jackstands vs ramps

[OS]

which do you prefer? Is either one safer?

 

[PAB]

Originally posted by: OS
which do you prefer? Is either one safer?

Jackstands work better if you're already on an incline or have a car with low ground clearance.

 

[imported_hscorpio]

For an oil change i guess ramps would be the easiest, but jackstands are good to have around when you need to take the wheels off. If you could only have one then jackstands win.

 

[cavemanmoron]

to be safe, use the jackstands, even with ramps.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I use ramps because my car is to low to get a jack under, then once its on the ramps I put out jackstands just to be safe.

 

[jlee]

Don't need anything for an oil change...otherwise, jackstands - easier to take the wheels off. Not to mention I don't own ramps...but I have plenty of jackstands.

 

[imported_griffis]

Ramps FTW

 

[aircooled]

combo.

buy both

 

[iamwiz82]

I only use jack stands.

 

[radioouman]

Ramps are much easier for an oil change or where you don't have to take the wheels off.

I use ramps for oil changes on my cars. Jacks for the other stuff.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
to be safe, use the jackstands, even with ramps.

No, you don't use jackstands with ramps. It is recommended to use jackstands with a floorjack. Ramps should be used alone, but block the wheels (in either case).

 

[tfinch2]

Depends on the job.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I've never been able to use ramps, they always slide if I try to drive up them, and you can't pull a wheel off while it's on a ramp.

 

[eplebnista]

Ramps

 

[dud]

NEVER use just ramps when working underneath a vehicle! I had a car fall on me because it slipped off a ramp. Dangerous ...

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: dud
NEVER use just ramps when working underneath a vehicle! I had a car fall on me because it slipped off a ramp. Dangerous ...

ummm.. doesn't this just mean you need to learn to drive..

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: dud
NEVER use just ramps when working underneath a vehicle! I had a car fall on me because it slipped off a ramp. Dangerous ...

:shocked: if my car fell on my while i was working underneath it, I'd be dead. There's only like 5" of ground clearance

 

[Vic]

Jackstands.

If your car is too low to put a floor jack underneath (as mine is), drive the front tires up onto a couple of shortened 2x4's first, then slide the jack under.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
to be safe, use the jackstands, even with ramps.

No, you don't use jackstands with ramps. It is recommended to use jackstands with a floorjack. Ramps should be used alone, but block the wheels (in either case).

What type of jackass told you that?

 

[mugs]

Jack stands.

If your car is so low you can't get a jack under it, buy a better jack. I can't imagine how you'd get the car onto ramps without scraping if you can't get a jack under it.

I have a set of ramps that I bought because my wife's Passat was tough to jack up and put jack stands under at the same time, but she totaled it before I ever got a chance to use them.

 

[mordantmonkey]

How the hell does a car slip off of ramps? were you using cheap plastic ones? forget to set the e-brake and block the wheels?

 

[jlbenedict]

Originally posted by: dud
NEVER use just ramps when working underneath a vehicle! I had a car fall on me because it slipped off a ramp. Dangerous ...

$hit. nevermind.. your user name explains it all too clearly

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: mordantmonkey
How the hell does a car slip off of ramps? were you using cheap plastic ones? forget to set the e-brake and block the wheels?

Usually wet conditions can make using ramps very dangerous. Assuming it's the front end up on the ramps, with the e-brake on and the wheels blocked, the front wheels can still spin. If the ramps are on even a moderately slick surface, they could spit out to the front, and the car will come down.


Getting a floor jack under my car is not an issue with the quality of the jack. It's because there are only 3 jackpoints in the front. The 2 on each side just behind the tires where I will place the jackstands, and then the front diff where the floor jack will go, which is well underneath the vehicle and I don't want to scrape my front end with the jack handle.

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

I say it would depend on the situation... lay of the land, what it is you need to accomplish, etc... no universal answer, really... except BE CAREFUL! Just last week a local guy was killed when his car fell off the jack and squished him. The idiot was using only the scissor-jack to hold the car up. My brother had a different method for jacking cars up... he made use of the terrain itself. He oil-changed Miatas by running the passenger side (or drivers side? it's been too long) of the car up along a curb at the end of his driveway. Also helped tip that last bit of oil out and the curb was high enough to get even his big frame underneath to work.

Speaking of jackstands... I'm reminded of a story. In August I helped a not-too-bright-about-cars female friend drive her Toyota from Chicago to Anchorage. I told her beforehand to be SURE she had a jack in case we needed to change a tire. She went out and bought one. Then... in the middle of nowhere, on the Alaska Hwy, we get a flat. I ask her to get the jack, and she proudly hands me.... a boxed jackstand. "You mean this won't jack the car up? Um...." Yeah.

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: mordantmonkey
How the hell does a car slip off of ramps? were you using cheap plastic ones? forget to set the e-brake and block the wheels?

Usually wet conditions can make using ramps very dangerous. Assuming it's the front end up on the ramps, with the e-brake on and the wheels blocked, the front wheels can still spin. If the ramps are on even a moderately slick surface, they could spit out to the front, and the car will come down.


Getting a floor jack under my car is not an issue with the quality of the jack. It's because there are only 3 jackpoints in the front. The 2 on each side just behind the tires where I will place the jackstands, and then the front diff where the floor jack will go, which is well underneath the vehicle and I don't want to scrape my front end with the jack handle.

I guess then that depends on the driven wheels, but atleast with a FWD/AWD car can't you just put in park or gear?