Before the car moves
Most of the work here is preparation, and it is the reason this is a short procedure with a good safety record when followed.
1.Check the rating
Your door-jamb sticker gives gross vehicle weight rating. Compare it against the most restrictive figure the ramp publishes — GVW per pair, or per-ramp load. See best car ramps for how the three rating styles differ.
2.Sweep the floor
Where the ramp base will sit, and along the approach. Loose grit acts as rollers under a ramp base. This step is free and it prevents the most common failure.
3.Place the ramps touching the tires
Butt each ramp's leading edge against the front face of the tire so there is no gap to kick it into, and line them up straight ahead — not angled. Check both sides are the same distance from the wheel.
4.Get a spotter if you can
From the driver's seat you cannot see a ramp beginning to move. Someone standing clear and to the side can.
Driving on
1.Walking pace, straight, steady throttle
Enough to climb, no more. If a tire spins or the car stops climbing, come back off and look at why. The answer is almost always grit, a crooked ramp, or an approach angle your car cannot clear — see ramp angle and clearance.
2.Stop on the flat, in the middle
You are aiming for the middle of the landing, not the front edge. A short wedge gives a small landing, so this needs a bit of attention the first few times.
3.Secure and chock
Engine off. Automatic in park, manual in gear. Parking brake on. Chock behind a rear wheel — on both sides if the floor has any slope. Then push the car firmly at a corner: nothing should move, including the ramps.
While you are under there
The car is supported by its own wheels, which is stable and reassuring. Two things to stay aware of:
- Do not undo anything that carries load. Suspension components, wheel fasteners, anything holding the car's weight path together stays where it is.
- Keep your legs out from behind the rear wheels. If the car were ever to roll, that is the direction it goes.
The car is also nose-up, which matters for fluid levels. Do not set a final oil level on the ramps — see best ramps for an oil change.
Coming off
Everything out from under the car first — tools, drain pan, creeper, the lot. Remove the chock. Start the engine, release the parking brake, and reverse straight back down at the same walking pace you came up. Do not turn the wheel while the tires are on the ramp surface; come down straight and steer once you are on the floor.
Mistakes worth naming
The short version
- Leaving a gap between the ramp and the tire, so the tire kicks the ramp forward
- Adding throttle when the bumper touches the ramp
- Approaching at an angle rather than straight on
- Stopping with a tire near the front edge of the landing
- Forgetting the rear chock because the parking brake feels sufficient
- Turning the steering wheel while still on the ramps on the way down