Does anybody still trust these? I got a pair of 16,000 lb rhino ramps and used them twice on my own car, great for oil changes etc. My girlfriend drove her Taurus on-to it and it snapped one side, dropping the passenger side to the ground.
Rhino Ramps?
- Thread starter Hantke
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Homoudont
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I use them for oil changes.. have used them for several years. I drive a minivan on them all the time.
Farmall450
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They're great. $50 says gal pal didn't drive it on centered/tried to steer when on it centered.
mmack66
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Are they the new style, or the old style? I've read that the new style ramps have issues.
I have a set of the old style, and they are very solid.
I have a set of the old style, and they are very solid.
allinon72
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I have had both old and new, and I don't see how you could possibly break the new design, especially with a Taurus.
firebox40dash5
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I've had the rear of a Ram 3500 11' stakebed on 2 pairs of the old HD ones, without issue. Worst part is trying to get non-drive wheels on them.
dragonballz
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I have no experience with rhino ramps but I can share my tipfor extra safety. I leave my jack underneath to reduce some of the load on the jack stands/ramp/etc.
signcrafter
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You have to provide pictures with a thread like this. I'd be very interested in how it broke? Did it just give out and fail? Did it kick out? Was the tire centered? I just don't see how they would just fail. Did you contact the company? I seem to remember a thread a few years ago about a guy that had a set fail and I think he got a new set from the company.
impactsocket
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Why do the more expensive RhinoGear 11912 RhinoRamps MAX crack?
Original Blitz Rhino Ramp 8000:
RhinoGear 11909 RhinoRamps (Pair, 12,000lb. GVW Capacity)
RhinoGear 11912 RhinoRamps MAX (Pair, 16,000lb. GVW Capacity)
Original Blitz Rhino Ramp 8000:
RhinoGear 11909 RhinoRamps (Pair, 12,000lb. GVW Capacity)
RhinoGear 11912 RhinoRamps MAX (Pair, 16,000lb. GVW Capacity)
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DSLTECHMEDIC360
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I used them for oil changes, got them cheap for $32 from O'Riley after they priced matched them. They work good, the only downfall is they like to skid on asphalt or concrete.
Why do the more expensive Rhino Ramps crack?
RhinoGear 11912 RhinoRamps MAX Vehicle Ramps (Pair, 16,000lb. GVW Capacity)
Those ones, I'll upload a picture soon got to move it from my phone to the computer. Basically the front 1/4 of it shot out.
Actually she didn't, that was my initial though as well.
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Here ya go. Never seen this happen before, it almost looks as though it was meant to come apart, minus the lack of structural integrity.
And yes, all of this was done on a flat, concrete surface. I placed them on the grass to take pictures.
And yes, all of this was done on a flat, concrete surface. I placed them on the grass to take pictures.
quattroJoe
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I've got a set of the old ones that I've been using for about ten years doing oil changes, basic maintenance, and pretty much anything else I want to tackle at home (no lift in my garage.) Never had a single problem with them, aside from the tight clearance getting some low cars up them. One of these days I'll spring for the type with the lower angle incline that have the detachable ramp portion.
The older ones were made Blitz (the plastic gas containers).
After they went bankrupt, it was sold to another company.
I have the older ones, and customer service was top notch back then.
(They sent extra pads for free)
--------
Some more info - Rhino is now owned by Hopkins Manufacturing
http://www.hopkinsmfg.com/
Here is the PR release announcing sale of F3 to Hopkins, April 3 1012
(F3 is the non-fuel containment business of Blitz USA.)
http://www.hopkinsmfg.com/F3-Brands-4-3-12.pdf
After they went bankrupt, it was sold to another company.
I have the older ones, and customer service was top notch back then.
(They sent extra pads for free)
--------
Some more info - Rhino is now owned by Hopkins Manufacturing
http://www.hopkinsmfg.com/
Here is the PR release announcing sale of F3 to Hopkins, April 3 1012
(F3 is the non-fuel containment business of Blitz USA.)
http://www.hopkinsmfg.com/F3-Brands-4-3-12.pdf
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aaronrkelly
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Thats crazy...and killed by a Taurus no less.
