GRM Cribs or help me not die.

So I'm no stranger to sketchy stuff...

But SWIMBO has taken a liking to me and is rather insistent that I not die. What's worse is she's also forbidden greivious injury. She never let's me do anything I want.

I will be dropping the rear end and fuel tank out of my Z28 and likely replacing the fuel lines, torque arm, driveshaft and trans crossmember while I'm down there.

I was just going to chock the front wheels and lift the back but the extra space up front would be really nice. The car will likely remain in this position for most of the winter.

So I was thinking about putting the front wheels on cribs and lifting the back onto some tall 12 inch jackstands.

the race ramps seem to be the hot ticket but at $200 a set they are too pricy for my stingy self (How much would you pay to not be killed by a falling car? you ask. less than $200)

Are there other options? Are the homebuilt 2x4 ones guaranteed death? is putting the front wheels on chocks even a good idea given that there is no way to stop them from rolling? Why do hot dogs come in packs of 10?

These questions and more are what I now expect you to answer for me. For free.

I can't comment on the home built cribbing, but here's my thoughts on the race ramps and their cost. 

When I'm concerned about price for something safety oriented, I'll typically compare the cost of the item to the cost of the urgent care or ER visit if I'm cheap and something goes wrong. 

Usually the safety equipment wins out. Especially if the risk as particularly severe, like death by falling objects. 

I think wooden wheel cribs are what you are looking for.

As for homemade cribbing, I've put entire houses on 2x4 and 4x4 cribbing so it's not gonna be instant death from weight at least

I made some wheel cribs for getting my cars higher in the air, I feel completely safe under them.  The problem you'll run into is getting a jack to get the car up onto the cribs (depending on the height).  I built a separate box for my floor jack to go on, that one had to be pretty stout, so it's very heavy.  The box has five 2x6s on edge, with 3/4" plywood top and bottom.

Buy better jack stands. Good industrial 6 tons are less than $100/pr significantly better construction, double or more the base width, cut squares of marine plywood for backer boards if going on asphalt. Blocking up wheels works but I always find they get in the way. 

Ain't no kill like overkill. I went for solid 8x8s which were free cutoffs from a local jobsite. Not sure if that's a common thing to find in the PNW, but very common out on the Outer Banks.

The wood cribs are fine. It's the stacked wheels acting like a pivot that'll get ya

I was hoping it was going to be a GRM version of this-

I bought a set of 12-ton jack stands. They are extremely stable. 12" square at the base and 30" in height. 

There are a few variations out there, but I like this idea: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tMp_IBvlbo and then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be0XKNrNaXE)

Build a wooden ramp up onto a crib, then pivot the ramp out of the way. This allows you to leave it on the cribs, or jack it up and leave it on 4 HD stands. 

In reply to AClockworkGarage :

Optimally, you've have larger jackstands and cribs. If it's an either or then I agree with Bryneon-gets some better jackstnds first. 

I've been happy with these from Esco: https://www.amazon.com/ESCO-10498-Jack-Stands-Capacity/dp/B01J5ZB8K6

Not surprisingly Harbour Frieght started carrying a knock off set: https://www.harborfreight.com/3-ton-jack-stands-with-circular-pads-58789.html

You can borrow a pair of the raceramp cribs I have if you like? I only got them for doing alignments on the racecar since I was already ordering the ramps for the truck.

Although, I would have no issues putting anything I have on the 2x4 cribing. Bonus points if you make a enough to be stackable to get the ultrahigh.

Maybe look for when a QuickJack goes on sale.

dj06482 (Forum Supporter) said:

I made some wheel cribs for getting my cars higher in the air, I feel completely safe under them.  The problem you'll run into is getting a jack to get the car up onto the cribs (depending on the height).  I built a separate box for my floor jack to go on, that one had to be pretty stout, so it's very heavy.  The box has five 2x6s on edge, with 3/4" plywood top and bottom.

Quoting, cuz easier than explaining.

Streetwiseguy said:

dj06482 (Forum Supporter) said:

I made some wheel cribs for getting my cars higher in the air, I feel completely safe under them.  The problem you'll run into is getting a jack to get the car up onto the cribs (depending on the height).  I built a separate box for my floor jack to go on, that one had to be pretty stout, so it's very heavy.  The box has five 2x6s on edge, with 3/4" plywood top and bottom.

Quoting, cuz easier than explaining.

Wouldn't that much wood be as costly as Raceramps at this point?

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

I was just thinking the same. With the cost of good lumber, and the hardware, and the time involved, spend a few more bucks for a safe proven solution.

Also, scan FBMP and Ebay, you might be able to buy a used set for well under original MSRP.

I don't think the costs of mine were too bad.  I just looked at FBM, and a set of four 12" race ramp cribs alone is $350 used, my setup was far under that - probably around $100 all-in. The construction screws for the box weren't cheap (maybe $30), the 2x4s were like $8 each, and the 2x6 was slightly more than that.  I used scraps of 3/4" plywood I had in the shed.  Even with Race Ramps, the cost of the actual ramp (not the cribs themselves) is crazy high. 

I spent some time on them, but it was a pretty easy project, and I was able to get the exact size and height I wanted. I had the ability to size them so I could fit my Esco jack stands on the top of the cribs in case I didn't want the weight of the car to be on the tires.

Lumber is getting cheap(er) again. Mine are a bit smaller footprint than that but the same height. I built them in 2021 basically at the peak of lumber prices and it was still well under $100 all in IIRC.

The value in race ramps stuff is that they're light. For stuff like trailer ramps that get used frequently and are unwieldy to carry, it's well worth it. For things like this that get set in place once and left for a while, not so much. Of course if you're moving them around frequently the value proposition starts to return.

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

So those appear to be about 8" high. Are you happy with that?
 

I see that there are higher Race Ramp cribs, but 8 inches might be a good compromise between lift and ease of use.

You know those old steel ramps that no modern car can use and can be found for practically free? Cut those up, removing the ramp section and weld on some support as needed. Work great and basically free

Asphalt_Gundam said:

You know those old steel ramps that no modern car can use and can be found for practically free? Cut those up, removing the ramp section and weld on some support as needed. Work great and basically free

Seems like nobody told the folks on F B M that. When they show up for sale, they seem to think cause they are "metal" they are worth more than the new type. Apparently, they are also not aware how cheaply made of metal, they are. 

In reply to Asphalt_Gundam :

Metal
 

I assume that's the type you mean? I have a couple pairs in rough shape. I'd love to have some free ones, but these are actually a lower price than I've been seeing these last couple of years. 

Free?

Well, I guess those were free, to someone! Yikes!

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

So those appear to be about 8" high. Are you happy with that?
 

I see that there are higher Race Ramp cribs, but 8 inches might be a good compromise between lift and ease of use.

I just measured - my Rhino ramps are 6" high, and they're what I typically use.  In this case I needed some more height, so my cribs are just shy of 11" off the ground.  I made these mostly for working on the Saab, as my other vehicles tend to have more clearance and so the Rhino ramps are a good height. 

I'm happy with the height of the cribs, when you're working on a car (i.e. not a truck or SUV), the higher you go, the more difficult it gets to reach things from the bottom and from the top.  Arm length comes into play, so there's a sweet spot where you've added enough clearance to give you room, but not so much that you can't reach anything in the engine bay.

I can always make things higher off the ground by building an additional base for the ramps, or by putting jack stands on top of the cribs.  There the limitation would become the height of the box I build for my floor jack, which is 7" high (5.5" true height for a 2x6, plus 3/4" plywood top and bottom).