Chocks and other wheel immobilizers

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joel96

joel96

Joined
Jan 17, 2015
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84
Location
Louisville, KY
Buyers (1) $22.54 http://www.amazon.com/Buyers-Products-WC...keywords=chocks $135.24
Race Ramps RR-WC (4) $58.99 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B003ZAGPGU/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new $92.91
Roadblock UC1600 $26.50 http://www.amazon.com/Roadblock-UC1500-6...keywords=chocks $79.50
Wordon safety GRC-R (2) $35.00 https://www.chocks.com/product/grcr $105.00
My LC Accent has 22.7" tires, 13" rims. The price figure to the left of each entry is the price for six chocks. I could get by with a total of one chock on one tire in the direction the car is probably going to go if it slips, and use a chunk of brick, but I'd rather use something designed and tested to immobilize wheels. I think the Roadblock UC1600's would be the least expensive. They're urethane. The Race Ramps RR-WC would be my second pick, not because of the price, but because the UC1600's will probably do better on sloped surfaces and have less chemical odor. The driveway I'm probably going to use most of the time has a 2-4 degree slope.
 
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I think I paid $6 for a pair. It's just some [censored] plastic but it does its job well.
 
I got a pair of 5$ ones from HF they are heavy solid rubber.. plenty good for a normal passenger car/truck
 
I made 4 chocks out of 10" of 2x4. 2 on each wheel front or rear, depending on which end I lift. They aren't the best but they're cheap, light, re-useable, disposable and they work well on my small cars with 14 and 15 in wheels.
 
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I use a few FREE 2"x4"x12" lumbers, no car can roll over 2" thick lumber.


I had a car that begs to differ with you. 1.5" (the actual size of 2" nominal lumber) is not enough for safety.
 
Stack up some squares of 3/4" Plywood to the contour of yor tire and glue them together.
Add a strap and hang them on the garage wall.
 
I got a response back from Checkers Industrial about which chocks a small car can use. They said the Goodyear, UC1600, and UC1700 might work--the specs for the UC1600 and UC1700 say they're for 27" and up tires, though. The Goodyear chocks aren't solid, I'd rather stay away from anything that might possibly buckle.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5zIz1YSh_e7NjNpYTBtVGlkZXJVZEM3Qk5yTGFUNngzWHFV/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5zIz1YSh_e7UzdYX2J4VEFFblFYWE5odTJLTjMyblV4SnFF/view?usp=sharing
http://www.amazon.com/Checkers-Industria...=goodyear+chock

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I'm a UPS diesel semi mechanic and deal with a few type of chocks on my job. The first rule is to place the chock on a clean surface. I've seen chocks slide on gritty concrete. The molded chocks are not nearly as good as laminated ones.
http://www.amazon.com/YM-W4150-Laminated...065&sr=1-13


Thanks for the pointer about usage. Best I can do is sweep the concrete driveway clean; I don't have a garage. A semi and a compact sedan have very different diameter tires, I don't think that particular chock will work. YM's products appear to be the same as CheckersIndustrial's.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_automotive?ie=UTF8&field-brandtextbin=YM&node=15684181
I haven't seen any laminated ones in dimensions small enough for a 22.7" wheel. The closest YM has to 22.7" diameter compatible chocks is a molded one:
http://www.amazon.com/YM-W4158-Extruded-...6137&sr=1-7

I don't have any firewood. I'd have to buy wood, a saw or table saw to cut it with, glue, material for a strap, measuring equipment, etc..
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hang them on the garage wall.

I don't have a garage. I've been putting everything in a closed plastic tub. Probably getting poisoned from the fumes as we speak. :\
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Old railroad ties with the tar coating have been the best for me.
Well, there are plenty of railroads nearby. I'm sure they won't miss a few feet of track. If you've got a link to an online source of bargain-priced railroad ties, let me look it over.

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I made 4 chocks out of 10" of 2x4. 2 on each wheel front or rear, depending on which end I lift. They aren't the best but they're cheap, light, re-useable, disposable and they work well on my small cars with 14 and 15 in wheels.

Home Depot sells 2x4's for $2.81 after tax. Not bad. Did you glue the 2x4's on top of each other? I've got plenty of screws left over from another project (TREX no-pre-drill self-counter-sinking screws with star heads, nice stuff); screws are way more reliable than glue, and allow disassembling. I do worry about the weight of the boards (very light relatively), their grip on the concrete (even rough wood slides pretty easily given enough weight pushing it), the brittle and weak nature of wood compared to rubber (worst case scenario is the car breaking the wood chocks by crumbling them or the bonds holding the pieces together and then rolling--that's what chocks are there to prevent), and contact with the tires (I could borrow a table saw, but that's going to be another project that takes a long time and effort). I could just make some kind of pyramid that matches the "appropriate" shape of the tires, like eljefino said; I'd have to be sure no screws contact the tires or driveway (pretty easy). I do think about the bulk of the wood taking up a lot of space. A link to some kind of rubber grip material that I could screw on the bottom of the wood and the side of the wood where the tire is (better grip and less damage to the tires) would help. http://www.homedepot.com/s/2x4%2520lumber?NCNI-5#

I'm pretty sure if wood made for a well-performing chock, there'd be more retailers selling wooden chocks--it's cheap, easy to manufacture, and relatively light. The "cheap" chocks from harbor freight are all available on Amazon, too; the cheapest ones have reviews noting that that they have a strong chemical odor, the one with the metal piece in it has reviews saying that they crumble at the stress point where the end of the metal piece is.

So far, my top pick is either wood (still not a lot of confidence in the quality of wood as chocks), or Race Ramps RR-WC. The UC1600's are too big for a small car, and the Goodyear chocks aren't solid.
 
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I cut 5" of 2x4, then cut it diagonally with a hacksaw, the cut side goes on the ground and gets a whack with the hammer to get it under the tire. I would only use them on rough concrete or asphalt, the garage floor is too smooth/slick.
 
About $8 each at Harbor Freight for a decent solid rubber chock. I wouldnt look any further or even consider using wood chunks/ blocks. We have a "kit" for the 5000 lb boat. Breaker bar, jack and chocks. Not worth any other risks IMO.

Also keep in mind, wheel chocks tuck under the wheel and conform to the shape of the tire with 100% contact. A board literally has 1 corner of contact...

http://www.harborfreight.com/solid-rubber-wheel-chock-96479.html

Honestly, look along the highway and youll find plenty left by semis. I found 2 orange ones one night on my way home.
 
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I could do that, but I'd have to make sure they're in a sealed container, maybe outdoors. Multiple reviewers have reported that they have a strong chemical odor. It would be $54.93 for six of them to get them shipped, $51.36 if I bought them at the store (I'd rather spend the $4 and save myself an hour an a half of driving, parking, walking into the store, finding them, standing in line, paying for them, walking back to my car, and driving some more). I'll probably buy another bin from walmart to keep them in outdoors. Plastic does corrode worse in harsher outdoor environments, though, so an outdoor bin is going to require periodic replacment. Might end up making these more expensive than the Race Ramps over time.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-review...ASIN=B00GQO5C9S
http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/B0...mp;pageNumber=1
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-review...ASIN=B008CE0R5E
 
what do you need 6 chocks again for? I thought you didn't have a garage and were storing tools in a plastic box?

PS they don't smell. Any odor they do have goes away quickly.
 
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2x4


Even I won't use that stuff when chocking the tires of a subcompact sedan. 4x6's or larger beam lumber are much more secure and it's basically free.
 
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