P3PPY
P3PPY GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/29/24 10:24 p.m.

I'll soon be refreshing the suspension on my car and I wish for more height with a lot of stability. Is there any more affordable version of this Race Ramp setup? It would be nice to drive up onto a platform and then use a jack on the platform, too, to remove the front wheel. But upward of $3k? Yikes. That's lift territory. And no, I do not have a garage.

 

 

I should mention that I'm open to other alternatives that get the car up in the air higher than a typical jack setup AND allow the wheel to come off. Looking in the couple hundred dollar range or so.

buzzboy
buzzboy UltraDork
5/29/24 10:42 p.m.

Not sure the construction methods in your area but...

Around here there are always houses being built and left over piling ends. I picked up about 10 two foot pieces of 8x8 from jobsite trash. The racecar is sitting on it's wheels on them 8" off the ground and I also can use them as very sturdy cribbing to jack the car. In the past I used my lawnmower ramps to drive up onto the 8x8s

theruleslawyer
theruleslawyer Reader
5/29/24 10:44 p.m.

You can get the car pretty high with a high lift jack and appropriate jack stands. Do you need all wheels to come off at once? You could build something like the race ramps out of wood for far cheaper. You just section out the wheel stands so you can jack a wheel up, put that corner on a jack stand and remove the block under it. A quickjack is half the price of this ramp and way more useful however. Since you don't have a garage, what is the plan to store whatever you get? You might just be better off renting a bay at a garage. There are a few near me. Probably better if you only have a single project in mind and don't have long term storage for something like the quickjacks.

dps214
dps214 SuperDork
5/29/24 11:36 p.m.

You're in DIY territory to get anything substantially cheaper than race ramps. Drive on sounds nice but in practice is a lot of effort and expense for not much reward, and a lot of risk if you don't have a helper to guide you. You can get the car plenty high on cribbing with a good jack and some patience. I wouldn't be excited about jacking from the platform unless you build it sufficiently oversized so that the jack has room to move around as it's lifting and stay fully on the platform. Even then I wouldn't be too excited about it but it would probably be fine as long as everything is vaguely flat and level.

Motojunky
Motojunky New Reader
5/30/24 9:17 a.m.

If you can find a used kwik-lift in your area, that might be an option. I see them from time to time on FB marketplace in the $500-$800 range.  New production is currently halted due to the price of materials. 

https://www.kwik-lift.com/

 

 

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter)
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/30/24 10:33 a.m.

I just use 2x8s stacked up and screwed together.  Cut each layer 4" shorter than the next.  Heavy as heck, but I sometimes put casters on the sides so I can flip them up and wheel them away.

P3PPY
P3PPY GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
5/30/24 10:44 a.m.

oh heck yeah! $500

Car Display Ramp 1

 

Hmmm... now I guess I have to store the winter or summer car on there in perpetuity?

EDIT: come to think of it, this might make it a little easier to keep critters away...

 

@Curtis, what do you do about taking off a wheel? Just a tall jack stand under the intended corner?

dj06482 (Forum Supporter)
dj06482 (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UberDork
5/30/24 3:50 p.m.

I use regular Rhino ramps a lot.  I drive up on one end and then jack the other end up and slide a second set under those wheels. 

I also built wheel cribs out of 2x4s, and I designed the top of the crib do I could fit a jackstand on it (in case the wheels needed to come off.  I put the car on Rhino ramps, then jack from that heigh to get them on the wheel cribs.  When going from the Rhino Ramps up to the wheel cribs, I need to use the box I designed for my jack so I can get the car higher in the air.  It's worked well so far, only downside is I need to be careful of hood clearance when the garage door is up.

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
5/30/24 9:15 p.m.

In reply to P3PPY :

Seen one on here out west that low. Never seen one within a few hundred miles for less than several grand 

03Panther
03Panther PowerDork
5/30/24 9:20 p.m.

In reply to dj06482 (Forum Supporter) :

I really like your crib design. 
Rhino's have gotten way out of my reach; sadly I've damaged some of all style ramps - I have heavy stuff, and lack of concrete! surprise

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