I have the same ones and put my 12 Explorer on them all the time, not the heaviest vehicle but bigger than a Taurus.
Ive also never had any trouble with them shooting out or slipping on concrete....but maybe thats because the Explorer is AWD......and my other vehicles are FWD.
I have the same ones and put my 12 Explorer on them all the time, not the heaviest vehicle but bigger than a Taurus.
Ive also never had any trouble with them shooting out or slipping on concrete....but maybe thats because the Explorer is AWD......and my other vehicles are FWD.
Hell my fiances dad put the front end of a 91 1ton cummins on cheaper ones. I need to post pics of my dads ramps. No offence they make these ones looks like legos. They were made for semis! Lol. They provide about 3' lift. I need to see how much a metal shop would charge to Fab another pair up so the entire vehicle up on all four tires.
4x4gearhead
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I have the newer ones and have had no problems so far, only had them for a couple months now. I use them to do oil changes on my girlfriends '12 focus. The car is so low to the ground it makes it a ***** to try to get under it with a jack, or with older style steel stamped ramps. The incline on these ones is gradual enough that it is just about perfect. I sure will keep an eye on mine after seeing this.
Harrison2
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Aha just saw this on facebook under the mechanics memes.
Badger 13
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I have had a pair for over 15 years. Have used them from ATV's to pick-up trucks with no problems.
signcrafter
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I personally don't see how that could happen if it was on level surface and the car centered on the ramp. Even if that area of the plastic was weak for whatever reason you would have to stress it somehow to have it fail. I don't think driving on it with the ramp on flat ground and tire centered on ramp would cause it to crack there. But then again I'm not an engineer.
Email the company with the pictures you have and see what they have to say. My guess is they will send you a new set free. May even have you send your set in so they can figure out what happened.
Email the company with the pictures you have and see what they have to say. My guess is they will send you a new set free. May even have you send your set in so they can figure out what happened.
3rdbuttondown
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If one ramp slipped causing the other ramp to be overshot and stressed, I could see a ramp breaking.
signcrafter
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The key word is overshot and stressed which the OP didn't say anything about.
3rdbuttondown
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True, but his info is second hand as it was his girlfriend that broke the ramp.
The main reason i bought them was for my lancer, I have a hydraulic jack that just doesn't seem to fit right.
That's the reason why i specified it was NOT on the grass, everybody seemed to think it was on the grass (probably because i put them there for pictures, even though you can clearly see a curb right there)
I would have no problem with an ATV, probably never going to go under one without letting it sit a few minutes first again.
Not exactly sure i want to crawl under-neath one of these again, though i hear the race-ramps are much better quality and worth the investment. (the RR travel pit looks awesome, but i can't truly justify buying one)
The structure on these new ones is a bit odd, the honey-comb shape is indeed strong, but it broke right along the joints, which i now assume is the weak point. Apparently this is more common with the newer ones. I didn't find much info on the site at all, very bland.
http://www.rhinogear.com
I was standing diagonally on the other side of it, so i didn't actually see it break, but the front piece shot forward and the car dropped while the back piece didn't really move much, aside from the car falling on it.
In the end, it was a bad day. No damage to the car, broke the ramps, and now i have to find either a new ramp or a low-profile car jack.
I just don't want anybody getting hurt, i'll try and talk to the place i bought them from and explain what happened, I don't exactly want a new set of them after that happened though. Maybe trade in towards some jack stands if they will send it back to the manufacturer.
Some other reports of cracking / breaking ramps
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1896600
a worse one:
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112080
Wish i could see his pictures
http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-283360.html
Point being, it looks like this has happened before, someone should do some serious quality control checking.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1896600
a worse one:
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112080
Wish i could see his pictures
http://www.tamparacing.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-283360.html
Point being, it looks like this has happened before, someone should do some serious quality control checking.
pendragon1998
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Old style ones here...no problems with my 4runners.
