n scary. I'm gonna just reinforce my old steel ones now. Plastic is far more probe to sudden, catastrophic failure and the pics make me nervous.
I looked at the links above. As soon as I looked at the photos on Amazon I thought "that guy drove right over the stop at the end of the ramp". Reading the comments farther down the page it seems that others had the same opinion. It was also easy to see that the tire was way off to one side of the ramp. The photo in the GJ link was also self evident. Operator error (also known as stupidity) was the cause of at least these 2 failures. An injury lawyers dream come true.
i've got the two piece race ramps also! freaking awesome. paid like $200 or so for them, but honestly they are so nice
Ign
Well-known member
Nah, as soon as I saw those pictures I knew I didn't want to be under my SuperDuty with something that CAN fail like that. Plus it seems odd to me the negative reviews started circa 2013 coupled w a change of manufacturer from Blitz to Flo-Tool (I don't know exactly when this transition of manufacturer took place - anyone?).
I sought Rhino ramps because they're often recommended on forums like this for the newer fullsize trucks of today. I always (mistakenly) ASSumed they were more of a solid-esque block of rubber like the GOOD wheel chocks. This would be excellent in compression. But these ramps are just thin vertical ribs of brittle plastic. After handling them I was suspicious so got to researching more.
As for mis-use, when my life is on the line I do not care. One guy claims they failed first time on concrete w a 5000# vehicle. Given that these are allegedly good for 16k they're well under max rating (yes, we're assuming the reviewer is honest). Steel truly capable of 16k would not fail when subjected to 5k EVER. Not if you drove too far forward. Not if you used them on gravel. But this plastic just winds up splintered. It's too scary for me.
Plenty of GJ members talk of Rhino ramps 10 and 20 years old that they love. And I believe them. But I'm not seeing any members stating they purchased in the last 2 to 3 years, regularly use under fullsize trucks and love them. Am I wrong? Anyone here come forward??
In the end I return to what companies like Steelman (kudos if you know who this was - and not the tool company) and Bridgestone used to say about their bikes: STEEL IS REAL
I'll just beef up my existing steel ramps (hey hey another advantage of steel: it's repairable and upgrade-able). I was trying to avoid the weight but I'd rather screw up my back than have my face crushed. Priorities I guess....
I'm off to shop for some plastic jack stands!!
lightning02
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im sure everyone wish they had the cash for a nice setup from them. i know i would.
mustanginky
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I have about a 6 year old set of rhino's. No problems with the mustang or wifes minivan. My rule ofthumb is if im under a vehicle, even on ramps, i like tohave a jack under there as a "just in case".
amorrow
Well-known member
In my opinion the two best options are either custom-made wood ramps (inexpensive, easy to make, simply safe) like others have posted, or Race Ramps (only exclusive benefit being weight depending how you build custom wood ramps). Another benefit of Race Ramps are the available 2-piece versions that are very nice to have if rolling around under the car, but could be duplicated one way or another with wood as well. You just have to decide whether the higher cost of Race Ramps is worth it.
ajchien
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I had made solid wood ramps. Easy to make, economical. Worked great for over a decade. The only downside is that wood is quite heavy. I decided not to take them with me when I moved.
I'm now a jack/jack stand guy. i don't think ramps are any faster than jack stands.
I'm now a jack/jack stand guy. i don't think ramps are any faster than jack stands.
AffableCurmudgeon
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cajunfirehawk
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I have two sets of the larger Rhino ramps and a shop built for a soon to be 4 post lift.
ive got these from harbor frieght and they work great, i used them a few times for my back wheels on my diesel to get *** end up higher to make the car trailer tail lower to get my car off that is lowered. so they can hold quite a good amount of weight as well as being able to remove the ramp part and be just a block .
plus they are not expensive
plus they are not expensive
GSMotorrad
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Nobody even acknowledged this post, but these are the service ramps I am considering in the sea of plastic offerings from everyone I can find. They're expensive, and aluminum, without truss supports on the removable ramp portions, but the thought of easy access from the sides makes this feature very desirable to me.
I have jack + stands, but doing an oil change that way takes more time for me, compared to driving up some ramps right quick.
I like the ones Squddle (BANNED!) linked, because they raise it 9.5 inches high and have a long runway for low cars. I just can't find any feedback on 'em anywhere. I'm still tempted to try 'em out though. Anyone ever used these kinds?
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=529601&d=1456235538
Qualitytools
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I was given a set of Rihno Ramps, the gray ones as a gift in 2003, I use them all the time. I also use them on the cars that sit low to drive up on them first than raise the car up on stands with the jack from that point on. I find them extremely useful.
joshmodelskidoo
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I have some homemade ones from scrap lumber
flushcut
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Nobody even acknowledged this post, but these are the service ramps I am considering in the sea of plastic offerings from everyone I can find. They're expensive, and aluminum, without truss supports on the removable ramp portions, but the thought of easy access from the sides makes this feature very desirable to me.
