Stupid question of the day. Car ramps.

[Rand]

I have the rhino ramps and while I feel safe, I do admit being claustrophobic with the big 2020 ram on top of me.. wood ramps would be reassuring

 

[D60]

While steel absolutely can fail suddenly and catastrophically, it's 50/50 (guessing, no stats to back this up) that it moves some (ie bends, deflects, whatever) and then stops.

Plastic is like that unpredictable house cat: totally fine until a split second where it claws your eye out and runs away.

If anyone doubts this just think back to prying on trim pieces or wire loom retainers -- it's always a game of will it release or will it suddenly SNAP

Given that steel is modified with relative ease but plastic is nearly impossible to reinforce or repair for structural applications, the choice is easy for me.

Again, as soon as someone starts building a reliable 2-post lift from plastic, let me know

 

[Hall]

While steel absolutely can fail suddenly and catastrophically, it's 50/50 (guessing, no stats to back this up) that it moves some (ie bends, deflects, whatever) and then stops.

Yeah, it can "warn" you or show a sign of failing, but you won't necessarily have enough time to react.

 

[GMBoy]

I have a pair of those yellow metal ramps that are probably 25yrs old+. I rarely use ramps anymore but when I do it's usually the Rhino Ramps I grab first then these metal ones. They will be fine for your use as the full weight of the truck is not on them. If you feel better place jackstands under their for extra safety or weld some reinforcements as recommended in some posts.

 

[Leo99]

I had those steel ramps and threw them away and bought the plastic ramps and use jack stands as back up. No matter what, I'm still not comfortable under a vehicle.