Thoughts on buying used car ramps?

[No1ustad]

Thinking of buying some used car ramps of craigslist. cost about $10. Kinda a lil worried cause i'll be under my car kinda trusting my life to them... anyone have any thoughts whether to buy them or not? They're just regular old' (not rusty) metal car ramps.

 

[Zenmervolt]

As long as they're the braced kind, they should be fine. They really can't wear out.

ZV

 

[No1ustad]

the braced kind?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Notice the diagonal brace in this image: http://www.discountramps.com/i.../auto-ramps-9000-3.jpg

And the lack of that brace in this image: http://www.discountramps.com/i.../auto-ramps-6500-1.jpg

You want the bracing to be there.

ZV

 

[Fenixgoon]

ramp instead of jackstand?

 

[Pliablemoose]

not a big fan of ramps, they're a pain to store, and they have a big footprint when you're using them (harder to get to some stuff on your car cuz the ramp's in the way)

 

[No1ustad]

thanks for the pics ZV. Yea, ramps instead of jackstand cause my current jack takes up too much room when raising the car, leaving no room for the jack stands in a spot i'm comfortable with to hold the weight.

also, what about plastic vs. metal ones?

 

[akubi]

i use rhino ramps... they're plastic but pretty popular and effective. google for more info, they're supposed to be stronger than most run of the mill metal ramps. made in usa too and cheap...

 

[dud]

Don't use ramps at all. I had a car slip off a ramp ... the ramp clipped me in the back of the head and knocked me out. I woke up in a pool of my own blood.

Don't do it!

 

[akubi]

Originally posted by: dud

Don't use ramps at all. I had a car slip off a ramp ... the ramp clipped me in the back of the head and knocked me out. I woke up in a pool of my own blood.

Don't do it!

a person can kill himself with a blunt spoon if he was dumb enough. a tool is only as effective as its owner's ability to follow some simple safety instructions.

make sure you drive it up all the way to the flat top part of the ramp (put car in neutral, make sure it doesn't roll as is). park and e brake. use wheel chocks.
also helps if you have a buddy working with you at all times.

 

[Podgorske]

Dumb? Someone that speaks before thinking is pretty damn dumb to me. My father was crushed to death because the ramps someone else made collapsed. My father wasn't an electrical engineer...far from dumb. But thanks for making me feel so much better about my loss.

 

[jlee]

Dumb? Someone that speaks before thinking is pretty damn dumb to me. My father was crushed to death because the ramps someone else made collapsed. My father wasn't an electrical engineer...far from dumb. But thanks for making me feel so much better about my loss.

I'm sorry for your loss, but no one here was addressing you nor your father's situation. The same thing could have happened if he was using homemade jackstands, and likely wouldn't have happened if the equipment was not flawed.

 

[MotF Bane]

Four year necro.