Picked up a set of these two piece plastic ones (ramp portion can be removed from flat platform portion), because they looked like any other plastic ones I've seen. Box says made in USA.

Anybody have any final words of wisdom before I put my life in the hands of HF? Terrible idea?

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Andrew
Montclair, NJ
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1982 300D Turbo
120k
Petrol Blue Green

Got pics of the actual ramps? ( Top , bottom , sides ) Without pics it is hard to tell if they are OK or not.

Look for a stamping with a brand name. Also, most plastic has an arrow triangle marking what type of plastic it is.

I would get the Rhino Ramps from Walmart. They actually are made in the USA.

They are made from glass reinforced polyester - really tough stuff. Lots of internal bracing.

__________________
The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

I cant speak to the HF ones exactly, but I had some that had open bottoms, with no grip tape or anything and a sealed garage floor. They tended to fly out from the front of the car when I would drive on them. Some rubber matts would probably have helped though. I could barely get my air-cooled bug on them, much less the much heavier 300d with more weight on the front end. Just something to be aware of.

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'85 300D - federal spec, built in late 84. 85 300D Complete AC System Rebuild

Sometimes I think I'm a broken record....but I'm a great fan of cribs. If it's possible to work under the car without jack stands and ramps I'll do so.

Safely working under the car - Mercedes-Benz Forum

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Current Stable

• 380SL (diesel)
• Corvette C5
• Manx
• Baja Bug
• F350 Powerstroke
• Auburn Boattail Speedster replica

Can't speak for the HF ramps, but I have a set of 12000lbs rated Rhino ramps myself, and I use those all the time. They do not scoot against my concrete floor when I drive up on them; they are very stable. However, my jack can lift the car high enough to where I can jack the car up on the ramps, instead of driving it on. Much easier in my tiny garage, because I can line the trunk up with the garage door and then lift the front end onto the ramps so I have maximum space in front.

I do however always put a jack stand on either side and I stack 2x6's and 2x4's in such a way that they are almost touching the rocker panels.

Just in case.... I'd rather be too cautious than dead.

__________________
"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

Speaking of jacks.... I recently bought an aluminum floor jack at HF. Strange thing. If I pump it up and drop the car on it, it works great as a jack stand. But if I try to pump up the car, it just sits there. I'm torn between returning it and taking it apart to see how it accomplishes this trick.

i like those cribs.

the ramps i picked up are made by these people: Quality Automotive Parts, made in the USA, Magnum Automotive Group

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Andrew
Montclair, NJ
--------------
1982 300D Turbo
120k
Petrol Blue Green

I've started using jack stands in addition to my Rhino Ramps. Figure the redundancy can't hurt.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 157k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 175k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 144k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 70k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

i'm going to continue using jack stands as backups. i don't trust those alone either, so perhaps ramps + stands + jack under the jackpoint is triple protection I can deal with.

I have the harbor aluminum floor jack. i've used it a number of times over the past 6 months, but recently it looks like it might be twisting when I have the car raised. concerning. Looks completely normal, straight and true when it's unloaded. obviously, i'd NEVER use any jack as a support while getting under vehicle. But i don't know, now I'm thinking about just getting a more reputable floor jack - not another HF. and no need for aluminum.

__________________
Andrew
Montclair, NJ
--------------
1982 300D Turbo
120k
Petrol Blue Green

The Magnum group has an engine gasket division that was recently been acquired by Dana Corp ( Victor Reinz )

With only a 6" lift and a pretty wide / long base dimension, there should be enough strength.

They say it is made from polypropylene, this is a pretty soft ductile material so I wouldn't expect them to shatter. Just don't get it over 300 * F ( it will melt ) and keeping them out of the sun during storage ( UV damage ) would be a good idea.

Several years ago I had a car fall on me, despite using metal jack stands. Fortunately I escaped without injury. I would be really concerned about plastic jack stands or ramps or working under a car just sitting on a jack.

HF aluminum jack = dropped vehicle. They eventually twist. Weirdest thing, the sides twist. Do not understand it, but I've had it happen to two of them.

Yes! the sides definitely twist - but they revert back to after load is off. I thought at first I was jacking up on slightly uneven portion of driveway and was causing the thing to appear or be twisting. So I should trash this thing right?

I don't trust the HF aluminum jack. I've had two different jacks dump cars. I went back to the steel & cast iron jacks - they weigh a ton but don't break.