Slanted driveway and jack stands?

[NewShockerGuy]

Closing on a house in two weeks and have some questions.

One.. the damn drive way is asphalt ... (first for me) I work on my cars/truck/motorcycles.etc, Can I use jackstands on the asphalt or is it going to punch holes in it?

Two, the driveway has a slight slant to it. Here is a picture of the house.

I won't be able to post actual numbers on the slope but it worries me because I've only worked on the cars when the driveway is leve... actually, I've only LIVED in houses where the driveway is perfectly flat... In the above what is recommended? Is it that bad, not bad at all..etc?

I have 6-ton jackstands that are pretty big/wide. much much wider than normal 3-ton jack stand.

Just looking for advice.

Thanks,
-Nigel

 

[omr]

Put the jack stands and the jack on plywood or it will damage the asphalt, as far as the slope goes, you're really not supposed to use jack stands on any thing other than level solid ground..

With that said, my drive way is slopped alot and I use jack stands all the time.

 

[Motofixxer]

Depending on the temperature of the asphalt, jackstands could easily leave indentations. You could just throw some plywood scraps under a jack or jackstands.

As for the pitch and jackstands...yea that's gonna be a problem. you will have issues even with the jack. But depending on what your lifting and using the E-brake, wheel chocks and leveling materials. You could do it, but your really taking a risk. If you have to jack it up, use the garage. Life is too short to take a risk like that.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

The problem is I don't think the garage is deep enough for my to jack it up on both the front and rear... IE: I could jack up the front of the car if backed in but the space left on to the wall from the back of the vehicle would not allow me to place the jack and or pump it up with the 3ft long bar...

Damn :-(

-Nigel

 

[Gary S]

Asphalt isn't strong enough for jackstands unless you weld a large plate or put some other flat strong material under the stand. I would never put a car up on jackstands on a slope with that much angle, but that's just me.

 

[cderalow]

The problem is I don't think the garage is deep enough for my to jack it up on both the front and rear... IE: I could jack up the front of the car if backed in but the space left on to the wall from the back of the vehicle would not allow me to place the jack and or pump it up with the 3ft long bar...

Damn :-(

-Nigel

i created a shorty cheater bar for my floor jack that helps in my garage to get things jacked up when I can't use it's normal 3' handle.

basically just cut a stout metal pipe to length and painted it

 

[GirlnAgarage]

You're not gonna like that driveway. I'm in the same boat as you. We can get the car in the garage to jack up. But not the truckl. I'm not daring lifting it off the ground. And it doesn't fit in the garage.

 

[kartracer55]

I use jack stands on a very very slight grade, but I'd be nervous with that driveway.

 

[May Pop]

I set a large anchor at the top of mine and put a chain to the vehicle when it appears at all dangerous.
Ron

 

[Jagmandave]

I'd probably be OK with lifting the downhill end, as long as I was super sure the front or uphill end was securely chocked and couldn't move, but it would still make me nervous. The stands will punch thru the ashphalt, you'll need a thick flat support under them, metal plate is probably best....

 

[ZRX61]

The problem is I don't think the garage is deep enough for my to jack it up on both the front and rear... IE: I could jack up the front of the car if backed in but the space left on to the wall from the back of the vehicle would not allow me to place the jack and or pump it up with the 3ft long bar...

Damn :-(

-Nigel

I think you bought the wrong house

 

[ajchien]

I have a slope to my driveway.

I try to use ramps when possible. I also only get under the car on the upside of the slope so if it rolls, it rolls away from me.

When a wheel has to come off, Ill use jackstands if I dont need to get under the vehicle.

If I can't use a ramp, and I need to get under the car with jackstands, then the car goes inside, into the level garage or onto the more level street.

Of course, all other safetly measures are used, wheel chocks etc.

As for asphalt... yeah, you really need some plywood or something to prevent it from sinking down (both jackstands and ramps). We've all had enough stories with asphalt. Please dont have another. I might even consider tearing out the asphalt and replacing it with concrete.

