Lately I have been finding myself underneath one of the multiple vehicles that I either own, or through marriage, am required to service.. I have a small single car garage that holds many tools as well as a fully disassembled 1956 f100, so the lack of space makes it somewhat of a pain in the *** to jack up and support both sides of a car. Often I have only an inch or two between the end of the jack handle and a tool box, or some other not easily moved object. The dream solution, a bigger garage with a lift, is out of reach at the moment. Instead I have been eyeballing a set of the 8 inch, 2 piece race ramps for around 250 clams. Obviously these won't be useful in all situations, as in a brake job or the like, but I certainly won't be dreading an oil change.

I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on a set of these, but I was hoping someone here has had some personal experience using a set of these on an FD. I'm particularly interested in whether or not the approach angle of the ramps is low enough for an FD with a set of coilovers. The company offers extenders for the ramps, but they are another $100 bucks or so. I like them at the $250 price point, but I don't think I want to pay much more than that.

So, has anyone here had any experience with these? Or is there a better solution at a similar price point?

Thanks in advance

John

 

Buy em, they work great. Even with extended front splitter and a serious drop i have no problems getting the jack under.

 

Do you have a link to the website?

I use a set sometimes that I bought from Autozone, $39 on sale, and holds
12,000lbs. I put a 2x8, 24" long in front of both ramps, so it will clear the lip.

btw, I use to have a '54 f-100, 239cui, v-8. This was my grandfathers.

 

raceramps.com

 

Mmm, I have a set of Rhino ramps...IIRC, rated at 4k lbs. Can't remember where I got them but they cost alot less than $200. I have a lift, but still use them occasionally just because they're light, quick and easy. My car is just a little lower than stock height, the R1 lip touches just a little as I run it up but flexs and it's not an issue.

 

Just go to Home Depot or Lowes and get some lumber. They'll cut it to any length you specify. Drive car onto, raise with jack, place jack stands in appropriate spots. I don't see a need to spend +$100 on ramps.

 

^^ kdr has the same thing except he put a drawer handle on the side to make em easy to carry... effing brilliant imo.

 

Nice choice in truck, this is my fathers we built. Has a 302 built 30 over, he is a ford master mechanic so he does most of the work.


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Ramps from Autozone should work just fine and cost a lot less, my front bumper is about 6" off the ground and it clear those ramps.

 

I have a set too. They're great for doing stuff like changing out your spark plugs, oil changes, etc. and no need to mess with a jack.

The slight incline helps when burping your coolant too.

 

Seems like the cost of lumber will be close to what you will have in the rhino ramps and they won't weigh up as much.

 

i dont have raceramps but I do have a set of ramps that makes working ont the car soo much easier I just used the to pull my motor

 

I want to get them with the anti-flat-spot tops. My build is going to take years.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I did actually make a set of "ramps" out of 2x6 lumber which worked ok, but they were heavy and sort of a pain in the ***. On more than one occasion, they moved on me while I was trying to drive the car up them. It was definitely a **** your pants moment...

I've taken a look at a few of the cheaper sets of ramps, but what I really liked about the race ramps was the 2 piece design. Once the car is on the ramps, the inclined portion can be removed which allows much easier access all around the car. I think with the responses here, I will be buying a set of these asap.

On the subject of my truck project; I bought it from my stepfather several years ago after he really ruined it with his redneck bodywork and hotrodding techniques. He stuffed a pre-emissions 460 with a c6 trans in it, and mangled the firewall to make it fit. The frame was improperly narrowed in the back, and as a result it is no longer usable. The cab has several one gallon containers of bondo in it, and really needs to be blasted. Since I decided to go back to school for engineering, and also because I took a hefty pay cut when I changed jobs, it has basically sat without much progress for the past couple of years. I haven't lost sight of the project, and even though it will probably take me another 10 years, I will complete it.

John

Nice truck. Looks like you and your father do very good work!

Those were actually my first choice, but after one of the diy auto shows did a review of the race ramps I was instantly hooked.

That is pretty much what I have been doing already. The issue isn't really getting the jack under the car, its having enough room to pump the jack to lift the car. As I said in my first post, I often only have an inch or two between the jack handle and some not easily moved object. While I can still jack up the car in those situations, it can be pretty tiring and annoying.

 

Low Profile aluminium jack from Harbor Freight works perfectly. It's lightweight and fits under my FD with no issues.
And my FD is extremely low...

L8R

 

I am happy with my two piece 67" Race Ramps with XTenders. They are light and easy to store.

 

I used to have one of this and I'm planning to get another. Pretty cool because it was perfect for my single car garage.

http://www.completehydraulic.com/lif...sor-tcpl6.html

 

I built a set of ramps out of some 2x10's a few years ago and they worked great.

 

raceramps ++

 

Tomikoa makes a great ramp for lowered cars...

http://www.tomiokaracing.com/tomioka-racing-slopes.html




$68 - can't beat it.

 

Nifty product, but not really what the OP was looking for....

crcleofdst, I've seen them used on a lot of forums. They are a great product, but rather on the pricey side. Not that they aren't worth it. You'll definitely enjoy them if you pick them up. Unfortunately, I think you missed out on some deals as I think they had a sale just before Christmas.

 

Yup, I have had that jack and it got under my Miata, FD, and now my lowered WB FB.

I have also been looking at race ramps as ever since I have put the Mariah WB on my FB, it scrapes when puting it on the trailer.

 

A 12' piece cost about $12. I had them cut that into;
(2) 3 foot pieces
(2) 2 foot pieces
(2) 1 foot pieces

I do have a set of rhino ramps as well, I use those if I don't feel like using the jack stands.

It doesn't solve your lack of room issue at all but I just don't think I could justify spending that much on ramps.

 

If you don't mind could you post a pic of your jack. I've been looking at them and trying to figure out which one I'm going to get.

 

A EASY FIX for the scraping is to drive the rear wheels of the tow vehicle on a set of Rhino ramps, which lowers the trailer and no more scrapes. I used to use this method on my Mustang when taking it to the track. I thought I was a genius until a couple of race buddies told me a lot of the race crowd did it.