DIY/Wood Car Stands(Cribbing)...Let's see them!

MotoCARR · Feb 23, 2016

With a clutch job in the near future, what better opportunity to get out and build!

What did you make yours out of?
How high up does the vehicle sit?
Do you wish it was higher? :lol:

Looking for inspiration/verification that what Google is telling me is in fact tried/true :lol_hitti

BassProCamaro97 · Feb 23, 2016

I have made two in the past to support my 69 shell. I built them out of standard 2x4's. I made them wide enough to fit the base of my jack stands and tall enough to get me to the height I needed. They were not supporting a fully loaded car though as they were just for the rear two stands.

sublimate · Feb 23, 2016

...

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Leaflessshadetree · Feb 23, 2016

With the fire department we used rough sawn Oak 4x4s (obtained from heavy pallets) for many years. Supported a few heavy vehicles (trucks, tractors) with it.
I believe it was pretty much standard equipment at most departments because that's what was at all of the state training as well.

The car in the original pic appears to be on pine 2x4s with the tires point loading the span. I wouldn't trust that, especially if there is the weight of an engine/trans in the car.

MotoCARR · Feb 23, 2016

Leaflessshadetree said:
The car in the original pic appears to be on pine 2x4s with the tires point loading the span. I wouldn't trust that, especially if there is the weight of an engine/trans in the car.

I was thinking that......I can see how the overall structure can support the weight, but I figured there would need to be something directly under the contact patch, on each level, all the way to the bottom. It looks like the car is just suspended off those last two 2x4 pieces.

imagineer · Feb 23, 2016

It's not exactly cribbing, but it is made using dimensional lumber and some scrap plywood.

FWIW, I also made some 12" lumber 'cubes' that I position under cars when I'm using jack stands.

I call them "body blocks" and the idea is, should I knock the car off the stands while I'm under it, the body blocks will stop the car from crushing me, allowing an opportunity to escape. It only takes a few seconds to slide them under the car and affords me a little peace of mind.

MarkG · Feb 23, 2016

Here's a good article on it----personally, I'd make sure I wasn't spanning 'open space' if I was going to be crawling under anything held up with cribbing, unless it was very stout wood and/or a very short span. On the cribbing in the Camaro pic, why not add a center support in each layer? (add one more cross piece in the middle of each layer) Then you have solid support all the way down! That's just a quick, easy way to have a LOT of added peace of mind and safety!

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/w...r-raising-the-car-in-addition-to-jack-stands/

MotoCARR · Feb 23, 2016

MarkG said:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/w...r-raising-the-car-in-addition-to-jack-stands/

Interesting, it looks like this guy made each corner two pieces so he can have two different heights.

Xporter · Feb 23, 2016

Built out of 2x4 for a trans/clutch swap. Worked great. When done I put two side by side and made a flat top out of 2x4 and we use it as a sitting bench in the garage.

MotoCARR · Feb 23, 2016

Xporter said:
Built out of 2x4 for a trans/clutch swap. Worked great. When done I put two side by side and made a flat top out of 2x4 and we use it as a sitting bench in the garage.

Awesome idea! Are the blocks ~15-16" high if I'm counting them right? Was that enough height to get the job done or do you wish it was higher?

sz0k30 · Feb 23, 2016

I have aluminum "skates". I made short cribbing - only 4-2x4's high. I can use them alone or I can set them on the skates and roll the car around on a higher level.

racerex · Feb 23, 2016

My tire cribs have worked out really well. I made an insert to get up a little higher, if needed. I made two sets of cribs.

racerex · Feb 23, 2016

Found a pic of my Corvette up on the cribs. I can't remember what I was doing to the car at the time, but there was no load on the jack stands.

MotoCARR · Feb 23, 2016

racerex said:
My tire cribs have worked out really well. I made an insert to get up a little higher, if needed. I made two sets of cribs.

What was your overall height of your cribs/blocks?

logikal · Feb 23, 2016

We use them at the shop all the time, we use stacks of 2 high and just run a couple screws into them to get the height we need.

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MarkG · Feb 23, 2016

Here's mine. Yes, they are ramps, not cribbing, but they are wood and they work well! The 'staggered' construction serves a few purposes:

1. It gives clear feedback about where I am on the ramp.

2. Each step acts as a 'landing' where I can stop without any tendency for vehicle to roll backwards. If I made these again, I'd make the steps a little longer probably, but it works OK as-is. You can 'ease' your way up the ramp.

