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Best Car Ramps: 11 Sets Tested for Grip, Runaway Force, and Failure Load
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Eleven sets of car ramps, priced from $58 to $160 a pair, went through the same
sequence. Each set was driven up in a rear-wheel-drive SUV on smooth bare
concrete, then again with a low-clearance front-wheel-drive car. With a vehicle
parked on top, out of gear and with the parking brake off, each set was pulled
forward to find the force needed to make the vehicle run away, and pulled
sideways to find the force needed to lift a ramp off the floor and kick it out
from under the tire. Every set then took the front half of a 7,750 lb tractor,
and finally a hydraulic press measured how much force each ramp carried before
it failed.
Grip, not strength, is what separates these ramps. Every set carried far more
than the capacity printed on it — the strongest reached 25,500 lb against a
4,000 lb per-ramp rating — yet on smooth concrete in two-wheel drive almost
none of them stayed in place until a water-soaked cloth went underneath. The
number of rubber stops on the base predicted which ones would hold, and the
rating on the box predicted almost nothing: the only set to collapse under the
tractor was steel, and the plastic sets carried the most under the press.
Best average score of the group at 2.6, for $60 a pair. Stayed in position with a damp cloth and with a low-clearance car, took the 7,750 lb tractor load undamaged, and reached 25,000 lb under the press.
Sold at Harbor Freight, rated at 3,250 lb per ramp (6,500 lb per pair), 6 in of lift, a measured 18.23-degree incline and a 2.5 in tire stop; 9.7 lb per ramp, made in China. Best average score of the group at 2.6. Held position with a damp cloth underneath and again with a low-clearance front-wheel-drive car. Runaway at 175 lb, tip-out at 752 lb, no damage under the 7,750 lb tractor load, and 25,000 lb under the press.
Rated at 4,000 lb per ramp with 6.3 in of lift and an extra-wide 11.5 in tire surface; 9.28 lb per ramp, made in China. Moved slightly on the damp cloth before gaining enough grip to let the vehicle reach the top, and handled a low-clearance car cleanly. Runaway at 163.8 lb, tip-out at 705 lb, minor damage but no collapse under the 7,750 lb tractor load, and the highest failure load of the group at 25,500 lb under the press.
Claimed three-ton capacity and 8.5 in of lift, high-quality plastic with a non-slip surface and raised edges; 9.38 lb per ramp, made in China. A damp cloth underneath added a lot of traction, and it took a low-clearance car up and down without any problems. Runaway at 172 lb, tip-out at 726.4 lb, no visible weak areas after the 7,750 lb tractor load, and over 20,000 lb under the press.
Two-stage incline with a claimed 17-degree ramp and a 2.5-ton (5,000 lb) per-pair rating; 8.5 lb per ramp, made in China. A single rubber stop left it sliding out from under the front tire on smooth concrete, and the ramp shot out on the descent with a front-wheel-drive car. Highest tip-out resistance of the group by a wide margin at 899 lb, runaway at 196.3 lb, held the 7,750 lb tractor load better than several higher-rated ramps, and 14,000 lb under the press.
Rated at 3,250 lb per ramp (6,500 lb per pair) with 6 in of lift and a measured 17.65-degree incline; 9.4 lb per ramp, made in China. Needed a damp cloth underneath to stay put on smooth concrete, and the rubber stops began falling off during testing. Second-best runaway protection at 338.5 lb, tipped out at 673 lb, carried the 7,750 lb tractor load without damage, and reached over 19,000 lb under the press.
Rated at 10,000 lb per pair (5,000 lb per ramp) with 6.25 in of lift; 9.28 lb per ramp, made in China. Six rubber stops on the base helped it lock in on a damp cloth, and it took a low-clearance car up and down without incident. Runaway at 173 lb, tip-out at 678 lb, no damage under the 7,750 lb tractor load, and 24,000 lb under the press, close to five times its rated capacity.
Hydraulic ramps with a 5-ton jack built into each ramp, a claimed 10,000 lb per pair, 7.7 in minimum height and 13 in of maximum lift; just over 37 lb per ramp, made in China. By far the heaviest set, and the damp cloth was not enough to stop it sliding on smooth concrete. Best runaway protection of the group at 367.7 lb, helped by a steel bar behind the wheel, and it carried the 7,750 lb tractor load. Rocking a light pickup side to side at the top height setting bent a ramp so it would not lower, and under the press the structure began bending at around 7,000 lb.
Flotool RhinoRamp with a claimed 17-degree incline, a CoreTrac non-skid base and a 3,000 lb per-ramp rating (6,000 lb per pair); 8.17 lb per ramp, made in USA. The lightest set here, and its single front rubber stop left it sliding on smooth concrete even with a damp cloth underneath; it then shot out from under a front-wheel-drive car's front wheels and ended up wedged beneath it. Second-best tip-out resistance at 766.1 lb, runaway at 215 lb, cracked but did not collapse under the 7,750 lb tractor load, and 15,000 lb under the press.
