Looking for the best car ramps for your garage?
Don't worry, we've got your back!
In this ProperMechanic.com guide, you'll learn:
- What car service ramps do
- The different types of car ramps
- How car service ramps work
And much more!
The only products of more value to the at-home mechanic than those that enhance simplicity, are those that promote safety. That why some heavy duty car service ramps are a fantastic addition to every car owners' gear.
Some of the most valuable garage accessories are those that make our lives easier.
And one of the best ways to make your life easier in the garage, is to invest in the best car ramps for your car.
At times, servicing or repairing our vehicles can be quite tedious, and any purchase that simplifies the process is likely well warranted.
So, before you invest in a high-quality car service ramp for your shop, take a look at our guide below to know what to look for!
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Our Top Pick
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Our Top Pick
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RhinoGear RhinoRamps
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View on Amazon |
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Best Budget
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Best Budget
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Motorup America Multi-Level Ramp Chock Block
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View on Amazon |
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Best High End
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Best High End
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Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps
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View on Amazon |
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Tomioka Racing Super Slopes
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View on Amazon | |
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Nicky Nice Solid Steel Auto Ramp Set
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View on Amazon |
Our Overall #1 Rated Pick
(updated 4/16/2020)
Top Overal Pick:
RhinoGear RhinoRamps are a perfect addition to the garage of any avid DIY home mechanic.
This 2 piece ramp features an extra-wide footprint and 12,000 pound GVW (gross vehicle weight) capacity that makes them extremely versatile in their range of suitable applications.
From compact cars to heavier vehicles, these ramps have you covered.
Top 5 Best Car Ramps
In a hurry? Check out our Top 5 picks below! Keep reading to learn more about these amazing car ramps!
What Are Car Ramps?
Any time that the avid DIY mechanic can locate a product that covers both bases simultaneously, they are onto something.
This perfectly describes the purchase of a quality set of vehicle ramps.
Not only does the use of vehicle ramps rid your time in the garage of unnecessary struggle and strife, but it just might save you from a life-altering, or ending, injury.
By driving your vehicle onto a set of vehicle ramps, you are afforded the ability to access its undercarriage, without the use of a cumbersome floor jack.
A quality set of vehicle ramps are also inherently stable, oftentimes substantially more so than a floor jack.
This is game-changing, as there is no room for error when stability comes down to a matter of life and death.
Car ramps are wedge-shaped forms that the front tires of a vehicle can be driven upon, to elevate its front end into the air for better access to its undercarriage. Vehicle ramps generally consist of a metallic or hardened rubber construction.
The use of car ramps is of benefit in two ways, safety, and simplicity. The combination of these two factors makes the purchase of quality car ramps a winning proposition.
Safety
In the absence of vehicle ramps, an individual must use a car jack to lift the front of their vehicle, to service any component underneath its front end.
When a vehicle’s front end is elevated, its front tires lose contact with the ground, and stability can be negatively impacted. This necessitates the use of jack stands to secure the vehicle, if your jack were to fail.
However, when a vehicle is driven onto a set of quality car ramps at the proper lift height, weight is still distributed between all four wheel-end locations, retaining stability.
These ramps are held in place under the weight of the vehicle that they are supporting, and most are rated for a total weight capacity that far exceeds that of virtually any passenger vehicle.
Simplicity: Raising the front end of your vehicle with the use of vehicle ramps is seldom any more difficult than pulling into a narrow parking spot.
Simply line your vehicle’s front tires up with the ramps, and ease forward until you have crested their peak.
This is a far cry simpler than using a car jack and jack stands, or even a car lift to raise the front end of your vehicle. The use of a car jack can be quite inefficient, especially if you are unfamiliar with your vehicle’s designated lifting points.
Lifting your car with a car jack typically becomes a battle of raising and lowering your vehicle once or twice until you are finally satisfied with the jack's positioning. This is then followed by the placement of jack stands, that inevitably do not fit in place as you had hoped.
You can entirely bypass this hassle with the use of quality car ramps. For more on vehicle ramps vs. jack stands, read this article.
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What Are The Different Types Of Car Ramps?
Since vehicles come in all shapes and sizes, no car ramp is completely universal across the board. Because of this, manufacturers have developed several ramps that are engineered to fit particular applications.
Standard Vehicle Passenger Vehicle Ramps- Standard passenger vehicle ramps are specifically designed for use with most cars and light trucks.
