There’s a good chance some of your time as a car owner will be spent on maintenance. After all, it’s one of the easiest ways to prolong your vehicle’s lifespan for more road trips and adventures.
While taking your car to an auto shop when you notice problems is ideal, some battles are worth fighting on your own. Owning car ramps and jack stands is a must if you want to perform repairs yourself.
Caution: Whenever raising your vehicle, no matter what you’re using, you need to be on hard, level ground. If you don’t have concrete pavement, you need to have a substantial piece of wood that is large enough to prevent the jack or jack stand(s) from sinking into hot asphalt or dirt. Additionally, don’t try to use ramps unless you have a level place. Cars weigh thousands of pounds and can cause fatal injury, so always lock the park brakes while the vehicle is raised.
What Are Car Ramps?
Car ramps are wedge-shaped assemblies made of metal, polymers, plastics, or rubber. They can lift the front or rear of a vehicle to provide drivers with enough clearance for maintenance tasks without hoisting or jacking up the car.
What Are Jack Stands?
Jack stands are NOT used to lift your vehicle; you need a good jack for that, and it needs to be better than the one that came with the vehicle for changing a tire.
But you can’t trust any kind of jack to hold the vehicle up while you’re under it on the ground or on a creeper, so you need jack stands to support the vehicle after you jack it up if you plan to work underneath the vehicle.
While you can change a flat tire without a jack stand or jack stands, make sure you do it on a hard level surface and with a substantial piece of wood under the base of the jack if you are on hot asphalt or dirt, and keep your feet and legs out of the way in case the car falls.
Car Ramps vs. Jack Stands
They function similarly, but there are key differences between car ramps and jack stands. Here’s how they compare based on safety, ease of use, flexibility, and use cases.
Safety
The main benefit of ramps is that you don’t need anything else. With ramps, you can raise the vehicle by simply driving the front or rear wheels onto the ramps. No jack is needed if you simply want clearance for something like an oil change.
The downside is that with the wheels sitting on the ramps, you can’t remove the tires and/or work on the brakes if you’re using ramps.
Car ramps are also more stable and somewhat safer than jack stands because.they provide higher stability due to their larger surface area on the bottom (ground side) and the top (tire side) of the ramp.
On the other hand, jack stands require precise positioning to ensure safety.
Ease of Use
Car ramps are simple to use because you only have to place them down, drive your car up to their slope, engage the parking brake, and set the wheel chocks.
Meanwhile, jack stands require you to engage the parking brake, chock the wheels, lift the car using the hydraulic jack, and place the stands under the lift points.
In short, car ramps are slightly easier to use than jack stands because they don’t require another machine.
Flexibility
Jack stands are slightly more versatile than ramps because they’re suitable for different work environments. They work well for any modern vehicle, as long as it’s not too tall or low.
Also, jack stands are better suited for more advanced technicians, as they help with more intricate maintenance, such as working on brakes, exhaust work, or tire rotation.
Ramps, on the other hand, work best on smooth and hard surfaces because they distribute the vehicle’s weight evenly. As such, using them on uneven footing could be hard and risky.
Use Cases
Car ramps are easier to use, making them ideal for beginners and simpler tasks like changing oil. They’re also more affordable and safer.
On the other hand, jack stands are perfect for intricate maintenance like fixing the brakes, working on the exhaust systems, or rotating tires. This makes them more suited for more experienced DIY-ers.
Car Ramps: Pros and Cons
The biggest advantage of using car ramps is their simplicity. Place them in front of the tires, drive your vehicle up, set the emergency brakes, and you’re good to go.
They also provide more elevation than jacks (although some are taller than others), so you won’t need to adjust their height or move them around to find the perfect angle. Most car ramps also have side rails to give proper wheel spacing.
However, car ramps limit what you can tinker with on your vehicle.
You can’t remove the wheels or tires without additionally jacking up their side when you use car ramps. They also make it so the vehicle is low to the ground, especially those with low front noses.
Ramps also give a steeper angle, failing to provide the same level of stability as jack stands. You also can’t adjust the ramps, and they require a wider base for extra support, making them harder to store.
Jack Stands: Pros and Cons
Jack stands are versatile and reliable. They provide more support and stability because you place the car directly underneath the frame.
The downside is that jack stands take longer to set up than ramps. They’re heavy and require more manual labor to assemble.
Other drawbacks are their expensive price tag (because you need to buy both the jack and the stands) and the risks involved in using jacks if you don’t set them up properly.
FAQs About Car Ramps and Jack Stands
Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about car ramps and jack stands.
Where Do I Put the Jack Stand Under the Car?
You must place the jack stand under the car frame at the reinforced point, which is usually on tow hooks on the front or back of the vehicle or the stabilizer bars directly behind the vehicle’s wheels.
How Do I Use Car Ramps?
Follow the steps below to use car ramps properly:
- Step 1: Place the ramps in an open space, then position the vehicle in front. Ensure the wheels are pointing straight and slide the ramps in front of the front wheels.
- Step 2: Double-check the alignment of the wheels and slowly drive up the ramp.
- Step 3: Stop the car once it’s on top of the ramps.
- Step 4: Engage the parking brake, check the vehicle’s position, then wedge the wheel chocks behind the opposite set of wheels.
Tips for Jacking a Vehicle Up
When you’re jacking a vehicle up, you need to know where to place the jack and you need to know where to place the stands after the vehicle is jacked up. The weight of the car can only be supported by certain parts of the frame or body and you need to know where to place the jack when raising the vehicle and where to place the stands after you’ve jacked up the vehicle.
Where to Get Quality Car Ramps and Jack Stands for Repair Work
Quality car ramps and jack stands are a must-have if you plan to start automotive DIYing. Both these tools hold your car up off the ground and if either of them fail at the wrong time it could spell disaster. Thankfully, you can find quality car ramps and jack stands at CarParts.com.
CarParts.com helps you order online with confidence. We offer only quality repair tools in our catalog, all of them backed by our 60-day return policy. If anything seems amiss with your new repair tools, reach out to our helpful and friendly customer service team. They’re ready to help around the clock. In addition, if you find any of the tools we offer on a competitor’s site for cheaper, we’re happy to meet or beat their price on the spot.
Don’t risk your safety when working on your automotive projects. Buy quality car ramps or jack stands from CarParts.com.
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