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Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:44 pm

I love a good creeper, but all the ones I've used have small, hard casters that get stuck when used on a driveway that has any rocks on it, let alone my last dirt/gravel driveway.

Does anyone know of a creeper with soft (and possibly oversized) casters that would lessen this issue? If one does not exist, would anyone be interested in this product?

Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:51 pm

I have used a piece of plywood on the gravel to avoid this issue... 😀

Thu Apr 28, 2016 8:53 pm

I like to use cardboard, it reminds me of my break dancing days.

Thu Apr 28, 2016 9:14 pm

Cardboard for sure. Get a giant piece too so when nuts/bolts drop, you can actually find them. I've played that game in my parents driveway that was several inches of gravel. Not fun...

Thu Apr 28, 2016 9:16 pm

I have a gravel driveway. Cardbox works good, especially a mirror shipping box. I tried plywood, but it is hard to move (quickly) & splinters can be a problem. It will tear up a tee shirt real fast.

Thu Apr 28, 2016 9:30 pm

I have ice for six months and gravel for six months. :) A friend of mine called me a gravel back. :x Yep cardboad and plywood. Most lumber stores have full sheets of cardboard that come as cover sheets on plywood. Usually free.

Thu Apr 28, 2016 10:02 pm

What about this (http://www.bonecreeper.com/roughrider.html): "We named this mechanics creeper the Rough Rider™ because it works great where no other creeper had gone before: outdoors and off the pavement!"

I have the Bonester shop floor version and it is great

Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:30 pm

Cardboard with glossy finish, glossy side up. ;)

Real smooth.

Neil.

Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:18 am

I sometimes keep a sheet of cardboard under the carpet on the deck above the engine hatch...useful for traveling and finding your self on a roadside somewhere and you have to look underneath.
I have a foam floor mat there all the time for noise and if I need to go crawling underneath while out on the road.

Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:07 am

I like the 2-ply bicycle boxes, they hold up better on rough surfaces and shield from sharp rocks. Dumpster behind a bike store is your best bet. Like the guy above, I carry a sheet of cardboard on the engine lid during long trips.

Fri Apr 29, 2016 7:36 am

Steve M. wrote: I sometimes keep a sheet of cardboard under the carpet on the deck above the engine hatch...useful for traveling and finding your self on a roadside somewhere and you have to look underneath.
I have a foam floor mat there all the time for noise and if I need to go crawling underneath while out on the road.

me to cardboard and a carpet stored over the engine lid. for a creeper, you could make one of modifiy one with big rubber wheels, or use the plywood over the gravel and a standard creeper.

as others pointed out, gravel can hide a dropped socket or screw like quicksand, so the wood not only does well for the creaper but also for dropped stuff.

harbor frieght has fair,y cheap rubber wheels for sale usually, so build/modify your own creeper maybe????

some strops of strap iron could be used under the creaper, bent upwards a nd bent again in a Z fashion on the outside edge of creaper to all taller rubber wheels to be installed without raising the deck of the creaper.

good luck in finding the solution.

Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:20 am

I'm finding that cardboard is quicker and easier even when I am at a friends garage ( and not in my gravel driveway). I guess I can just shimmy in and out faster to get tools, etc.

Fri Apr 29, 2016 9:33 am

Not super OT, but this creeper is awesome.... :shock:

Fri Apr 29, 2016 10:05 am

Steve M. wrote: I sometimes keep a sheet of cardboard under the carpet on the deck above the engine hatch...useful for traveling and finding your self on a roadside somewhere and you have to look underneath.,.

Me too. A good source for big sheets is the paper towel display at Costco. There is a sheet of cardboard between each layer of the boxed packages, usually there are several sheets that have been removed and put to one side.

Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:24 am

Well it looks like the simplest solution for the win. I'm fairly clever but don't think about cardboard if I DO have a creeper... usually one or the other but now it's obvious both can be very useful.

bluebus86 wrote:
harbor frieght has fair,y cheap rubber wheels for sale usually, so build/modify your own creeper maybe????

some strops of strap iron could be used under the creaper, bent upwards a nd bent again in a Z fashion on the outside edge of creaper to all taller rubber wheels to be installed without raising the deck of the creaper.

yeah those ultra-low creepers are the type I like where the wheels are taller than the deck where you lay. Also seen some that have holders on the sides where you can set tools/nuts/bolts, very handy.

Mellow Yellow 74 wrote:
I have the Bonester shop floor version and it is great

Good call, I'll check that out

Sat Apr 30, 2016 12:38 am

Human Hoist looks incredibly cool, def overengineered. Must be a couple of Germans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgMT7IozS-A

Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:46 am

I have a piece of industrial rubber flooring that looks like diamond plate. I keep it rolled up and can thus just set it behind the car and roll it right underneath. The stuff is very durable (it will turn thirty this year) and is easy to clean. My chunk is about 3'x7' and looks like this, a little wider would be nice.

http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/garage/nitro-rolls.html

I also have a very heavy piece of vinyl canvas that I carry with me when I travel, it rides folded up under the rear cushion over the engine.

I agree with others that cardboard is great. I hit up my local appliance store for a refrigerator box about once a year. You can also get damaged 4x8 sheets of various materials from your local lumber yard for free or almost nothing. Just choose something that is durable and slick on one side.

Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:01 am

A little late I know, someone put me on to these, I'm still saving right now, but I have heard good things about them.
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Creeper-51631-Clearan...dpSrc=srch