From smaller passenger cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra, to ½ ton trucks such as the Ford F-150 and Ram 1500, these ramps cover the majority of vehicles on the road today.
Heavy-Duty Ramps- If you own a larger ¾ ton truck or cargo van, your vehicle’s extra heft warrants the use of a heavy-duty ramp.
Many of these ramps are made of steel and offer a weight capacity that is far higher than standard passenger vehicle ramps.
Low Profile Ramps
Low-profile car ramps cater to vehicles that have a low ground clearance to clear the degree angle presented by standard passenger car ramps. These ramps are often slightly longer than standard vehicle ramps, offering a more gradual rise that prevents the dragging of the front bumper or other low lying components.
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How Do Car Ramps Work?
Car ramps allow a vehicle’s front end to be raised off of the ground, without the use of a typical floor jack.
Instead of manually lifting your vehicle’s front end, you simply drive your vehicle onto the ramps, set your parking brake, place jack stands as needed, and wheel chock your rear tires. You are then ready to begin work.
This allows easy access to the underside of your vehicle for many tasks, including oil changes, sensor replacement, and steering component repair.
These are all tasks that would be difficult to impossible with your vehicle sitting at ground level.
When vehicle ramps are placed on a flat, even work surface, they are inherently stable due to the downforce created by the weight of the vehicle that they support.
This generally creates just as safe, if not safer, of a working environment than if a car or truck were to be supported by a car jack.
Car ramps vary widely in the maximum height at which they are capable of raising a vehicle. However, the majority of vehicle ramps will yield an additional vehicle-to-ground clearance of 5”-9”.
Low profile ramps generally offer the least substantial increase in height, due to their conservative angles. On the other hand, heavy-duty ramps generally feature some of the most significant working heights of all ramp varieties.
The vast majority of vehicle ramps also feature some degree of texturing to aid in traction when driving on and off of their working surfaces. This can come in the form of divots and ridges or a combination of the two.
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What Do You Look For In The Best Car Ramps?
When seeking the best car ramps to cover all of your automotive care needs, several factors must be considered to streamline the process. The following factors all come into play when attempting to decide which car ramps to purchase.
Weight Capacity- The first factor that must be considered when purchasing a set of car ramps, is the overall weight of your vehicle. This is extremely important, as a failure to purchase ramps with a maximum weight capacity that exceeds the weight of your vehicle can result in severe injury or death.
Ramp Height- It is also important to consider how much ground clearance you will need, to provide you with ample room to access points of interest along your vehicle’s undercarriage.
Cars often need to be raised slightly higher than trucks or SUVs to achieve the same amount of clearance, due to their lower ride height.
Ramp Width- Not all tire widths are the same, with some naturally featuring a wider profile than others.
This is of special concern when you own a truck or any vehicle that no longer utilizes OEM tire sizes. It is helpful to measure the width of your front tires and compare this figure to those provided in a particular ramp’s product description.
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Our Reviews of the Best Car Ramps
Pick #1: RhinoGear RhinoRamps
RhinoGear RhinoRamps are a perfect addition to the garage of any avid DIY home mechanic.
This 2 piece ramp features an extra-wide footprint and 12,000 pound GVW (gross vehicle weight) capacity that makes them extremely versatile in their range of suitable applications.
From compact cars to heavier vehicles, these ramps have you covered.
This product also meets and exceeds all P.A.L.D. (Portable Automotive Lifting Device) standards, providing you with peace of mind regarding your overall safety.
This is further aided by the ramps’ Core-Trac non-skid feet, which greatly reduce the chance of ramp slippage.
When you have completed your task for the day, RhinoGear RhinoRamps can be easily stored, as they are nestable to minimize the use of storage space. This keeps your garage clutter-free and allows you to maximize every inch of available workspace.
Pros
Cons
Motorup America Multi-Level Ramp Chock Block have recently achieved quite the following among vehicle owners who choose to maintain their own cars and trucks.
These ramps feature an 8,000-pound per-axle weight capacity, that easily caters to most any model of passenger car or light truck.
Motorup America Multi-Level Ramp Chock Blocks are extremely versatile in the height at which they allow a vehicle to be raised.
These ramps feature graduated step increments, allowing you to position your car at a comfortable working level, upon every use. The further you pull forward the higher your vehicle is raised.
