Close shave. Drive on ramp broke

[R129mine]

Just drive my car up the low level entry ramp this afternoon to finish up some cosmetic work under the front of
hen I heard a noise.

stopped car had a look and-immediately reversed back down.


I have had these for years and never had an issue obviously. In fact I had the rear of the car on these exact same ramps this morning when I was getting rid of some surface rust.

I will be using my axle stands tomorrow again but what ramps do people use. As I used to feel more secure under a ramp than an axle stand (too wobbly imho)

one more

 

[phobos]

Hello, I use these and they take my S212 E350 with no issues, quite wide as well so good for larger tyres:

DURHAND 1 Pair Heavy Duty 5 Ton Plastic Garage Workshop Car Service Ramps Lifting Automotive Vehicle Portable Low Clearance : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

DURHAND 1 Pair Heavy Duty 5 Ton Plastic Garage Workshop Car Service Ramps Lifting Automotive Vehicle Portable Low Clearance : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Those stands kind of look familiar.

Apart from aging, there's the question of whether they were ever really strong enough to safely carry a 1.8 tonne luxury V8.

A modern Halfords car ramp is limited at just two tonnes - and that's a ramp sold in the age of the chubby SUV.

I suspect that ten years ago the standard might have been a bit lower.

As Old Dads say, "Avoid trusting your body to an axle stand or car ramp"

 

[markjay]

Scary stuff....

 

[219]

Just drive my car up the low level entry ramp this afternoon to finish up some cosmetic work under the front of
hen I heard a noise.

stopped car had a look and-immediately reversed back down.
View attachment 102284

I have had these for years and never had an issue obviously. In fact I had the rear of the car on these exact same ramps this morning when I was getting rid of some surface rust.

I will be using my axle stands tomorrow again but what ramps do people use. As I used to feel more secure under a ramp than an axle stand (too wobbly imho)

one more
View attachment 102285

I have two pairs just like those , except mine are painted red .

how old are yours ? I might feel inclined to take this up with the manufacturer- looks like the weld failed .

 

[219]

The main thing is no one was hurt or killed . Also worth mentioning to the manufacturer.

 

[rf065]

Maybe it's the engineer in me, but one look at those ramps and the quality of the welds, I would have had them in the scrap heap as soon as I first saw them. Putting your car on them was your second mistake!

 

[R129mine]

bought them in 2013 from amazon for £50, had a bit of a search

Cougar CRW25-COU-FPS 2.5 Tonne Ramp Wide Pair Car Maintenance Lifting Equipment Ramps : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Cougar CRW25-COU-FPS 2.5 Tonne Ramp Wide Pair Car Maintenance Lifting Equipment Ramps : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

www.amazon.co.uk

weight rate 2.5 tonne

i had the Cayenne on there earlier in the year when I replaced the prop shaft bearing,

I like the ones suggested earlier, nice and solid and no dodgy welds to worry about

 

[AW8]

Spookily similar to mine....

I used mine to go under my Range Rover Sport.....oh and some old woolworths axle stands

I am unsure if approach angle or tyre footprint location on ramp could be a factor.

When researching I saw some mixed reviews on some so called heavy duty plastic ramps

 

[phobos]

Spookily similar to mine....

I used mine to go under my Range Rover Sport.....oh and some old woolworths axle stands

I am unsure if approach angle or tyre footprint location on ramp could be a factor.

When researching I saw some mixed reviews on some so called heavy duty plastic ramps

I had the same thoughts driven by the reviews, when I bought mine, but I used mine for years and never had a single issue
Also I always play on the safe side and put axle stands underneath the car ( on the correct points). Safety 1st!

 

[tonysmb]

That's not good, time to check mine I think.

 

[KennyN]

Wonder why the upright wasn`t welded to the underside of the angle-iron , rather than the side , as it would be much stronger and less prone to serious failure should the Monday morning weld give way.

K

 

[rf065]

Wonder why the upright wasn`t welded to the underside of the angle-iron , rather than the side , as it would be much stronger and less prone to serious failure should the Monday morning weld give way.

K

They've been made to sell at a low price point, safety and strength were a secondary consideration. The quality of the welds on show are very poor. But paint over it and most people will not be able to tell how cheap they were made.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Those look like the things we used to put our old Imps on many many years ago, almost identical.

Wouldn't put any of the Mercs on them, we have some real heavy duty ones we use if we really need to along with axle stands.

 

[GeeJayW]

Have had a similar looking set in my my garage for at least twenty-years. Last used them a couple months ago doing some work on the Mazda. Never really considered they might fail like that. Yeah, scary!

 

[renault12ts]

Maybe it's the engineer in me, but one look at those ramps and the quality of the welds, I would have had them in the scrap heap as soon as I first saw them. Putting your car on them was your second mistake!

Me too. Looks a poor design also. The support would have been stronger under the side piece rather than glued to the side.

 

[Dickster]

Yeah, I had some of those for years but always hated them, and eventually threw them out.

 

[stevenicks]

Certainly a wake up call for me I think.

 

[E55BOF]

I have a pair of those like the OP's; had them for donkey's years. I think they can go to the dump and I'll get a pair of the five-ton Durhands.

Phobos, do you ever find the ramps tend to move forward rather than stay put when you drive on to them?

 

[horatio]

Wow.

I only have a very slightly sloping block paved drive to work on, a bit iffy. When theres a simple repair needed underneath the car it’s so tempting to think “just this one time” rather than go to the effort of taking it to a garage. You could lose a limb in a split second. I bet anyone working on A&E has seen it.