Is a 2 post ramp OK

[Barreti]

I've got a chance of a 2 post ramp. But I'm not sure where they connect the chassis.
Are they a PITA to get under the car - would it even go under the Griff?

Anyone used both?
What are the pro's and cons vs a 4 poster? Better or worse?

Ta
IanB

[S1M VP]

A 2 poster is generally more versitile in respects of under car access as it locates on the chassis hard points.
As long as it has adjustable feet & legs you should get the legs under the car no problem - but try it and see first.

At first you'll be a bit more nervous when you raise it, but you'll soon get the hang of it. My Mechanics worked on 54 different ramps on a vehicle rework with 30 being 2 posters, 24 being 4. The guys preferred the 2 posters as it gave them more access, but they'll both do the job (or most jobs).

Good thing about a 2 poster is that (providing you are careful) you can lift the front/rear of the car up if you need to without the other end and you could remove all the bolts and de-marriage the body to chassis either in 1 hit or like a crocodile mouth, but I wouldn't recommend this if you are not used to using ramps as it could cause considerable damage.

[walt762]

My Chim was up on a 2 post a few weeks ago with no problems except we had to put down a couple of planks of wood to run the car onto just to get the height, these could be bolted permanently to the floor if it was your own ramp.
The ramp pads went under the corner pads of the outriggers which was no issue on my car but if the outriggers were rotten it may be a different story, it did give good access to the underside & wheel hubs etc.
Not had it on a 4 post ramp so I can't help with that one.

[Toltec]

Barreti said:

Are they a PITA to get under the car - would it even go under the Griff?

I have used one on the Wedge a number of times so I would imagine a Griff would be OK, the lifting arms just cleared the sills.

Is it single phase or do you have a 3 phase supply?

[Toltec]

walt762 said:

The ramp pads went under the corner pads of the outriggers which was no issue on my car but if the outriggers were rotten it may be a different story, it did give good access to the underside & wheel hubs etc.

On the Wedge the rear pads went on the chassis inboard of the rear tie bar mount and at the front they went under the chassis inboard, and to the rear of, the front wheels where there is a multi-tube joint. That meant the weight of the engine was taken on the main chassis not the out rigger.

[Barreti]

Its single phase. No such luck having 3 phase, it would make these things practically consumable prices.

I know my chassis outriggers are good as I replaced them last winter. I suppose it was the planks idea I was wondering about, and whether it was necessary to get the ramps to the main chassis points rather than outriggers because I could see it being such a PITA that I'd not bother and go back to the good old jack.

There is no issue with it causing undue stress anywhere then, that you wouldn't get with a 4-poster because the car is still on its wheels

Edited by Barreti on Wednesday 5th August 07:28

[LordGrover]

I take my Griff to Dulford's and Neil Garner - they both use two posters.

[Toltec]

Barreti said:

Its single phase. No such luck having 3 phase, it would make these things practically consumable prices.

I know my chassis outriggers are good as I replaced them last winter. I suppose it was the planks idea I was wondering about, and whether it was necessary to get the ramps to the main chassis points rather than outriggers because I could see it being such a PITA that I'd not bother and go back to the good old jack.

There is no issue with it causing undue stress anywhere then, that you wouldn't get with a 4-poster because the car is still on its wheels

Edited by Barreti on Wednesday 5th August 07:28

Can you check how low the arms and pads go? You could also check how much clearance there is from the bottom of the arms to the floor and floor to your sills. You might find that you could raise the floor between the posts just enough for the arms to clear both the floor and the sills, i.e rather than driving onto a couple of planks drive onto a low platform.

The handy thing about a 2 post is that the car is not on its wheels, so you can easily take the wheels off!

[rev-erend]

A lot of the TVR dealers workshops have them ..

[HRG.]

Toltec said:

Barreti said:

Its single phase. No such luck having 3 phase, it would make these things practically consumable prices.

I know my chassis outriggers are good as I replaced them last winter. I suppose it was the planks idea I was wondering about, and whether it was necessary to get the ramps to the main chassis points rather than outriggers because I could see it being such a PITA that I'd not bother and go back to the good old jack.

There is no issue with it causing undue stress anywhere then, that you wouldn't get with a 4-poster because the car is still on its wheels

Edited by Barreti on Wednesday 5th August 07:28

Can you check how low the arms and pads go? You could also check how much clearance there is from the bottom of the arms to the floor and floor to your sills. You might find that you could raise the floor between the posts just enough for the arms to clear both the floor and the sills, i.e rather than driving onto a couple of planks drive onto a low platform.

The handy thing about a 2 post is that the car is not on its wheels, so you can easily take the wheels off!

A decent 4 poster will have lockable rails that allow you to drop the ramps and leave the car in the air.

[RichB]

Several mechanics I have chatted to about this say they prefer the two poster.

[Toltec]

HRG. said:

A decent 4 poster will have lockable rails that allow you to drop the ramps and leave the car in the air.

The one in the workshop I had access to did not have that afaik which is why I used the 2 post. I have seen an individual jack type arrangement used off a 4 post (not dodgy, it looked built for the job), but not rails, would the OP have the same sort of clearance problems with the rails?

[walt762]

Barreti said:

Its single phase. No such luck having 3 phase, it would make these things practically consumable prices.

I know my chassis outriggers are good as I replaced them last winter. I suppose it was the planks idea I was wondering about, and whether it was necessary to get the ramps to the main chassis points rather than outriggers because I could see it being such a PITA that I'd not bother and go back to the good old jack.

There is no issue with it causing undue stress anywhere then, that you wouldn't get with a 4-poster because the car is still on its wheels

Edited by Barreti on Wednesday 5th August 07:28

The planks were no problem at all they just lie flat on the floor and raised it just enough, but I suppose it also depends how low your car sits as well, mine was low and we lifted it a bit at the time as I was getting my suspension set up.

[clive f]

hi Ian, I have a 240v 2 poster, its great, fits under the griff no problems, if you want some pics of where it sits let me know and I`ll sort some out and mail you.

clive