These ramps also feature a durable, non-slip surface that promotes traction and stability. This assists you in your ability to lift your vehicle quickly and efficiently, and also ensures that it will stay as desired when parked in place
Pros
Cons
Pick #3: Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps
Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps make quick work out of raising your vehicle’s front end for service.
Each ramp weighs approximately 6 pounds, making transport a breeze, if the need should arise.
This set of ramps also features an anti-slip/skin coating, that keeps you safe, and eliminates costly garage floor damage.
These ramps are also notable for their gradual height increase, which comes as quite the benefit for anyone that owns a lowered vehicle, or a car with a naturally low stance.
The angle of the incline itself is 16.7 degrees, up to the point where the incline shelfs off.
Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps are best suited for use with small to moderate-sized cars. Each ramp is eight inches in width and supports 1,500 pounds. By these figures, you will likely want to forgo the use of these ramps in conjunction with trucks of any size.
Pros
Cons
Pick #4: Tomioka Racing Super Slopes
If your performance vehicle features virtually no ground clearance to speak of, adequately lifting and supporting its front end for maintenance can seem virtually impossible.
However, Tomioka Racing Super Slopes offers a solution to this age-old problem with its Super Slope line of automotive ramps. These ramps are capable of lifting even the most lowered vehicles on the road today.
Whether you are spending a Saturday afternoon working in the garage, or need to make some quick repairs while at the track, Tomioka Racing Super Slopes have you covered.
These ramps are extremely compact, and only weigh 5 pounds apiece, making them the perfect ramps for those on the go.
It is worth mentioning that these ramps provide a maximum lift of 2.5”, which can be slightly limiting in the workspace that they provide. However, this is to be expected when conducting repair or maintenance on vehicles that feature an extremely low stance.
Pros
Cons
Pick #5: Nicky Nice Solid Steel Auto Ramp Set
When many people hear the term “Car Ramps”, Nicky Nice Solid Steel Auto Ramps are likely close to what they envision.
These ramps consist of a classic, time-tested design that has been around for many years, offering excellent reliability along the way. Nicky Nice has adopted this design and taken it to the next level.
These vehicle ramps are constructed of steel and are rated at a maximum weight capacity of 2000 pounds each. This makes the Nicky Nice Solid Steel Auto Ramp Set the perfect fit for use with almost any size car, and even some small pickups.
This ramp set features raised safety ribs, as well as punched and extruded traction holes on both incline surfaces. This not only assists consumers in positioning their car on the ramps but helps to safeguard against inadvertently overshooting a ramp’s shelf.
Pros
Cons
Our Top Pick: Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps
Race Ramps Service Sports Ramps are still our #1 pick simply because they're so versatile.
For most mechanics, these will get the job done for you when it comes to lifting your car up enough to get to work.
With a super high GW of 12,000 and an extra-wide tread, they're a high-quality choice for your garage's arsenal!
Plus, they're an excellent value for the money! Check the low price now on Amazon.
A Ramp for Simplicity and Safety
Attempting to lift the front of your car or truck for routine maintenance, or much-needed repairs is a matter worthy of any DIY mechanic's full attention. When working underneath a vehicle, it takes only one mistake and a mere moment for something tragic to take place.
With so much on the line, it is only natural to seek the best product to complete this task most safely and efficiently possible. For many, this is all that is needed to justify the purchase of a quality set of vehicle ramps.
Though there are many ramps on the market today, some naturally stand out above the rest. In this case, we feel that RhinoGear RhinoRamps are a fine illustration of this point.
These ramps have passed rigorous testing to keep consumers safe, and are the only resin ramp that meets and exceeds P.A.L.D. (Portable Automotive Lifting Device) standards.
This adherence to safety is further cemented by the use of Core-Trac non-skid feet, which minimize the risk of ramp slippage.
In addition to the element of safety provided by the RhinoGear RhinoRamps, this set also has a weight capacity that far exceeds that of many other offerings in today's market.
With a GVW (gross vehicle weight) rating of 12,000 pounds, these ramps can handle most anything that the average consumer will throw at it.
Finding suitable storage for these ramps is also a non-issue. RhinoGear RhinoRamps nest together and can be easily stored away for later use, allowing you to move about your garage without the hassle of tripping over bulky, difficult to store ramps.
When conducting a broad comparison across the board, between the top car ramps on the market today, it is quite easy to see that there is no shortage of great options.
However, if I was going to purchase just one set of automotive ramps to cover all of my car care needs from this point forward, it would definitely choose RhinoGear RhinoRamps.
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