Questions about jack stands on gravel

So I live in the country, my parking/car repair  area is gravel. Yes at some point a garage will be built but till then I’m struggling doing maintenance and repairs in the gravel.

So my question is what do you guys do to ensure the jack stands stay level and safe. 

I was thinking to pick up some steel plate and cut it a bit bigger then the base of the stands and weld it on. 

Plywood, if I'm thinking ahead, but honestly I just use gravity most of the time. 

To be fair, I'm either lifting one corner or all 4, give it a good shake and shove, then get to work. 

I’ve been using wood but was looking for a grab a go type solution as the wood seems to get divots in it and is a pain to keep out of the weather. I had a e30 up on all 4 and it was solid. Well after a week of rain and high winds it came down. Luckily I had the 4 tires under it so no damage. 

I put a 1ft square of 3/4 plywood under each stand.  Home Depot sells a 2x2 piece and will cut it for you so it took all of 20 minutes to get and they’ve lasted about 15 years so far and I’ve never had a problem with the car staying stable on my gravel driveway.  While you’re there get a cheap area rug so you aren’t laying right on the gravel.

I use 2X12s because my skull is worth it, possibly not worth steel plate though.

Well I have to hit Home Depot up any way today so I’ll grab some 3/4 plywood. 

rattfink81 said:

I was thinking to pick up some steel plate and cut it a bit bigger then the base of the stands and weld it on. 

I did exactly that to a set for a buddy some years back and they worked very well for him.  His "gravel" was mostly just mud as far as I could tell so I went pretty thick on the base.....1/8"? I think.  I worked in a fab shop at the time and cut the thickest I could put in the sheer...but it was a long time ago.

The plywood is a good and cheap way to go. I have a asphalt driveway and always use plywood under the jack stands to prevent them sinking into the surface. 

Automatic transmission flex plates.

They are thick enough to prevent sinking, and the starter ring gear acts as a lip to prevent the stands from sliding off.

I have a few from an 80's Camry that I used all the time on grass/gravel.

For rally paddock/service areas, the requirement is a 18"x 18" (IIRC) piece of wood under each jack stand to keep them from tipping, etc. These areas are often gravel, dirt, grass, mud, or whatever. So you put a tarp down first, drive the car on it, and then use the jackstands with wood bases. 

Some team alternately attach wood or steel flat bases to the jackstands themselves. 

I use flexplates as well but i can understand how a lot of hobbyists dont just have those laying around. Failing that I recommend thick plywood over actual board because plywood isn't going to split all the way down the grain from the jackstand. Jackstands often put all their weight in a tiny area at the corners and on a regular board that high load in a small area can start a crack that splits the entire board. Plywood layers aren't all oriented the same way so less likely to crack all the way through, all of a sudden. 

I used plywood at first, then straight on the gravel, give it a good shake. The rally standard sounds much safer.  I have a gravel driveway (no garage) and have just dealt with it.  The latest posts of the wood step ramps and now this have me questioning my practices of over  a decade.  Thanks!

I welded on pads they are 20'' square. 

I've been racing for many years and since I can never be sure where I'll have to paddock I keep a set of plywood pads that I carry with me.  Some tracks even say they don't want a jack stand directly on their asphalt and require some kind of pad.

Years ago I helped a semi-pro team and they had made up some metal pads from thick sheet metal.  They welded 4 small "L shaped dams"  that the jack stand legs fit inside that keep them from  moving on the pads.     

Vigo said:

I use flexplates as well but i can understand how a lot of hobbyists dont just have those laying around. Failing that I recommend thick plywood over actual board because plywood isn't going to split all the way down the grain from the jackstand. Jackstands often put all their weight in a tiny area at the corners and on a regular board that high load in a small area can start a crack that splits the entire board. Plywood layers aren't all oriented the same way so less likely to crack all the way through, all of a sudden. 

For our motorhome leveling jacks I use pads made from 2” x 12” cut to 11 1/2” lengths so the length matches the width. I then cross the grain direction 90 degrees and hold the two pieces together with Liquid Nails and four screws from each side. Also have galvanized gate/door handles screwed to one side on each pad for handling and pushing/retrieving with a steel rod with hook on one end. Haven’t had any cracks so far.

Sounds safe to me. Another thing I remembered belatedly is that if the wheels are going to be on it i put the ramps under the tires even if i had to jack it up because it wouldn't make it up the ramps or it needed to be higher etc. If the tires are off i usually throw them under the car. In a perfect world that wouldn't help anything but I like to think that if a car goes down I'd rather it have something else to hit besides just me. Might make the difference between cracked ribs and death, who knows. I did knock a car off jackstands one time (on concrete! hulked out on a prybar too hard) and I had an  extra set of stands under it that weren't really holding weight up. When the car started to go over it tipped over the two sets of stands in order like dominoes and gave me a little extra time. I slid out from under the car and obviously lived to tell. I just like to throw in extra obstacles between the car and the ground if i think there's anything questionable about it. 

I typically do the wheels under rocker panels any time a wheel is off as well.  Anything that minimizes the distance the car can fall in a worst-case is a good thing.  

I always put the wheels under the rockers when the cars up. I don’t remember who taught but I’ve been doing for over 20 years.

im thinking I might do the plywood and do a set of stands with the steel plate to try. 

Thanks for the replies. 

Back when I had to do that plywood was the answer. As long as you don't store it outside long term it lasts pretty well. If you want to leave a project up on it indefinitely, look for the marine grade plywood.  Steel is great but heavy and I'd want to at least tack weld the stand to it. They slide WAY too easy on bare steel for me to be comfortable with it. The L-shaped dams sound like an even better idea.

I keep 4x8 sheets of exterior grade 3/4 plywood next to the driveway and when I need to get some work done on the gravel cause the garage is full I lay them down. Works great and gives a better surface for you to move around on.

I just skip the jackstands altogether. 6X6's lag bolted together. Otherwise I have a bunch of 3/4" PT plywood scraps if I need to use my larger stands on a truck etc. 

I saw a few guys posted in other post using wood cribbing. I plan to do that once I get motivated and start on my 62 Mercury but for brake jobs and such on the new cars in my fleet jack stands seem easier to get around all the crap plastics and such on the under sides. 

I cut 5/8 plywood about 4 inches bigger then the base. Then ripped a matching angle on both sides of a 2x4 , cut it length wise in half and to size of the base and screwed them on to the plywood trapping the jack stand to the plywood base  This way it travels with the stand and slide on sand if used at the track too.

44dwarf,

that my plan for the day as I picked up some 3/4 pressure treated plywood and have some 2x4 scraps laying around.