How to raise the car higher than the jack stands will allow?

Question

So it's time to raise the car onto jack stands, but for whatever reason it needs to go higher than the stand height allows. How can I safely raise the height of the car?

What I have done in the past is put a 2in concrete pave stone under the stand. It's much bigger than the base of the stand, and is flat against the ground and the top surface is flat for the stand to sit on. Is that too much weight for the stand? i would hate for it to crack and drop the stand to the ground with me under the car.

What is the safe way to do this? I mean besides buying a lift.. :)

Answer 1

You could always look into jack stands that are typically used for heavy duty trucks and semis. One time I had a lifted truck I had to go to Northern Tool and purchase high reaction jack stands:

Item link

That said I wouldn't recommend using anything other than the jack stand. Even if you are using a block that block could still break from the pressure being applied and you would be crushed. Safety should always be top priority. You just need bigger stands.

Answer 2

Wood. It's plenty strong. Cut some 2x6 or 2x8 and stack them accordingly. This is the most cost effective way to solve your problem. The only danger you will encounter is if you used rotten wood.

I realize the picture is not 2x6's, etc, but, it displays the idea.

Answer 3

Hydraulic car ramps are a great option if you can source them.

They give oodles of clearance by lifting the wheels themselves. You have to drive the wheels into them before using the hydraulic pump to lift the ramp.

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Drive-on ramps operate on a similar principle - just drive onto them

Answer 4

The safest method to increase the jack height without purchasing more equipment is to work in a level surface that provides a natural "grease pit" environment. Assuming you only need more room to maneuver yourself under the car: parking LEVEL/FLAT over a steep curb, gutter, sidewalk, gulley, etc. will give you that extra room to move.

From there you can jack up the car, but always use jackstands as a backup support. I've seen cars fall off of jacks. I've seen a jackstand save my brother-in-law's life. For this reason, I personally will do no more than reach under a car until I have jackstands in place.

Instead, I highly recommend that you instead use ramps or wheel stands (buy, rent or borrow) as suggested above. A car on ramps/wheel stands, over a deep gutter can be a comfortable working enviroment.

I have used a wood block to get an extra 1 1/2", but will not use multiple wood blocks (as suggested by others) because they become too unstable. A better choice is concrete blocks or large concrete pavers. Or perhaps building wooden wheel stands.

wooden wheel stands & wooden jack stands:

Answer 5

Adding this as an additional answer since I was reminded of it after seeing Zaid's answer. Hydraulic lift jacks are fairly pricey so I always wondered of an alternative and there is an item that has come out that is on my wish list called My Lift Stand. It is great if you do not need to access the brakes or require a wheel to be off and it adds additional lift beyond a typical jack stand:

pic from site:

Since some recommended in comments a pic without the jack here is another reference:

I did look on the site for a pic if just the stand itself but I have only found pics of the jack in use. If someone can find a pic or take a pic of the stand please feel free to edit.

Screen grab from the demonstration video on the seller's site:

Answer 6

Engineering Mud

Layers of sand/earth sandwiched between sheets of cloth.

I was initially quite skeptical about it, but this video blew my mind:

Sand Castle Holds Up A Car!- Mechanically Stabilized Earth