Too low to the ground to squeeze under your Neon? DIY ramps

packfan88 · Post by **packfan88** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 7:49 pm

So i was a bit tired of having to put a jack under the car just so i can fit another jack to lift it high enough to fit under it.

So i made these

Simple go to the home depot and get 2 2"x8"s in the 10 foot lenght. Have them cut each one at the 1' mark, 3' mark and 6' mark. This will give you a 4' 3' 2' & 1' piece of lumber.

Then get some 3" screws.

Screw the 3' baord to the 4' board and the 1' board to the 2' board. Then screw the 2' to the 3'

tada!

DIY auto ramps 4-3-2-1' 8" lift by PackFan88, on Flickr

DIY auto ramps 4-3-2-1' 8" lift by PackFan88, on Flickr

center them on your wheels and drive right up. make sure you dont drive off the front edge or you'll regret it!

Tips:

Storage - You can stand them up and put them together like a Tetris piece to save space.

Cutting - Someone who cares abotu the 1/8th inch thickness of a saw blade might say its actually not 1'. It doesnt matter. This is a ramp for a car not a cabinet for a kitchen.

Disassemble - I screwed them together in the order above so If i want to take apart the 1'&2' (top two steps) from the 3'&4' (bottom two steps) its just visible screws to do so. That way I can lift and transport them easier if need be.

I this the wood was $16 and screws were $6

good luck and use it safe!

Lizbeth · Post by **Lizbeth** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 7:58 pm

Nice

NyNeon0813 · Post by **NyNeon0813** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:29 pm

I like it!

C1DoG · Post by **C1DoG** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:42 pm

Nice idea... But I will stay with a low profile jack and jack stands. I would be happier to know that my car isn't going to roll with it on jackstands.

packfan88 · Post by **packfan88** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:37 pm

C1DoG wrote:Nice idea... But I will stay with a low profile jack and jack stands. I would be happier to know that my car isn't going to roll with it on jackstands.

or a chock but whatever makes you cozy

ThatKevin · Post by **ThatKevin** » Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:46 pm

I need to do this! maybe only 3 high though. Just enough so I can get a normal jack underneath and stands. No (affordable) low profile jacks are around me. I've looked

packfan88 · Post by **packfan88** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 11:49 am

ThatKevin wrote:I need to do this! maybe only 3 high though. Just enough so I can get a normal jack underneath and stands. No (affordable) low profile jacks are around me. I've looked

i drove on the ramp, put my floor jack under the car and lifted just til the suspension dropped and was almost off the wood. that gave enough room for me to fit under it to take pictures of my rotten crossmember for reference.

but these will do for anything that doesnt require a wheel off and is in front of the firewall.

Skitlz · Post by **Skitlz** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 12:17 pm

Awesome idea! Good for future reference.

ThatKevin · Post by **ThatKevin** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 3:41 pm

packfan88 wrote:
ThatKevin wrote:I need to do this! maybe only 3 high though. Just enough so I can get a normal jack underneath and stands. No (affordable) low profile jacks are around me. I've looked

i drove on the ramp, put my floor jack under the car and lifted just til the suspension dropped and was almost off the wood. that gave enough room for me to fit under it to take pictures of my rotten crossmember for reference.

but these will do for anything that doesnt require a wheel off and is in front of the firewall.

I just need a small ramp 2-3 pieces to drive up on so I can fit a jack up underneath so I can raise it. In the summer, even with a piece of wood, I can't fit anything other than the OEM jack underneath the car.

Marcel · Post by **Marcel** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 4:38 pm

i would say add a .5" strip on both ends of the top board. This way you can sort of secure the car whilst on these ramps.

G.I. Joe says: safety first!

Jenni · Post by **Jenni** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:39 am

they sell that. made of real steel. you know? and those are also cheap...

nicksdad06 · Post by **nicksdad06** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:23 am

Use steel ramps for the rear drive up backwards set parking brake then there is plenty of room to get a regular floor jack under the sides to lift and put Jackstands

Skitlz · Post by **Skitlz** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 11:11 am

But DIY projects are awesome?

Marcel · Post by **Marcel** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 3:52 am

Jenni wrote:they sell that. made of real steel. you know? and those are also cheap...

Really? well in NL they are now illegal because of the lack of common sense here.

(that means: people use it foolishly and a lot of accidents happened)

BigMac · Post by **BigMac** » Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:05 pm

Doesn't Harbor Freight still advertize low-profile "racing" jacks for like $60? Mine's about ten years old now and still works. It will cost you way more than that if you drive off the end of those ramps.

packfan88 · Post by **packfan88** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:15 pm

i saw their low profile jacks. they look ok. ever see a Formula1 jack? they do 4 tires in 2.5 seconds lol .... thats a racing jack!

