Tell Me About Low Profile Ramps So I Don't Have To Do This Again...

mtn said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

WonkoTheSane said:

I've used the plastic rhino ramps for years with good results, I think I got them at Walmart for $30 years ago?  I haven't had any trouble getting stock ride height vehicles on them, I don't know about the newer Mazdas, though the first gen 3 and later 5 didn't have any trouble.

This looks like a winner right here.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RhinoGear-11909ABMI-RhinoRamps-Vehicle-Ramp-Pair-12-000lb-GVW-Capacity/19526658

I wouldn't use those on dirt/gravel. 

I bought a set. First time I used them on dirt one broke. If anyone needs one Rhino Ramp, let me know. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

mtn said:

volvoclearinghouse said:

WonkoTheSane said:

I've used the plastic rhino ramps for years with good results, I think I got them at Walmart for $30 years ago?  I haven't had any trouble getting stock ride height vehicles on them, I don't know about the newer Mazdas, though the first gen 3 and later 5 didn't have any trouble.

This looks like a winner right here.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/RhinoGear-11909ABMI-RhinoRamps-Vehicle-Ramp-Pair-12-000lb-GVW-Capacity/19526658

I wouldn't use those on dirt/gravel. 

I bought a set. First time I used them on dirt one broke. If anyone needs one Rhino Ramp, let me know. 

Looks quite a bit "cost down" from my set, unfortunately :(

Mine look like this:

So it doesn't have those pockets to create stress risers, and it's webbed across the bottom.  The only downside is it doesn't stack, but it's been quite solid.

Sorry, I think that's a bum recommendation now :(

WonkoTheSane said:

Looks quite a bit "cost down" from my set, unfortunately :(

Mine look like this:

So it doesn't have those pockets to create stress risers, and it's webbed across the bottom.  The only downside is it doesn't stack, but it's been quite solid.

Sorry, I think that's a bum recommendation now :(

Yeah, I have the old ones too and they're great.  I really wish they still sold that style.

In reply to codrus :

I have the gray ones too. I've had my Miata on them, and I've had my 3/4 ton truck on them. I think they'll last longer that I will!

Hmm.  I do have a set of 4' long steel ramps for my car hauler already.  Too bad I store the trailer in the way back yard.

Put trailer ramps on ground with ends on the tractor bucket. Drive car onto ramps. Lift ramps with tractor bucket. 

win. 

In reply to Robbie :

That can't possibly not work.

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

Bonus, it'll make for a hilarious Youtube video if it doesn't.

The tractor bucket is only 4' wide, and the bucket lift is only about 800 lbs.  Hmm.  Guess it can not work.  

I've never used ramps. Just a jack, and jack stands. I understand it's more work, but I don't like ramps for whatever reason.

I like my Rhino Gear ramps.  They work great. Cost me about $50 for the set of 2.  I don't use them on dirt, just flat concrete. 

 The most I have put on them is my wife's EDGE for oil changes, probably 1000 lbs per wheel.  

Rhino Gear ramps are lightweight and store with one slipping inside the other.    Much lighter than the old 2x12 ramps I made. 

  I have to add a little piece of slope cut 2 x 4 when I use them with my stock height MSM Miata in order to avoid having the ramp contact the front lip. 

In reply to bobzilla :

put a long strap on them and lay the strap out so that as you drive on the back wheels are on the extended straps. This keeps the ramps from squirting out the front of the car.

I would not be going under a car that is on ramps supported by dirt. At a minimum, I would want a plywood surface under the ramps.

Pete

WonkoTheSane said:

I've used the plastic rhino ramps for years with good results, I think I got them at Walmart for $30 years ago?  I haven't had any trouble getting stock ride height vehicles on them, I don't know about the newer Mazdas, though the first gen 3 and later 5 didn't have any trouble.

They work with stock height GenPu 3's and MS3's at stock height. I have a set that I use on the regular.

Thinking about it, yeah the plastic ramps on a potentially uneven surface don't seem like a great idea.  Our driveway is well packed dirt and crush n run, and I've jacked o it with no problem, used jack stands, etc.  But still.  I may have to default to the 2 x 12, heavy and bulky though they may be.  I think if I use non PT wood, and them paint the whole thing with Rhino Liner it should work pretty well and hold up.  I'll post pics when/ If I actually do it.  ;-)

Thanks.

The 10,000 mile oil change was due this weekend.  Friday I hauled a pair of eight-foot 2x12's home from Lowes....in the Mazda3, of course.  #hatchbacksrule

8' of board length was enough to make a 3 layer cake of white pine...

Which was enough for me to wriggle my skinny ass underneath and reach the filter and drain plug.  

The tire rotation was due as well, so I needed to jack the car up conventionally to do that.  

My helpers.  

Have any oversized non-swivel casters laying around? I was picturing putting two on the back of one of the ramps, the other ramp could go on top of that upside down, then you could just pick up one end and roll the whole thing around. It might not be worth it. Some big bolt on handles on the side might be better - one handle on the side of each ramp, carry a ramp in each hand. Easier to move around, possible to carry both at once.

I also have the two-piece race ramps, they're awesome but I wouldn't use them in dirt. I put them on my Amazon wish list once and forgot about them and 2+ years later my family pooled together and got them for my for my birthday. Worth the wait!! I have two big floor jacks, 8 nice jack stands, a MaxJax lift, and race ramps. I'm swimming in lifting options. But I still use the ramps for things like oil changes. Fast, easy, and perfect for the job.

STM317 said:

How much is an oil change at the dealer or local shop?

Spending a bunch of time and/or money to make/buy ramps so that you can crawl around on the mud to change the oil on a car with a warranty seems like a hassle to me.

 

Or, you can always just lift the front with your front end loader there and slide the ramps you have under it...

Having just had my oil changed at a local shop (since my even driveway and lift are filled with in-op cars): over $80 for synthetic blend. And it was an hour of waiting and then having them try to upsell additional B.S. to me.  "No... I'm not willing to pay $21 to rotate the tires..."

Berk that noise... doing oil changes myself is a lot less aggravating. 

Love my Rhino Ramps. I've put full-size trucks and the Expedition on them many times, no problems. Granted, I never use them on dirt, but compared to the metal ramps I had before, they are a huge improvement.

In reply to dculberson :

They're not too heavy, really.  The plywood wheel stops I put on them double as convenient carry grips.  I can carry both at the same time, one in each hand.  

Need to hit them with a coat of stain from one of the myriad partially-full quarts of stain I have laying around.  

In reply to Ian F :

No E36 M3.  Even including the time it took me to build those ramps (about 20 minutes) and the cost of the wood ($20) it was cheaper and faster than going to a dealer/ oil change place.  And I (hopefully) won't have to build a set of ramps every time I change the oil.