3. I probably should have put a 'stop' on the top level, but I'm just careful instead. If I ever drive off the front, I probably will add one! :S

4. By just beveling the leading edges and staggering, you don't need to try to cut a bevel on a 12" wide block of solid wood.

I always block the rear wheels front and back, both sides too. These weigh a ton (they are solid layers of 2 x 12 glued/screwed), but they are much more confidence inspiring than the flimsy metal or worse---plastic----ones I've seen. You can't crush 'solid'-----at least not with anything road-legal!

The sides are covered with some flush-trimmed MDO just for looks, so you don't see all the joints.

racerex · Feb 23, 2016

MotoCARR said:
What was your overall height of your cribs/blocks?

I just used standard 2x4's (so 1-1/2" x 3-1/2"). My cribs, even with the inserts would be too low for a trans swap.

Check out this thread on the Nastyz28 forum.

http://www.nastyz28.com/forum/showthread.php?t=203982

Clemson13 · Feb 24, 2016

Are cribbing stands safe? I would think they would be. In fact, I think a 18 in stack of oak cribbing (all attached together) Would be more stable than your traditional jackstand. Is that correct?

If so, time for me to make some. I work on cars but never trust my jack stands.

Sent from my imagination using sharks with friggin lazer beams

MotoCARR · Feb 24, 2016

I would say they're safe. As I've been researching I've found that just about every car enthusiast forum has people building them.

I did see one where a mustang owner built a wood ramp/stand/contraption that he could drive up and have the car be almost 5ft in the air!

MarkG · Feb 25, 2016

Mine in use. They aren't idiot-proof, just like most things, but I don't let idiots use them! If you missed my first post, they are a solid layer of 2 x 12's glued/screwed together with MDO sides, just to clean up the looks.

MotoCARR · Feb 25, 2016

MarkG said:
Mine in use.

Clean hardbody

matt_i · Feb 25, 2016

The wood cribbing is pretty safe. I have worked on my 11,500 lb forklift and had to stick my head and hands underneath it to troubleshoot and then work on a part. I simply used solid 2x6s stacked up flat and screwed together. No problem and no worries by me working underneath.

MotoCARR · Feb 25, 2016

matt_i said:
I simply used solid 2x6s stacked up flat and screwed together.

Exactly what prompted me to put this post up. LOTS of examples that I see are just like the one I posted. I would figure that to support the weight of a car or more, the boards would need to be stacked up flat against each other all the way to the floor.

mandingueiro · Aug 27, 2016

these are just stacked... the bases are made of 24" pieces of 3" x "8 (ish) cut from framing beams I got from a dumpster. cut wedges out of the same wood for the chocks (traced shape of the tire onto paper, transposed pencil line to wood and cut the curve with a sawzall).

I'm not done yet, but so far so good.

zkling · Aug 28, 2016

Like that Ranger and Weaver!

Helped a friend of mine build a set of these.

http://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ion/2416498-diy-build-your-own-car-ramps.html

Nice to use, but a pain to store.

LS6 Tommy · Aug 28, 2016

I can see where someone might want cribbing, but jack stands have always given me the required height, even for trans work.

Tommy

Beal095 · Aug 28, 2016

Here's mine with my 67 camaro. Rear was inset with jack stands so I could test fit rear wheels. This was a few years ago back in KC.

mustanginky · Aug 28, 2016

I like this idea. I have a set of rhino ramps but they're not high enough to do most things to my mustang. I tried to use them to do a clutch change but they were nowhere near tall enough.

ezover · Aug 28, 2016

I really like this ideal, I always have 2 points of contact at a min. depending on how many wheels are up. 1 stand per wheel plus the jack and most times I toss the tire under the side.

if I am going to be completely under the car or doing something that mite cause shaking or movement I will add 1 to 4 more stands.

I see with semi solid square wood cribbing there would be little chance of a side load causing it to tip over or slip off of the contact point.

I will be building 4 of these in the near future.

Spdstr280Z · Aug 28, 2016

logikal said:
We use them at the shop all the time, we use stacks of 2 high and just run a couple screws into them to get the height we need.

Not to thread jack, and sorry if this had been discussed, but Logikal, what is that you are working on ?

