Discussion
ChocolateFrog said:
alabbasi said:
If you're just looking for something to drive the front or rear wheels up. Buy a set of Rhino Ramps. They're sturdy enough to hold a Bentley Turbo R comfortably and they also stack which makes them easy to store.
Here's a link to them on Amazon UK.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/RhinoGear-11912ABMI-Rhino...
Second these. I love mine. Think mine are some extra duty ones designed for stuff like Ford Excursions. Here's a link to them on Amazon UK.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/RhinoGear-11912ABMI-Rhino...
Paul_M3 said:
In my opinion, a better option is wheel cribs from somewhere like raceramps.co.uk
You still have to use the trolley jack to get the car on them, but you remove all the risk of driving up on them.
They seem expensive for what they are, but they are incredibly lightweight, and can be bought in various sizes and one or two piece versions.
Might be a dum comment but I’ve never seen the point in these. If you’ve gone to the effort of lifting it with a jack why wouldn’t you use axle stands? At least then you can remove the wheels. You still have to use the trolley jack to get the car on them, but you remove all the risk of driving up on them.
They seem expensive for what they are, but they are incredibly lightweight, and can be bought in various sizes and one or two piece versions.
These just seem like a worst of both worlds type product.
1690cc said:
I've got a little room above the garage and I was so pleased with them I was sad enough to have sent an image to my wife to show her.
She obviously couldn't have possibly cared less.
Well, that's disappointing. I was really hoping you were going to show us your car stacker which opens onto levels two and three of your workshop / secret base. She obviously couldn't have possibly cared less.
sam.rog said:
Might be a dum comment but I’ve never seen the point in these. If you’ve gone to the effort of lifting it with a jack why wouldn’t you use axle stands? At least then you can remove the wheels.
These just seem like a worst of both worlds type product.
It’s a fair question, but having done it both ways…These just seem like a worst of both worlds type product.
Not all cars have convenient places for axles stands. On the Exige for example there is basically a single jacking point on each side that lifts the entire side of the car up. You have to remove the diffuser and one of the middle undertrays to even access the place you could put axle stands at the rear.
Even if a car does have a place to put axle stands, I feel much more comfortable working under the car using these. Theres no way it’s going to ‘slip off’, you don’t have to think about finding suitable points to place the axle stands, it just feels easier.
The wheel cribs could also be better on an uneven surface that might feel uncomfortable with axle stands?
I own a full set of these wheel cribs, a set of four axle stands, and also a pair of hub stands. To me they all have their uses.
Paul_M3 said:
Even if a car does have a place to put axle stands, I feel much more comfortable working under the car using these. Theres no way it’s going to ‘slip off’, you don’t have to think about finding suitable points to place the axle stands, it just feels easier.
Yep. I actually feel a bit uneasy sometimes about using axle stands, particularly on all four corners. The amount of lateral movement you get when jacking a car up on each corner in turn (or front axle then rear axle) can be quite alarming. Paul_M3 said:
sam.rog said:
Might be a dum comment but I’ve never seen the point in these. If you’ve gone to the effort of lifting it with a jack why wouldn’t you use axle stands? At least then you can remove the wheels.
These just seem like a worst of both worlds type product.
It’s a fair question, but having done it both ways…These just seem like a worst of both worlds type product.
Not all cars have convenient places for axles stands. On the Exige for example there is basically a single jacking point on each side that lifts the entire side of the car up. You have to remove the diffuser and one of the middle undertrays to even access the place you could put axle stands at the rear.
Even if a car does have a place to put axle stands, I feel much more comfortable working under the car using these. Theres no way it’s going to ‘slip off’, you don’t have to think about finding suitable points to place the axle stands, it just feels easier.
The wheel cribs could also be better on an uneven surface that might feel uncomfortable with axle stands?
I own a full set of these wheel cribs, a set of four axle stands, and also a pair of hub stands. To me they all have their uses.
I never enjoy lifting a car and even less so when having to extend the axle stands past half way.
sam.rog said:
I never enjoy lifting a car and even less so when having to extend the axle stands past half way.
Yeah, with axle stands the height you set them is the clearance room you’ve got to work under the car. So you need them quite high, which again makes me less comfortable. With the wheel cribs, a 10” crib gives you the 10” lift, plus you’ve also got whatever the normal ground clearance underneath the car is.
Stegel said:
I have chased both steel angle iron ramps and (brand new) plastic ramps (as already linked above) across the drive; the latter suffered a crack when my GL (within their weight limits) eventually managed to scramble on board, probably for the reasons Mars mentioned. The nightmare is when one wheel gets a grip and the other side just slides along!
Along the lines suggested by Paul_M3, I have given up with both and when I want to raise a car up on the drive I use a trolley jack and some wooden platforms, 350mm wide and about 500mm long, I concocted from 7”x 2” and 4” x 2” softwood which give a 200mm lift. I’m fortunate to have a scissor lift in the garage, but the GL is too large to fit, but I have managed to do an ATF change and change the diff fluids while the car was raised on the blocks.
Hey, my requirement is for a GL too. Along the lines suggested by Paul_M3, I have given up with both and when I want to raise a car up on the drive I use a trolley jack and some wooden platforms, 350mm wide and about 500mm long, I concocted from 7”x 2” and 4” x 2” softwood which give a 200mm lift. I’m fortunate to have a scissor lift in the garage, but the GL is too large to fit, but I have managed to do an ATF change and change the diff fluids while the car was raised on the blocks.
There's a guy in South Wales who makes some really bigguns for Land Rovers... I am tempted except I'm not sure where I'd put them when I'm not using them.
https://xrated4x4.co.uk/
The website doesn't show the ramps. He's on Facebook (I'm not though) and has some good pictures of the XL ramps there.
1690cc said:
Snap, no way I would trust a piece of plastic when I'm crawling around under 2 tonnes of car. Made mine 9" wide to accommodate a 305 tyre.
Whilst the load is all in compression once the car is up, presumably those screws were just to hold it together whilst the glue dried?Whilst I like screws for pull out resistance, they're not great in shear, such as when a car is trying to pull itself up and along the steps, or when the chunky wood decides to warp a bit.
I know a bloke who decided nails were for chumps and used screws when framing his workshop. A few years later, half the screws holding it together have snapped and the building is not the same shape as it was when he built it.
Mars said:
Hey, my requirement is for a GL too.
There's a guy in South Wales who makes some really bigguns for Land Rovers... I am tempted except I'm not sure where I'd put them when I'm not using them.
https://xrated4x4.co.uk/
The website doesn't show the ramps. He's on Facebook (I'm not though) and has some good pictures of the XL ramps there.
There's a guy in South Wales who makes some really bigguns for Land Rovers... I am tempted except I'm not sure where I'd put them when I'm not using them.
https://xrated4x4.co.uk/
The website doesn't show the ramps. He's on Facebook (I'm not though) and has some good pictures of the XL ramps there.
The limit on height of block is how high your trolley jack can lift the car and how much droop the suspension has - the GL has a fair amount of suspension travel, so it gets quite far up before the tyres even leave the ground. I had to use planks to give me extra lift the first time, but I have since bought a jack with better lift so I can get it high enough without any bodging. Re nails / screws, these are all held together by ring shank nails using an air nailer, but as everything is in compression when they’re in use, the nails just stop them falling apart when they’re carried.
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