Car Ramps - Worth Every Penny When Working on Your Car

More and more car owners are choosing to work on their cars instead of taking them in for repairs given the rather dire economic turn of events. If you are or intend to join the group, allow me to give you a tip - buying ramps is well worth the money spent.

The average automobile has come a long way in the last 20 years. You used to be able to pop the hood on a car and find enough space for you to practically stand in the engine area. In the 50s and 60s, people used to actually sit in the engine compartment to work on their cars. Those days are long gone. Pop the hood now and it can be shocking. Every inch of the engine compartment is crammed to the hilt with components.

The lack of space makes it difficult to work on your car. Designers apparently assumed anyone working on the car would have arms that were really thin and had 20 joints in them! Obviously, that's not the case. The real truth is most cars are supposed to be worked on from the bottom up. This is why mechanics have those lifts. You probably can't afford them, but car ramps are an inexpensive alternative that will make your life a lot easier.

Car ramps are exactly what they sound like. There are two of them. They are designed like right triangles with a fairly gentle slope. You figure out where you want to work on your car. It should be a flat surface! You then drive the car half way into the area. Line up the ramps in front of each tire and then slowly drive the car up on the ramps. Park it, put the parking brake on, place something behind the rear tires to brace them and you are ready to go.

Why are car ramps so great? Most cars sit fairly low to the ground. You can slide in under them, but actually working on the car can be a pain because your forearm tends to be longer than the vertical space between the ground and the engine components. To actually do anything, you have to sort of slide off to the side and angle your arm towards the component. The advantage is you can work on the component. The disadvantage is you can't see what you are doing. While you think you are loosing the oil plug, you actually are removing the fuel filter and that just ain't good news!

Your car ramps solve these problems. Most ramps will lift the car a couple feet of the ground. That doesn't sound like much, but it makes a world of difference. You can actually see and work on components without trying to bend yourself like a gymnast at the Olympics. At the same time, the engine components are not too far away from your hands.

Money spent on car ramps is money well spent if your weekend includes getting under the car. Make sure to give them a look.

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