Jason

mv213 · Aug 28, 2016

sublimate said:
...

That's almost overkill right there, with that second stick you have full redundancy. What are the chances of knocking both sticks out accidentally. Why, shoot.

Spdstr280Z · Aug 28, 2016

mv213 said:
That's almost overkill right there, with that second stick you have full redundancy. What are the chances of knocking both sticks out accidentally. Why, shoot.

He's just doing a little quick welding by the gas tank, give him a break...

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Hotsauce · Aug 28, 2016

Jack has to lift car to the max to get these under. About 8.5 inch lift and sold those plastic garbage proramps

Capt Crash · Aug 28, 2016

Beal095 said:
Here's mine with my 67 camaro. Rear was inset with jack stands so I could test fit rear wheels. This was a few years ago back in KC.

The ones that I built look just like these. I built mine so that at each corner the stands are made from 2 pieces, or 8 stands total. Then they stack on top of the matching one, and are bolted together with 1/2" by 8" bolts. They can be made shorter to allow for easier lifting.
Brian

mandingueiro · Aug 29, 2016

ZKLING...thanks!! the weaver has REACH!...it's heavy as hell, but gr8 to use. I especially like the size/shape of the "saddle" on it. releases nice and slowly too...

Nice build re: those ramp/stands. That 'Vette is sick also... prob wouldn't want anything less than that luxurious height working on a car like that...

I'm curious about ramps and cribbing that use the wheels. I like the height that you guys get, but I'd be curious about a stand system that doesn't allow you to mess with the wheels/suspension. Although, I like the above pic where there is a jack stand on top of the cribbing. Taking advantage of the wider base of the cribbing, the jack stand is most stable at a lower height.

I was a bit lazy when I originally posted, but I will add that I do not own a garage. I'm in the city and there is LOTS of street mechanic work that gets done on my block/neighborhood. Important for me was to make sure that each cribbing block was level, and also to make sure that the truck was level (equal height of both cribbing blocks from the center of the EARTH, not the ground)...there is a definite slope to my street, but it really wasn't that hard to play adult building blocks. Just had to line the blocks up well to the 'lifting points' on my frame, and just make sure to constantly check everything re: position with the vehicle up in the air and before/during letting it down.

the ranger is STURDY on these blocks...

I have space to store wood, but I do NOT like the idea of big blocks that are heavy as hell and aren't able to break down. So, since firefighters and rescue workers use cribbing tailor made to EACH SITUATION, it was important for me to be able to be adjustable. I see no benefit, other than ease of setup for someone who has no height/ surface variables, in joining the wood together. The weight of the truck keeps the blocks just where they are, and there's no risk of rolling because I'm not using the wheels.

Coach James · May 28, 2018

Yeah, I know it's an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. Is there any reason you could not rest the frame of a vehicle on cribbing? What about resting a brake rotor or drum on it?

Thanks

Coach

MotoCARR · May 29, 2018

I would rest a frame on the blocks pictured in this thread, but I wouldn’t do a rotor/drum.

Since the thread has been bumped up, as an update I have built the same blocks as the picture in my original post, and have had a 300zx, RX7, 2 Miatas and a 1500 Silverado. Not to mention laying a 12x12 1/4” sheet of metal on one so I could rest a jack stand on it to support a car frame. One of my stands was too short and one stand was too tall lol.

ezriderga · May 29, 2018

Here’s a set I built for working on my roadster. Solid and never worry if it’s going to fall.

larry4406 · May 29, 2018

I used several plies of LVL off-cuts that were destined for the dumpster. The stick built homes we build use 14" lvl's so I have several scraps 18-24" long.

Not the best picture but you can see the cribbing under the tire. I had all 4 wheels up off the concrete by about 8" which was enough to disassemble the exhaust, transmission, and remove the engine for rebuild on our Mitsubishi Montero Sport.

Stuart in MN · May 29, 2018

Coach James said:
Yeah, I know it's an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one. Is there any reason you could not rest the frame of a vehicle on cribbing? What about resting a brake rotor or drum on it?

Thanks

Coach

No problem with using them under the frame, but I don't think a brake rotor or drum is built to withstand the weight of the car resting on it. You could put the cribbing underneath the front control arm or rear axle instead.

DIY/Wood Car Stands(Cribbing)...Let's see them!

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