Rated at 1.5 tons (3,000 lb) per ramp; 9.57 lb per ramp, made in China. Six rubber stops helped it grip after a slight slide on the damp cloth, and it took a low-clearance car up and down without trouble. Runaway at 168 lb, tip-out at 691 lb, one ramp began to bend under the 7,750 lb tractor load without cracking, and 22,000 lb under the press.
Steel ramps sold at Harbor Freight, rated at 2,000 lb per ramp with 8 in of lift and raised safety ribs; 15.15 lb per ramp, made in China. A damp cloth did little to stop them sliding on smooth concrete, and at 8 in of lift they were too tall to fit under a low-clearance sedan. Concave tire pockets gave the third-best runaway protection at 240.5 lb, tip-out at 727 lb, no damage under the 7,750 lb tractor load, and bending from around 7,000 lb with a peak of 9,000 lb under the press.
Peterson Car Ramps
$99.00
$
—
USA
Powder-coated steel ramps rated at 2,000 lb per ramp with 8 in of maximum lift; 14.42 lb per ramp, made in USA. Slid on smooth concrete and the damp cloth added little traction, and at 8 in of lift they were too tall to fit under a low-clearance sedan. Weakest runaway protection of the group at 129 lb and tip-out at 683.2 lb, and the only ramps here to collapse under the 7,750 lb tractor load.
Price
Lower is better
Prices are for a pair of ramps and span nearly three times over, from $58 to $160. The best overall performer, the Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps, sits near the bottom of that range at $60, while the most expensive set was the only one to bend when a light pickup was rocked side to side at its top height setting.
Runaway Force
Pounds of force needed to roll the vehicle off the ramp with the transmission out of gear and the parking brake off. Higher is better.
The Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps took the most force at 367.7 lb, helped by a steel bar sitting behind the wheel, with the MaxxHaul Car Ramps second at 338.5 lb and the Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps third at 240.5 lb thanks to a concave pocket the tire rests in. Most of the plastic sets have very little hump behind the front tire and let the vehicle go between 160 and 200 lb. That spread is the reason the parking brake and a gear selection matter every single time.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
367.70
2
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
338.50
3
Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps
240.50
4
RhinoRamp
215
5
M Auto Car Ramps
196.30
6
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
175
7
Black Widow Car Ramps
173
8
Liekumm Car Ramps
172
9
Eastwood Car Ramps
168
10
BiSupply Car Ramps
163.80
11
Peterson Car Ramps
129
Tip-Out Force
Pounds of sideways force needed to lift a ramp off the floor and kick it out from under the tire. Higher is better.
The M Auto Car Ramps were clearly the best here at 899 lb, with RhinoRamp second at 766.1 lb and the Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps third at 752 lb. Everything else bunched between 673 and 727 lb, so on this measure the field is close and the M Auto is the outlier. A taller tire stop helped: the Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps beat the otherwise similar MaxxHaul Car Ramps by around 75 lb on the strength of theirs.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
M Auto Car Ramps
899
2
RhinoRamp
766.10
3
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
752
4
Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps
727
5
Liekumm Car Ramps
726.40
6
BiSupply Car Ramps
705
7
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
703
8
Eastwood Car Ramps
691
9
Peterson Car Ramps
683.20
10
Black Widow Car Ramps
678
11
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
673
Failure Load Under a Hydraulic Press
Peak force in pounds reached before the ramp failed. These are measured forces, not the capacities printed on the box. Higher is better.
