kb58
kb58 UltraDork
9/30/24 10:03 a.m.

The YouTube channel "Project Farm" is really good, good enough I think to challenge Consumer Reports. Anyway, he just dropped a video on car ramps that should appeal to our lot. He reviews a lot of stuff, and quite a bit is car or garage related, plus home-related items.  Really well done reviews, but be prepared, he talks fast :)

 

Tony Sestito
Tony Sestito UltimaDork
9/30/24 11:13 a.m.

I'll have to give this one a watch. For the record, I have two sets of Rhino Ramps that I've had for over 20 years now. One is a low profile set and the other is a regular set. Both have seen it all and mainly live outside in New England winter and are still fine. 

Rusnak_322
Rusnak_322 Dork
9/30/24 12:21 p.m.

I watched that over the weekend. I love Project Farm and have wasted stupid amounts of time watching him test crap I really have zero interest in. 

 

93gsxturbo
93gsxturbo UberDork
9/30/24 12:23 p.m.

I would have liked to see some more of the higher end options (race ramps) and less of the "copies of a copy" chinese ramps with silly Amazon names.

If I had one bitch about Project Farm, it would be that.  Sometimes the items selected are 10 versions of the same crap from Amazon up against one or two name brands.   

I would much rather see a ratchet shootout that was Snap-On, Blue Point, Mac, Matco, Cornwell, Milwaukee, Gear Wrench, Craftsman, Husky, Kobalt, and a few other high and mid tiers than 10x Performance Tool and other $5 chinese ratchets vs a single Snap-On or Gear Wrench.

The shop creeper test was a good example of this issue - 5 or so Chinese brands that were all basically identical (and who is to say the spec will be consistent from one sample to the other) vs one or 2 name brands with actual unique features.  

 

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
9/30/24 1:02 p.m.

I watched the whole thing.  HF/Pittsburgh plastic came out on top but based on the testing, the net result could be, "they all suck" one way or another.  

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
9/30/24 1:51 p.m.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

That is main thing I noticed as well. He "claims" different results , from what are quite obviously ramps built on the exact same assembly line. 
His annoying (to me) voice would be a bit better at a more normal speech pattern; but I could overcome either, if he put more effort into his testing. 
Definitely an A+ for an effort into independent testing!!!

(Ive had same results using each style he tested, back when they could be bought new, for a third of today.)

Tony Sestito
Tony Sestito UltimaDork
9/30/24 2:23 p.m.

In reply to 03Panther :

Every time I have a Project Farm video playing and my wife walks in, she immediately says "SHUT IT OFF" because of his voice. His cadence and mannerisms are definitely something you have to adjust to. 

That said, his videos are generally entertaining, and he's trying! 

amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter)
amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
9/30/24 4:52 p.m.

I have Race Ramps. Great for trailer loading but I also use them to gain some clearance for jacking. Don't really see a need for the style of ramps in the thumbnail...

ddavidv
ddavidv UltimaDork
10/1/24 6:27 a.m.
Tony Sestito said:

In reply to 03Panther :

Every time I have a Project Farm video playing and my wife walks in, she immediately says "SHUT IT OFF" because of his voice. His cadence and mannerisms are definitely something you have to adjust to. 

That said, his videos are generally entertaining, and he's trying! 

Same reaction, but change it to "Scotty Kilmer". laugh

No Time
No Time UberDork
10/1/24 7:10 a.m.

In reply to 93gsxturbo :

I agree, there were several pairs of ramps that looked identical in that video. Interestingly, there were subtle differences (or not so subtle) differences in performance, so while annoying it could be helpful when picking among the brands on the Bezos site. 

My main issue I had was during his shake testing of the hydraulic ramps he didn't put the safety pins in after raising them to the max height. At least follow the instructions when testing, even if you want also want to test misuse. 

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
10/1/24 9:00 a.m.

In reply to No Time :

It is quite obvious that several of the ramps ARE the same ramps, with different names on the box. 
That means the variance is in his testing. Which does not lend confidence in his results. 
Maybe he sets the tests up even faster than he talks!cheeky

No Time
No Time UberDork
10/1/24 9:38 a.m.

In reply to 03Panther :

I wouldn't jump to conclusions on the ramp strength testing methods, since there is a lot of opportunity for variation in the ramps.

Even if using the same tool (mold) the variation in strength can come through material selection (polypro, nylon, blends), filled/unfilled (glass, %fill, type fill), and process parameters (pressure, packing, etc).

93gsxturbo
93gsxturbo UberDork
10/1/24 12:52 p.m.
No Time said:

In reply to 03Panther :

I wouldn't jump to conclusions on the ramp strength testing methods, since there is a lot of opportunity for variation in the ramps.

Even if using the same tool (mold) the variation in strength can come through material selection (polypro, nylon, blends), filled/unfilled (glass, %fill, type fill), and process parameters (pressure, packing, etc).

And since QC in china is so good, you know the mold temp is well controlled, the plastic is consistent from batch to batch, the dwell time is the same....

The ramps all failed basically the same way, if you look at the graph there is basically "this style failed here, this style failed here" trend lines even though the actual values vary a bit.  

I watched the 1/4" ratchet testing video last night, its amazing how similar the failure point is for similar designed ratchets.  Who would have thought that something made of a similar material, with a similar cross section, and a similar engagement method, would fail at a similar load?  The arc swing test is good, its interesting how the tooth count is not the end-all, be-all for arc swing.  I know he is just testing the tool itself, but the handle thickness doesn't matter a ton when my big meathooks gotta fit in there too.  The back drag test is good-ish but any seasoned mechanic will tell you that ratchets should get better as they break in a little bit.  The head size info is good to know.  

kb58
kb58 UltraDork
10/1/24 2:12 p.m.

He also did a recent review of heavy-duty flush-cut wire snips. It was really enlightening to see how different the various brands reacted. He kept upping the toughness of what was being cut and there was a clear winner.

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
10/1/24 10:10 p.m.
No Time said:

In reply to 03Panther :

I wouldn't jump to conclusions on the ramp strength testing methods, since there is a lot of opportunity for variation in the ramps.

Even if using the same tool (mold) the variation in strength can come through material selection (polypro, nylon, blends), filled/unfilled (glass, %fill, type fill), and process parameters (pressure, packing, etc).

Yes, we are aware that each product on the same line, will be slightly different. Especially where that line is. 
And I didn't even need my school books to look that up. 
 

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