I have jack + stands, but doing an oil change that way takes more time for me, compared to driving up some ramps right quick.
I like the ones Squddle (BANNED!) linked, because they raise it 9.5 inches high and have a long runway for low cars. I just can't find any feedback on 'em anywhere. I'm still tempted to try 'em out though. Anyone ever used these kinds?
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=529601&d=1456235538
I have not used them but they are from Discountramps.com made here in WI.
GSMotorrad
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Nice! I always appreciate Made In USA! I ordered them and will report back when I change my oil next at 3600 miles or so (I'm only at 600 miles now, so it might be a while).
I was using old Blitz "PoweRamps" I got from Walmart about a decade ago for its 500-mile oil change and between not getting the car up high enough and the plastic ramps deforming under this heavier car's weight, I decided it was time to upgrade to something worth keeping for life.
The specs for these long aluminum ramps aren't clear. Two places in its description says they're rated "3,000 lbs per axle" then below that it later says, "3,000 lbs per pair" so I still don't know if I can use them with my F-350 dually or not, but it's high enough (stock, 4x4) to do oil changes without ramps anyway so it's not imperative.
They'll work for my new KIA, which is why I needed them, because that car is too low for me to work underneath without some lift. I love how the ramp-portions are removable once you get the front wheels parked on the platform, for ease of ingress/egress from the sides.
I gave up on the idea of some semi-portable lift, because I don't have much room and I have a low ceiling in my garage. I figure if I'm going to be laying on a creeper anyway, ramps will be great for oil-changes (so much faster to use than jacking it up), and my jack + stands for everything else.
Every other option (that I could find online) was either plastic, or had too steep of angles for low cars. The two low-car options I found were both aluminum on DiscoutRamps's site. The other option is less expensive, doesn't lift as high, and is shorter without removable ramp portion - but that smaller/lighter version has truss supports all along its ramp portion. This heavier duty, taller version with removable ramps doesn't have these truss supports along its ramp... This more expensive, beefier version with removable ramps also weighs twice as much as the smaller version. I went for the higher lift and removable ramps.
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Spdfreak91
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can anyone comment on these petersen service ramps ? https://www.discountramps.com/auto/service-ramps/p/URB9000/
red94chev
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Another vote for some custom wood ones, my life is not worth risking under some hollow Chinese plastic.
GSMotorrad
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Their approach angles are steep, like old-school ramps you'll find at garage sales. They're strong and since they're steel will eventually rust where the finish chips off. They tend to slide on the concrete when trying to mount up. Both because of the steep approach angle and slippery surface and no rubber bottoms. Those might've improved on some of my issues with these types, but my past experiences with these types has put me off.
I'm sure they workk well, but just so damn heavy! And you can't remove the ramp-portion for clear side-access. Also still expensive and laborious. How much does a set of those weigh, just curious. Gotta be a lot more than plastic or aluminum, but if you're a young buck with a strong back, you do you, boo.
I guess it would be easy to make them have removable wooden ramp portions, just build them with that in mind - so scratch that.
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Two Door
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I have these ones. Bought them at Canadian Tire. I have only used them a few times but they seem pretty good.
I also have these and am very happy with them. They reverse nest with themselves into a rectangle, which happens to make a nice lightweight and perfect-sized step for higher engine compartments. Made by Scepter.
GSMotorrad
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They came yesterday. Here's their unboxing video. Much larger and more ******** than I imagined:
GSMotorrad
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Attachments
flushcut
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Well damn my world just shattered! I was under the impression they were made here, my bad.
Agreed, strong, lightweight, and stable. I also have the 2 piece 12" cribs so I can get the whole car/trucks wheels 12" off the ground.
Flybye
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Am I the only weirdo that gets paranoid about ramps collapsing? I can barely get under a car with jackstands as it is.
Bighead38
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Solid wood.
I don't trust the plastic or metal ones after seeing both kinds fail.
That’s why I made ramps that can’t collapse.
paulsomlo
Well-known member
Recent lottery winner?
Lol, no. Just the solution I was looking for. It’s one of those things where I would save up for but probably not ever pull the trigger.
I'm just confused between Rhino Ramps and Race Ramps. The Rhinos are fairly cheap as compared to race ramps but I'm not sure about their durability in the long run. I also saw someone using wood ramps on this thread. Don't know if they are available online but aren't these prone to break?
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Muckin_Slusher
Well-known member
Rhino ramps are garbage IMO.
I used a set that said rated to 16000lbs gross vehicle weight, so divide by 2 gives 8000lbs per end, divide by 2 gives 4000lbs per ramp.
I had one split under the weight of the front end of a toyota sienna.
Returned for money back to cambodian tire.
Bighead38
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Mine are solid wood, the first pair my old man made lattes almost 20 years living outside. The pair I made are over 10 but kept in a tent and still look new.