The BiSupply Car Ramps carried the most at 25,500 lb, more than six times their 4,000 lb per-ramp rating, with the Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps just behind at 25,000 lb and the Black Widow Car Ramps at 24,000 lb. Every set exceeded its own load rating, several of them by five or six times over. The steel designs were the weakest here: the Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps started bending near 7,000 lb and peaked at 9,000 lb, and the Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps' structure began bending at around 7,000 lb as the built-in hydraulic ram took over the load. The Peterson Car Ramps had already collapsed outright under the 7,750 lb front end of a tractor, the one set in the group to do so.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
BiSupply Car Ramps
25500
2
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
25000
3
Black Widow Car Ramps
24000
4
Eastwood Car Ramps
22000
5
Liekumm Car Ramps
20000
6
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
19000
7
RhinoRamp
15000
8
M Auto Car Ramps
14000
9
Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps
9000
10
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
7000
Staying Put on a Smooth Floor
Judged rating driving a rear-wheel-drive SUV up the ramps on smooth concrete with a damp cloth underneath; 1 is best
On bare smooth concrete every ramp in the group slid. A damp cloth underneath fixed it for seven of the eleven, and the split falls almost exactly along how many rubber stops a ramp has: the four that still would not stay put are the RhinoRamp, which has a single stop at the front, and the three steel designs. The two Pittsburgh ramps sit on opposite ends of this chart despite the same brand on the box.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
1
2
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
1
3
Black Widow Car Ramps
1
4
BiSupply Car Ramps
1
5
Eastwood Car Ramps
1
6
M Auto Car Ramps
1
7
Liekumm Car Ramps
1
8
RhinoRamp
5
9
Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps
5
10
Peterson Car Ramps
5
11
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
5
Front-Wheel-Drive Performance on Smooth Concrete
Judged rating driving a low-clearance front-wheel-drive car up and down the ramps; 1 is best
Front-wheel drive is the harder case, because the driven wheels are the ones climbing. Six ramps handled an old low-clearance sedan without complaint. The RhinoRamp shot out from under the front wheels and ended up wedged beneath the car, and the M Auto ramp did the same coming back down — both designs carry a single rubber stop at the front. The Vowagh made contact on the way up and nearly launched on the way down. The two steel ramps stand at 8 inches, too tall for the car to clear at all.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
1
2
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
1
3
Black Widow Car Ramps
1
4
BiSupply Car Ramps
1
5
Eastwood Car Ramps
1
6
Liekumm Car Ramps
1
7
M Auto Car Ramps
4
8
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
4
9
RhinoRamp
5
Weight per Ramp
Measured weight in pounds of a single ramp. Lower is easier to carry and store.
Construction shows up immediately: the Peterson Car Ramps and Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps are 14 to 15 lb apiece against roughly 9 lb for the plastic sets, and the hydraulic Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps are over 37 lb each. RhinoRamp is the lightest at 8.17 lb, which makes it easy to carry but works against it on a slick floor. Weight predicted nothing about strength — the two heaviest steel designs were the weakest under the press.
Full results table
Rank
Product
Result
1
RhinoRamp
8.17
2
M Auto Car Ramps
8.50
3
Black Widow Car Ramps
9.28
4
BiSupply Car Ramps
9.28
5
Liekumm Car Ramps
9.38
6
MaxxHaul Car Ramps
9.40
7
Eastwood Car Ramps
9.57
8
Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps
9.70
9
Peterson Car Ramps
14.42
10
Pittsburgh Steel Car Ramps
15.15
11
Vowagh Hydraulic Car Ramps
37
The Verdict
The Pittsburgh Plastic Car Ramps from Harbor Freight came out on top with the
best average score of the group, 2.6, and they do it at $60 a pair. They held
position once a damp cloth went underneath and again with a low-clearance
front-wheel-drive car, they took the 7,750 lb tractor load without damage, and
they reached 25,000 lb under the press — roughly eight times the 3,250 lb
printed on each ramp. Their weak point is runaway protection: with very little
hump behind the front tire, 175 lb of push was enough to roll the vehicle off.
The BiSupply Car Ramps and the Liekumm Car Ramps were the other two standouts.
The BiSupply were the strongest thing here, carrying 25,500 lb under the press
and coming through the tractor load with only minor damage, and the extra-wide
11.5 in tire surface is genuinely useful. The Liekumm gripped well on a damp
cloth, tipped out at 726.4 lb and showed no visible weak areas after the
tractor. At $74 and $100 a pair, both are worth a look, though neither
undercuts the winner.
Two findings deserve weight before buying. The number of rubber stops on the
base decides whether a ramp stays put: RhinoRamp and the M Auto Car Ramps each
have one, at the front, and both shot out from under a front-wheel-drive car —
the RhinoRamp ended up wedged beneath the car and marked its bodywork. Sets
with six stops, like the Black Widow Car Ramps and the Eastwood Car Ramps,
held. And the rating on the box is not a proxy for strength: the Peterson steel
ramps collapsed under the 7,750 lb tractor, while plastic ramps rated for the
same 2,000 lb per ramp took it without a mark.
For anyone working on bare or coated concrete in two-wheel drive, plan on
putting something with grip under the ramps; a water-soaked cloth was what
finally made most of these sets usable, and four-wheel drive removed the
problem entirely. Always set the parking brake and leave the vehicle in gear,
because even the best set here let go at 367.7 lb of push. Clearance is the
other constraint: the 8 in steel ramps would not fit under a low-slung sedan at
all, most of the rest need around 7 in to work, and the Vowagh Hydraulic Car
Ramps' 14.25 in maximum height offers the most room but bent when a light
pickup was rocked side to side at that setting.