 

[ajchien]

BTW - nice curb appeal.

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I think you bought the wrong house

:-(

My dream an eventual goal is to have at least 5 houses... this is number two. But the last house will have a 3-4 bay garage with a lofted roof with center mounted lift... We got this one at a good deal and the market is good to buy so I am sucking in some of the requests and mandatory things I wanted knowing that the above will happen.. At least the basement is 1800sq ft of finished greatness..lol Still bummed about the driveway. Is there a way to tear the driveway up and make it flat or is that just silly to think about? Again the pictures might make it seem worse than it is. I know the current drive way we have slopes slightly at the end and I've had the car on jackstands on that and on the top level part but never any problems with using the lower section. I've tried pushing the car off the jack stands and it didn't budge at all. Without going back and taking measurements though I just figured I'd get a general consens..lol It might be wierd if I go over there now and start measuring and the current home owner is like what are you doing?? Not sure how the neighborgood would feel on me working on the side of the road..lol Probably don't want to be that guy...

Guess I will have to figure some stuff out here in the next couple weeks.

-Nigel

 

[rlitman]

My driveway has a little more slope than that one appears to have.
I use jackstands all the time, BUT only two at a time. AND I have a serious set of chocks (ones made for bucket trucks).

When the car is resting against the chocks (and I'm not talking about the tiny chocks you can get a HF), then it's not going anywhere, and I'm comfortable jacking up either the front, or the rear. Not so comfortable getting it on 4 stands though.

Oh, and my driveway has concrete retaining walls on each side. If I need to get the jack on the side of the car, my 3-ton floor jack's handle splits in the middle. It's really not that difficult to lift the car with the 18" handle. The biggest issue is the bottom half doesn't have any knurling, so I usually stand up the handle, and put the top half back in, so I can have enough grip to turn it to release.

 

[pop pop]

I've a drive about that slope as best i can tell from the pics, but on concrete. I take lots of extra precautions. Shake everything a lot! I have some heavy Walker stands. Two have real wide (12") plate bottoms and they go on the downhill end. I've a piece of rail road iron I use behind one wheel. I rarely get all 4 up though, and leave two jacks and stands in place when I do. I'd be afraid asphalt would not work. Its plastic and will creep on you. At least concrete is rigid.

Nice looking place for NOVA though.

Hey! The street looks level! Bet the neighbors would join in!

 

[hilld]

Just use the street, it looks level.

 

[dtt454]

is that house part of a HOA ? if it is you likely wont be allowed to work on cars in the driveway anyways, in which case your problem will be solved for you.

 

[ZRX61]

It has an 1800sqft basement??? I think I'd be excavating that driveway & turning the entire basement into a garage

 

[Jackfre]

I think I'd put a couple redhead concrete anchors in the first foot of the garage slab at the width of the wheels of the truck. I'd fabricate either cable or chain and attach to an incline "wedge" that would allow you to either put the trucks or vehicles front wheels or the jack stand on it. That way you secure your lift points and gain the advantage of the driveways slope to get under the vehicle.

You may want to put a screen across the bottom of the driveway to catch your sockets, bolts, etc...oh, and you on the creeper. About the second time you go wheeling into the streets the neighbors will put up some of those "child at play" signs

Not an ideal situation, but I suspect you won't let it stop you

 

[NewShockerGuy]

is that house part of a HOA ? if it is you likely wont be allowed to work on cars in the driveway anyways, in which case your problem will be solved for you.

Yea the HOA is only $17 a month and it covers trash.. other than that it's pretty good. The current HOA we pay at our townhouse is 75 a month but you are allowed to work on cars..etc. It's stupid with everything else...lol But I've had my car taken apart to the point where it looks like someone stole stuff off the car and it was on jack stands for a couple weeks.lol No one ever said a word, and if they did I'd say f off and continue to work on my stuff..lol

It has an 1800sqft basement??? I think I'd be excavating that driveway & turning the entire basement into a garage

Yea the house is pretty big, it's 5174 sq ft so it's quite a jump from our 1700sq ft TH now..lol

I would love if I could do that to the basement but then I'd have to run a driveway the to the side of the house and I know that wouldn't fly...lol

So I got the paperwork and the garage is 448sq ft... that just seems tiny to me :-( Oh well thanks for the input all!

