Ramps For DIY Oil Change?

I am using Rhino Ramps I bought at Auto Zone, I think mine are 8000 (for 8000 lbs) but they also make a 12000 model. I put a 2 inch plank under them to make sure I can get the oil plug/filter door to swing down enough. I think the incline on both models is 17 degrees and the car goes up just fine without hitting any of the plastic pieces in the front.

 

Tumbleweed,
Please say more about how exactly you put a 2 inch plank under your Rhino Ramps to get your Prius up high enough so that access door swings freely. I changed my oil with those same ramps and the car was not high enough so I ended up using a hydraulic floor jack (and jack stands) to get it higher. I considered putting "planks" under the ramps (perpendicular to them) but felt that might take away the integrity of the ramps. What dimensions are your planks? Exactly where did you place these planks?

I shopped for higher ramps and could not find any low angle ones that would raise the car a bit higher.

 

Sorry I should have explained better. What I do may not work for others. I have a cement slab out by my shop that is 2 or 3 inches above ground level, it had a storage shed on it at one time. By putting the back wheels on the slab and the front wheels on the ramps, which set on their planks over the lawn, I have a nice place to crawl under the car and the access door just clears enough to open and the car is pretty level. I use a big piece of cardboard to lay on but I have to be careful not to spill oil on the lawn.

I haven't tried it in the driveway yet so I'm not sure how that will work, it may require two planks (actually two pair) on each side. I will need long planks for that because they will need to be positioned so the car can climb up on one set of planks, then the other, then the ramps. I think it can be done though because that's what I did with my BMW which had about an inch less ground clearance than the Prius.

The Rino Ramps are 12 inches wide and I use a pair of 2 x 6 planks (left over from a deck job) on each side laid down side by side. It sounds a lot worse than it is, it's actually very stable and there is no danger of the car falling or anything like that. I'm very much into self preservation and I would never climb under it if there was any chance of it coming down on me.

 

Those Rhino ramps are what I use too. Got them for $35.99

Larger versions of these photos are available in the downloadable Oil Change document.

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I don't know how you get the car on ramps. I tried but every time I kick the ramps under the car. It's the only car I've owned that I can't get on ramps. I think because it has so much torque at low rpm. I give it the gas slowly and nothing happens. I give it a little more and the ramps go flying.

 

I looked at the rhino ramps but was not satisfied with the height. Went to the metal shop at the local high school and had them made. Had them made with a 3" pitch which made the incline 40" long to get a 10" rise and top pad is 15" long. This makes the ramps almost 5 feet tall and with 1" angle iron they weigh a ton but work great. Cost was $75 for the pair.

 

Put a 6' long piece of 1" x 12" board perpendicular to the ramps.
Drive the wheels onto the board to elevate the front end, then onto the ramps.
Works for me..........

 

I'll give it a try thanks.

 

I've had/used these same ramps since 2004 for servicing our Plymouth Mini-van (CFC turned that car into my wife's '09 Prius ). They worked well provided your wheels were straight, aligned front to back, and both ramps jammed snug into the front wheels . The ones I have have a rubber block under the leading edge of the ramp to keep the ramp from sliding as you mount them. With the mini-van, if I wasn't careful the wheels would spin when on the ramp portion but I never had any problems driving off the top.

I recently used them to do an oil change on my '06 Prius and had none on the spinning issues. The high torque of the MG's drove the car up the ramps with a very light touch to the pedal. They gave me plenty of clearance but in the end I elected not to use them. On an '06 the ramp tilted the oil pan away from the plug so it would of left more oil in the pan than if it was level; so I did the change while on level ground. But the '06 has no hinged cover issues.

One final comment, and probably the most important. If you look closely at the photos you can see the ramps deform under weight which is not a problem provided they are continuously supported underneath. They are not designed to be blocked up so that they are spanning between blocks to provide a greater height. To do so would put the ramps in tension while supporting the car and they are not designed to do that. Failure in tension would likely be sudden with little or no warning. Use caution and a little common sense.

 

I used the same ramps with no problem. Jamb them up against the tires and the car rolls up steady. On flat ground the cover pulled down and rubbed the ground but was able to push forward with no problem to clear the oil drip pan. I am very happy with my ramps. I would love more clearance, but it is not necessary to ge the job done.