I have yet to see a single person with an issue with the old style ones, just the new ones like mine!
signcrafter
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Even if you don't want a new pair I would still contact the manufacturer and let them know. Maybe they have an explanation of why it happened. I personally would want to know.
Where it broke I don't see anyway that it would just snap unless it was stressed in a way it wasn't meant to be. Either drove to far forward, ramp got sucked under tire, car wasn't centered, etc. But like I said I'm not an engineer, just curious since I use them also.
Where it broke I don't see anyway that it would just snap unless it was stressed in a way it wasn't meant to be. Either drove to far forward, ramp got sucked under tire, car wasn't centered, etc. But like I said I'm not an engineer, just curious since I use them also.
mmack66
Well-known member
I'm not sure why they even changed the design, unless some marketing genius thought that being able to nest two of them together was an important feature.
It's not hard to imagine a scenario where uneven loading might cause one to snap along the areas where the the voids are.
It's not hard to imagine a scenario where uneven loading might cause one to snap along the areas where the the voids are.
Bigblue&Goldie
Well-known member
Thanks for sharing. I'm in the market for a set of ramps, but I sure as hell won't be buying these!
From their website there really isn't much to go on for contact info, and the stickers doesn't specify if it is related to the BLITZ rhino ramps company (maybe somebody can elaborate?) so i will check into it. I'm curious, but at the same time i don't want it to turn into an argument as many producers seem to believe that everything is user error.
I have no idea either, and i have a hard time figuring that out to, the two ramps were no more than 1/8" different as they were both pushed under the tire before being drove up onto.
Agreed, Look into Race Ramps, they will break the bank, but they are made of a high-density foam that won't just break and seems to have flawless reviews.
mechanicalmoron
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I believe this thread confirms my aversion to getting under a car sitting on plastic.
Or for that matter, driving a car I care about, up into the air, on plastic.
Even if it WAS user error, if you can use a simple ramp wrong (provided it's like, right side up) such that it breaks, it's NOT a safe thing to put your car on. That's like having a jackstand ratchet arm shatter, and someone tells you it wasn't a level enough surface - like fine, sure, it still shouldn't have broken - if it's not level enough, it will fall over, if it breaks it's a **** product that you shouldn't trust your life to.
A jack and some stands is hardly more expensive.
Or for that matter, driving a car I care about, up into the air, on plastic.
Even if it WAS user error, if you can use a simple ramp wrong (provided it's like, right side up) such that it breaks, it's NOT a safe thing to put your car on. That's like having a jackstand ratchet arm shatter, and someone tells you it wasn't a level enough surface - like fine, sure, it still shouldn't have broken - if it's not level enough, it will fall over, if it breaks it's a **** product that you shouldn't trust your life to.
A jack and some stands is hardly more expensive.
blown94conv
Well-known member
I had my excursion on them with no problems.
I actually probably paid more for the damn ramps then a jack, I was feeling lazy and i have a little economy car so it "should" be easier to use those.
I had my Mitsubishi lancer on them to. I'd have flipped a ***** if it was my car that dropped, i'd have been so pissed words could not describe the rage I would have gone into.
The Taurus is worth maybe $500-$1000 on a good day, it runs, it drives, it beats walking. No damage to the car, luckily, so no harm no foul.
slik560
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I have a set of the old ones and they have held up extremely well. HOWEVER...I made the mistake of letting someone else use them and they came back with one of the rubber feet missing. 
Now that the company has changed hands, I doubt that getting a replacement will be easy. I need to find someplace that sells hard rubber stock that I can use to create a new one. This time I may tap a screw in through the side of the rubber foot housing to keep them in place. If anyone has a source for either the actual foot or rubber stock, I'd appreciate knowing about it.
Thanks as always for the advice and support this forum provides.
Now that the company has changed hands, I doubt that getting a replacement will be easy. I need to find someplace that sells hard rubber stock that I can use to create a new one. This time I may tap a screw in through the side of the rubber foot housing to keep them in place. If anyone has a source for either the actual foot or rubber stock, I'd appreciate knowing about it. Thanks as always for the advice and support this forum provides.