I will have to maybe do what was recommended and either use the base of the street right by the driveway or only jack the front or rear up depending on what I am doing...
I'll take measurements shortly and then report back if the slope isn't too bad.

-Nigel

 

[Shadowdog500]

That looks like a really nice house in a really nice neighborhood. You start tearing cars apart in that driveway, something tells me someone may say something.

HOA's in general scare the hell out of me, it is only a matter of time till a group of old ladies take over and try to turn the development into an expensive, over regulated, misguided, narrow minded vision of Utopia. Ive been down that road before and couldn't get out fast enough.


Working in the driveway just don't seem right if you have an attached two+ car garage at the end of that driveway.


As for the limited space in the garage, Im wondering if you can put an in floor Lift like Jack Olsen's (shown here)

Hirisc has this one.

Or a max Jack like Regguy has:

Chris

 

[Lotek]

Why not jack it up one side at a time, a little at a time, that way you don't need the clearance for the jack at the front of the garage.

 

[Shadowdog500]

...So I got the paperwork and the garage is 448sq ft... that just seems tiny to me ...
-Nigel

That is about the size of the attached garage on my house. I worked on cars in it for years no problem. Yeah it is tight when putting a car up and down on a jack stand, but other than that minor inconvenience on angling the jack 45 degrees or so to the car when jacking the car up and down it was no problem.

Plan on using it as a one car workshop with the workbench on the side wall and you should have plenty of room.

Chris

 

[napaAl]

I work on my 5000lb Benz with a sick slant driveway. Get some nice rubber wheel chocks. HF sells em cheap. I have concrete as a base. I've chased my creeper, and sockets on more than one occasion.

 

[bad_idea]

I personally hate working in the driveway. Hate rolling around on asphalt. Hate what oil and grease do to asphalt. My garage is 14x20 and I have done all kinds of work in there. I just did the heater core in a 98 F150 yesterday. If you are considering redoing the driveway to accomadate jack stands, then I would use that money to epoxy the garage floor and put a lift in.

 

[fast one]

I use jackstands all the time on steep inclines, the incline in your photo wouldnt worry me at all. You need to be very carefull when working on the car because it could slide straight down the hill. When jacking the car up it may try to slide and you need to be prepared for that. I dont think you have enough room to park the car on a angle, that will help alot.

Someone said welding metal to the jackstands would help. It will 3/16" steel plate about 2" bigger than the base of the jack stand will help with the jack stand not leaving marks and sinking in the asphalt, it will also help the jack stand stay more level and keep it from kicking out when you jacking the opposite side of the car up.

 

[Stephenw]

When shopping for a house, I looked for one with a flat driveway. Anything with a sloped driveway was immediately disqualified.

Why not work on jack stands in the garage?

 

[ibedayank]

If you have to ask if you already have doubts on how safe it is.
Can you move faster then the falling car ony a foot or two above your head?
Is your skull strong enough to hold up what your jacking up or will it look like a egg dropped off the counter onto the floor?

 

[lilredex]

I used to have a slanted drive similar to yours and worked with Jack stands all the time. I put the front on blocks (2 X 6's) and chocked it, then lifted the rear on to stands as in that top picture. Before the drive was concrete, it was asphalt, and I put rectangles of 1/8" tread plate, from the junk yard, under the stand's feet. Let the stand's feet settle securely as it comes down slowly. Never had a problem or felt insecure working around it or under it. Use common sense and you'll be OK.

That project shown took the whole summer and then some.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Got it made now, my drive is nearly level and concrete.

 

[brickG-man]

What's wrong with using the garage?

 

[subarub4]

Oh man this is an old thread but I have this same issue.. but before I go into that.. why do people like slanted driveways?? It took me about an hour to get my car on jackstands, I'm using 6 ton stands and right now it's about 20 in. or so high.