I have a floor jack but its the 3 ton to lift my tacoma. wont fit under this neon. I dont have room to store a second jack. i wish i had a nice 2 car garage.

I saw the metal ones at HF. Not storage or transport freindly. I think they were 40 bucks there. not bad i guess if you can hang them on the wall some place. I dont have a garage. These stack and work like a bench for sitting when i have a cold one.

I also saw the plastic ones at HF that are 2 pcs each. I almost bought them (before making these) but then I read the reveiws. Not happy with them. Since a pickup truck is like 70% weighted up front and my double cab being like 5k lbs i said forget it. Plus my tires are kinda wide (285/70/17). plus plastic degrades with certain chemicals and becomes brittle. and id bet in the winter it could crack.

I would feel ok putting a commercial truck on top of these and crawling under it. I cant say the same about a plastic ramp.

As far as having a lip in the front to prevent someone from driving over the edge. Its not going to happen to me. If you think youre not capable of keeping it on the ramps, maybe they are not for you (or add a bump stop to yours). Besides, its not like you cant drive off the edge of a metal or plastic ram

and DIY FTW !!! WOOT!

BigMac · Post by **BigMac** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:21 am

packfan88 wrote:If you think youre not capable of keeping it on the ramps, maybe they are not for you (or add a bump stop to yours).

Easy to say, until one day you accidentally end up crushing both rocker panels. I used ramps for years, and never had an accident with them; but even on those with lips there were a couple close calls.

packfan88 wrote:Besides, its not like you cant drive off the edge of a metal or plastic ram

Very true, which was my point: ramps are less safe than a jack (with jackstands, of course). Don't get me wrong: I'm not knocking what you did -- I think you came up with a handy solution, and I can empathize with not having a garage because I don't have one anymore myself. What I'm trying to say, to others as well as you, is that ramps are inherently more risky than a jack (especially if you don't have someone guiding you as you roll onto them), and one can generally tempt fate for only so long before something unplanned and ugly happens, despite the best-laid plans and best of intentions.

Good luck; I really hope you won't be as overconfident using them as you sound.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 8:05 am

The wooden ones will be relatively stable on a flat surface, but on a surface where the middle is the primary contact point, they may not be so hot. I would have used 2 x 10's or 12's, but that's just me.

You can't add 4 blocks without raising the entry point. Which may or may not cause issues when first hitting the ramp.

As far as backing onto the ramps, I suggest a pair of old/new rubber floor mats under them to keep them from sliding. This is also an issue with RWD cars going forward, as the tires are not driven.

packfan88 · Post by **packfan88** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:19 pm

BigMac wrote:
packfan88 wrote:If you think youre not capable of keeping it on the ramps, maybe they are not for you (or add a bump stop to yours).
Easy to say, until one day you accidentally end up crushing both rocker panels. I used ramps for years, and never had an accident with them; but even on those with lips there were a couple close calls.

packfan88 wrote:Besides, its not like you cant drive off the edge of a metal or plastic ram
Very true, which was my point: ramps are less safe than a jack (with jackstands, of course). Don't get me wrong: I'm not knocking what you did -- I think you came up with a handy solution, and I can empathize with not having a garage because I don't have one anymore myself. What I'm trying to say, to others as well as you, is that ramps are inherently more risky than a jack (especially if you don't have someone guiding you as you roll onto them), and one can generally tempt fate for only so long before something unplanned and ugly happens, despite the best-laid plans and best of intentions.

Good luck; I really hope you won't be as overconfident using them as you sound.

What exactly is the point of your post?

If i told you I would never die from a shark attack cause I never go in the ocean you say "yeah but dont be so sure. you could be in the aquarium and fall in the shark tank."

ejclide · Post by **ejclide** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 11:10 pm

packfan88 wrote:What exactly is the point of your post?

Before anyone gets hurt feelings, just keep in mind that the point of this forum is for people to gain knowledge. Where your contraption here is an interesting and useful idea, others are simply warning people of the possible mishaps that could occur. I don't know about you, but I like to be as well informed as I can be

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 6:41 am

lol, I've been using stepped ramps like this for my RT for years. Made mine out of 2X4's with a stop and the top. 4 steps up and when I feel the car stop going forward I stop. My brothers stratus needed these to get on the lift in my garage but I had to remove the bump stops because of how low is car was and without the stoppers I actually drove over them and crushed is passenger side rocker panel

I definitely like the wider board idea but make sure you put the bump stops on!

nerox · Post by **nerox** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 6:43 am

great idea! just dont drive off the end ....

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:11 am

packfan88 wrote:What exactly is the point of your post?

'Nuff said.

BigMac · Post by **BigMac** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:35 am

Exactly.