How sturdy are Rhino Ramps???

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So Im planning on changing my oil for the first time tomorrow...I bought some Rhino Ramps rated at 12,000 LBS....are these safe just to drive the Accord up on alone??? A dude at walmart saw me buy them and he said the crack and they arent safe...what do you guys think? Am I safe to use only these to change oil? any risk of them breaking and the car falling on me? lol. THANKS!
btw thats all I have, that and chalks.
 
Believe me they're strong enough to hold a car.

All I will say however, is I wouldn't suggest driving up them alone to anyone.

Driving off the end is a real possibility, as is a ramp slipping as you try to drive up it if its on smooth concrete.
 
I have the same set, they work great for me. Take it slow and gentle and you'll be fine when you reach the top.

Haven't driven off mine yet.
 
i do NOT recommend ramps. i lost my father in law under a ramp. just spend the money and get a good jack and good stands, in the long run you will be happier, and alive. my dad and i used jacks and stands for years. buy each stand rated for two times the weight of the car. just make sure the car sets solid before you get under it. iam not trying to be a know it all. i just dont want to read about you getting crushed.
 
I bought the WalMart Rhino ramps - they are safe and fine - just make sure you have the tire centered. Used them on a 2008 Impala so far - no problem. Easiest way to go up them is too apply power w R foot while working brake with left - that way a nice smooth climb up the ramp. Follow directions printed.
 
Originally Posted By: morris
i do NOT recommend ramps. i lost my father in law under a ramp. just spend the money and get a good jack and good stands, in the long run you will be happier, and alive. my dad and i used jacks and stands for years. buy each stand rated for two times the weight of the car. just make sure the car sets solid before you get under it. iam not trying to be a know it all. i just dont want to read about you getting crushed.


what happened?? did the ramps just snap?
 
It's important to look for white stress marks on the plastic. If present, it might be time to replace them. I have a set of 12,000 lbs Pro Ramp and they work great. Used them on all my vehicles plus my parents Ford Freestar. Never a problem.
 
I have owned a pair for 15 years-no problems. be sure the rubber inserts stay in place. my came out and were lost.called the co. and they sent me new ones at no cost.
 
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I feel the average person is much more safe on ramps than trying to use a jack and jack stands..

not to mention the total lack of good places to place jack stands on many cars.
 
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Merely a data point, I just use two pairs of solid 2X6 pieces of wood. The lower boards are something like 20 inches long and the uppers are maybe half that and 3 to 4 inches forward from where I start the drive up. No big deal if I drive too far, but I've only dnoe that once or twice in nealry 20 years. I'm familiar enough now with Windstars and Accords that one layer would probably work, but two make it cake.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I feel the average person is much more safe on ramps than trying to use a jack and jack stands..

not to mention the total lack of good places to place jack stands on many cars.



I agree! Jack stands have their place like when you need the tires off the ground and I use them all the time. I also use two floor jacks to avoid tilting and rocking issues getting vehicles on the stands. They are a pain for quicky work like oil, lube and mufflers. I much rather be on ramps for that.

I have used a few styles and I will be happy to get long-winded and share my thoughts on them, especially if you have a truck or big tires.

Poly ramps - Okay if they are solid.
Stamped steel ramps - very common old school stuff.
Steel stands with removable ramp section - I like a lot but they are old and sized for cars.

These all share some bad points that make me uncomfortable.

They are narrower than I would like. Now that trucks and wide sports tires are so common, these ramp designs date back when narrow bias ply tires were the norm. Getting them lined up perfectly is frustrating.

The tire pad on top of all of them seem too short. By the time you feel like it's leveling off you're already at the stops with little to no warning. The tire is still partially on the slope.

The slope is too steep. I need to rev and play with the brakes (see next point).

They are too light or only have small contact points with the ground. The stamped ramps only sit on the 2 front corners and the back. With FWD only one tire may get a good grip and slide the ramp back. Or one side catches while jockeying the pedals and you have 1 wheel on the ramp and the other is half way up.

Poly ramps can crack, be affected by chemicals or weather and get pretty slippery.

All in all I'm not really happy with any of the normal store ramps. They are made to be light weight and/or stackable and take up as little storage space as possible. I'm looking at those RhinoRamps and they don't seem half bad. I'm sure I would prefer them over the old stamped steelers I have been using lately, but the tops still seem too short for me. I want more warning and rollback room until the tranmission parking pin engages. I can't even see my wheels from the window when going up and none of my trucks have working parking brakes due to age or design.

If you want to do driveway work on vehicles, have a saw, and can sacrifice a little more space - build your own wood ramps. Grab some 2x12's, Liquid Nails, screws, and go to town.

car%2520ramps.jpg


Wood is soft enough to get good surface grip and sure as heck aint gonna collapse. You don't even have to use all 2x12 for the layers. You could use 2x4 as spacers (across the width) on the 1st, 3rd and 5th layers with a 3 inch gap and still be about as strong and save some wood and weight. Make the stops and wheel guides with 2x4 and the roll-back hump with 1x2. Use something like padlock hasps to join the ramp sections so you can remove them for more creeper room. You can put some thick glue or mastic on the ramps and tops and sprinkle with crushed limestone, aquarium gravel, etc. for great traction.

Make them where YOU feel safe and they match YOUR needs. In fact, the ramps I drew for an example look just dandy and I am going to make them for myself when it gets warm again here.

Safe wrenching..
 
Well, you could place jack stands once your vehicle is up on the ramps. I'm sure you can find a place to set the stands so they can catch your vehicle if one of the ramps fails.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Well, you could place jack stands once your vehicle is up on the ramps. I'm sure you can find a place to set the stands so they can catch your vehicle if one of the ramps fails.



Probably the safest idea yet. I feel better under ramps than jack stands alone. With both ramps and jack stands (or even the jack itself) you get both bases covered.
 
Originally Posted By: RiceCake

Driving off the end is a real possibility, as is a ramp slipping as you try to drive up it if its on smooth concrete.


I heard somewhere that you have less chance of the ramps slipping if the car
is front wheel drive. I think someone on this forum might've even said that.
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I've had a set for years, they work great.

Quite honestly, ramps are safer than jack stands provided they are used properly. Most injuries/fatalities involving lifting equipment result from safety procedures not being followed. When using ramps, make sure the tires are properly centered on the ramps, the vehicle is in park (first gear or reverse for a manual trans), the parking brake is set, and the wheels on the ground are chocked.
 
I have a set of the 12,000 lb Rhino Ramps. I've never had an issue with them, I've heard of very minor issues with them, and they work fine for both our cars. Their capacity is gross overkill for supporting 2000 lbs of the car's weight on them.
 
used a set of 12k's for 12 years now with no problems. i've used it a few times with a chevy 2500 also. getting to the point soon where i might want to replace them for safety, having a hard time with my imagination seeing what one would look like that failed.

a quick internet search showed very amplified reports of rhino ramp failures, not saying they dont happen but it seems to the very rare exception when they do.
 
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UPDATE!! I changed the oil for the first time today (not the first oil change, just MY first oil change) on the 2006 Accord 2.4, it wasnt bad at all...pretty easy really =) And now I feel better knowing what oil was put in and knowing both the oil and filter are quality. I did have some knocking on start up after the change, it lasted about 5 seconds. Normal?
 
I've been using ramps for years and never gave it a second thought. Mine are also stored in doors so I don't have to worry too much about UV damage. Next time I am going to place a couple of jackstands as an added safety measure.
 
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