car ramp - sealey

Aletank

If you have any concerns, such as wanting extra strengthening or extra height etc, he'll add it for you, it won't be a problem.

Stooby2

You'd have a job driving up the Sealey ones & I wouldn't fancy working under them with 2000kg of car above me.

Well unless you buy an armour plated Hummer you're not likely to.

I have a Land Rover Discovery and have used my ramps many times. They usually sit in the same place in the garage, so there's a couple of holes drilled in the floor to take bolts to stop them slipping. Even with the front wheels fully on, there's probably not much more than a tonne on the ramps - it's kerbside weight is 1970kg and that's a big 4x4. With a smaller saloon a set of 2.5 tonne ramps are going to be more than adequate. If you're still worried, stick a pair of axle stands under it so if the ramps should go (and I cant see how they would), the vehicle will come down on the stands, not you.

As mentioned above, clearance can be a problem and you may find you physically can't drive onto them.

You really ought to chock the wheels that are on the ground, and whilst bricks aren't ideal, if that's all you've got it's better than nothing.

londonTiger

Stooby2 wrote: »

If you're still worried, stick a pair of axle stands under it so if the ramps should go (and I cant see how they would), the vehicle will come down on the stands, not you.

This isn't really true. You have a high clearance 4x4 so there's space under the car to fit an adult with plenty of clearance. A ordinary road vehicle has just 18cm clearance off the floor. Put those on a 20cm ramps and you've got 38cm clearance which is plenty to do basic work like oil change etc.. But if it slips off the ramp, it will crush you below. Even if you are really small and less than 18cm thick, the cars suspension will case the car to momentarily sink deeper than that.

Rolandtheroadie

londonTiger wrote: »

This isn't really true. You have a high clearance 4x4 so there's space under the car to fit an adult with plenty of clearance. A ordinary road vehicle has just 18cm clearance off the floor. Put those on a 20cm ramps and you've got 38cm clearance which is plenty to do basic work like oil change etc.. But if it slips off the ramp, it will crush you below. Even if you are really small and less than 18cm thick, the cars suspension will case the car to momentarily sink deeper than that.

Thats what the axle stands would be for.

You would have them set so that if the car was to start crushing the ramps the axle stands would stop the car falling at all.

TrickyWicky

londonTiger wrote: »

This isn't really true. You have a high clearance 4x4 so there's space under the car to fit an adult with plenty of clearance. A ordinary road vehicle has just 18cm clearance off the floor. Put those on a 20cm ramps and you've got 38cm clearance which is plenty to do basic work like oil change etc.. But if it slips off the ramp, it will crush you below. Even if you are really small and less than 18cm thick, the cars suspension will case the car to momentarily sink deeper than that.

Are you serious? That may be the case with no axle stands in position as back up but with them they should catch the vehicle and stop it falling further.

You did read the bit about axle stands being in place as backup didn't you? - A nice set of ractchet axle stands would do the job nicely unlike those with a bolt through them as the ratchets have more positions.

mkirkby

Just as aside and certainly not money saving but here's a piece of advice:-

You know how those ramps will slot together for storage? Try not to get your thumb stuck between them when you do.

It F*&^in' hurts...

londonTiger

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Are you serious? That may be the case with no axle stands in position as back up but with them they should catch the vehicle and stop it falling further.

You did read the bit about axle stands being in place as backup didn't you? - A nice set of ractchet axle stands would do the job nicely unlike those with a bolt through them as the ratchets have more positions.

I dont think the risk is that the car is going to crush the ramp. I think the risk is that it's going to slide backwards off the ramp. So having a axle stand would be pointless as it will simple tip the axle stand over as it slides back.

That's why you need chocks or whatever they're called.

TrickyWicky

Stooby2 wrote: »

If you're still worried, stick a pair of axle stands under it so if the ramps should go (and I cant see how they would), the vehicle will come down on the stands, not you.

londonTiger wrote: »

I dont think the risk is that the car is going to crush the ramp. I think the risk is that it's going to slide backwards off the ramp. So having a axle stand would be pointless as it will simple tip the axle stand over as it slides back.

That's why you need chocks or whatever they're called.

Yes but the person you replied to was talking about the ramps giving way or collapsing under the strain of the vehicle weight. They suggested the use of axle stands to catch the vehicle should this happen and the vehicle 'falls' down towards you while under it.

You for some reason are talking about something compeletely different - the vehicle slipping backwards off the ramps. I've no idea why you've gone off on a tangent and then slated scooby saying that what they have said isn't really true.

How does the stand collapsing translate into the car slipping backwards off the ramp? - Thats besides the point that ramps have flat level surfaces at the top!

I see what you're doing, you're trying to cover the risk from the other perspective and thats fair enough but in doing so you slated scooby. Other than that, yes chocks behind the rear wheels are a must when using ramps but axle stands under the car in case the stands collapse is also a seriously good idea.

Limey

The whole collapsing argument's a bit academic IMO, if you do your checks before hand (handbrake, chocks and a good hard bounce on the car) ramps are probably the safest option for a DIYer.

Plus the chances of both going at the same time is pretty much negligable. If one goes then the other is going to keep the car from crushing you and the one that does go isn't just going to vanish is it.:rotfl:

The Sealey ones are steep and I've found only really suitable for the driven wheels of the car. Having a mid engine car means backing it up onto the ramps which is always a giggle.:eek:

If you have any low bodywork forget about the Sealey one and go with the ramps4cars one.

TrickyWicky

vaio wrote: »

a strip of carpet rather than rope works better.

I'm curious.. how do you tie carpet around the rung of the ramp? - It sounds like a creat idea but I just can't see how to attach the carpet to the ramp without it ripping off (eg if you use nails or staples).