The first way I did was crazy I lifted the front first then did the rear and then I saw the front drivers side stand wanting to tip backwards.. then I did the rear first which was a bit better but the driveway it's self is not like smooth and flat across in some small areas.

What I did not was back my car up on some metal ramps then lifted the front end.. then jacked the rear up a bit to level it.. it shifted a bit so that one of the tires still had some weight on it but it caused one of the ramps to tip and each lifting of the car would cause it to tip a bit more, so I ended up using another jack and a screw jack to balance the car if it wanted to keep tipping.. finally moved the ramp back under the tire and back on the stands it went.

Once I get this transmission out and all I will be happy.. I wanted to push the transmission out from the side but I wont be jacking the front up anymore since the angle is going to be too great. After I drop the exhaust and driveline I should have abou 2-3 inches of play.. push come to shove I can throw the transmission off the jack since it's not that much weight (125 lb) and drag it from under the car but the new one would still need to go on the ****** jack.

 

[RobSmith]

That's the problem with garages in the front of the house...nowhere to work. If the garage was a drive through there wouldn't be a problem. Nice house though !

 

[fergus]

No jackstands on an sloped asphalt driveway!!!

My neighbor was working on his car (about an '82 Cadillac Sedan deVille) - had it up on jackstands on his sloped asphalt driveway. Pretty much the same setup you've got there. The pavement gave way under one of the jacks and the car fell on him. I guess he was only pinned, not crushed - a neighbor heard him yelling and came and jacked the car up so he could get out. Broken collar bone and some busted ribs, I think.

 

[darkk]

Drive into the garage at an angle, jack it up and move it side ways inside the garage. You should have enough room then.

 

[ecidious]

I know this is an older post, but for anyone else that might have the same issues: If you only need it on stands for a short time, leave the rear of the car hanging out of the garage door to give yourself some room at the other end to jack. Just make sure your stands aren't right on the edge of the garage or driveway slabs.

 

[KEH]

God discussion. On a slightly different subject, while passing through a small local town, I saw a car on jackstands, tires off. Half the car was in the street with the stands high enough to level the car, the other side was on the side walk. Needless to say, no HOA there. Cars do park on the street there.

KEH

 

[drokihazan]

I think I'd put a couple redhead concrete anchors in the first foot of the garage slab at the width of the wheels of the truck. I'd fabricate either cable or chain and attach to an incline "wedge" that would allow you to either put the trucks or vehicles front wheels or the jack stand on it. That way you secure your lift points and gain the advantage of the driveways slope to get under the vehicle.

You may want to put a screen across the bottom of the driveway to catch your sockets, bolts, etc...oh, and you on the creeper. About the second time you go wheeling into the streets the neighbors will put up some of those "child at play" signs

Not an ideal situation, but I suspect you won't let it stop you

This is such a great idea. My concrete driveway has a 4.9% grade, and my truck is way too tall to go into the garage. I'm definitely interested in doing this, I'm thinking I'll put sleeve anchors in and use them to secure platforms that sit level in 4 corners, then I can jack the truck up onto jackstands sitting on those platforms. I figure as long as I'm using really really good wheel chocks and I lift downhill side first, I can safely use the jack. I'm gonna put a huge anchor too, like for a 3/4 or 1 inch lifting eye, at the top and chain it to the truck's rear tow eye when I'm jacking. This is a great idea you had, uh, 14 years ago. I can put grub screws with anti-seize in the anchors when they're not in use, too.

 

[rlitman]

Instead of a lifting eye you'll trip over, look into pulling pots used by body shops. They're much stronger and go into a cored hole.

Amazon.com

 

[drokihazan]

Instead of a lifting eye you'll trip over, look into pulling pots used by body shops. They're much stronger and go into a cored hole.

Amazon.com

My thinking was a lifting eye because I can just unscrew it and put a grub screw in the hole when it's not in use, so there's nothing to trip over at all, and so it's less obvious that there's a hole in my driveway.