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Help getting up and down

Going through it all right now as well as you know, Mo.
I'm getting up there too (55) and I'm not a little guy either (250), with mush for a left knee, bulging disks/pinched nerves, all that jazz.
Add to it the 3 times cancer and all the wonderful "new me" features that that brings to the table and getting under the GTX is an adventure. :)
Concrete for some reason just seems to drain the life out of me when I get down on it.

I use the usual cardboard sheets, too. I have a fancy creeper but seldom use it because you just can't get low enough on it, seems like. Thought about a portable lift, but beyond the price of it, the ones I've seen just look like their own mechanisms would get in the way of what I'm working on.

Until I find a better way, I lower myself to the floor in a pushup style maneuver (staying off knees), then roll on my back on the cardboard, pushing into position underneath once on it.
To get up, I move quickly (so as not to give the folks from Greenpeace time to get there to "save the whale!") by rolling back onto my stomach and getting back into that pushup position, walking myself up into a humpback sort of position, then grabbing something stationary to help balance while I get upright again.

It helps to make all those cool old man noises while you're doing it, too. :)
 
Is a 2 post lift out of the question for one reason or another?
 
Is a 2 post lift out of the question for one reason or another?
If his garage is anything like mine (or most residential type garages), we don't:
a. really have enough headroom to get the car high enough to stand under (crouching isn't an option; at that point, a lift only helps when we're doing wheel/brake work from outside the car)
b. Have the floor space to spare for the things' footprint
c. Have witnessed at least one video of a car actually falling off a 2-post

If I had a taller and wider garage, I'd be all over a lift - a 4 post. :)
 
I can understand points A and b, but c is not a concern in my opinion.
some folks could hurt themselves with any tool know to man, but when used properly, 2 posts lifts are perfectly safe.
4 post for storage and 2 post if you work on cars.

Anyhow, I'd go with the thickest rubber mat type of material if a lift isnt an option.
 
If his garage is anything like mine (or most residential type garages), we don't:
a. really have enough headroom to get the car high enough to stand under (crouching isn't an option; at that point, a lift only helps when we're doing wheel/brake work from outside the car)
b. Have the floor space to spare for the things' footprint
c. Have witnessed at least one video of a car actually falling off a 2-post

If I had a taller and wider garage, I'd be all over a lift - a 4 post. :)
And c. lack of disposable income.
I think once I get started, if I have something stable to hang onto getting down and up, I should be able to figger a way to stay directly off my knees. I would like to get one of those height adjustable mechanics chair with a little back rest on it, and some high density foam. ....I think the 64 Dodge Brutus will come out of Winter storage and get started fixing some pesky oil leaks this week. I had it started today...........................MO
 
And c. lack of disposable income.
I think once I get started, if I have something stable to hang onto getting down and up, I should be able to figger a way to stay directly off my knees. I would like to get one of those height adjustable mechanics chair with a little back rest on it, and some high density foam. ....I think the 64 Dodge Brutus will come out of Winter storage and get started fixing some pesky oil leaks this week. I had it started today...........................MO
That's great, Mo!
Yes, agree on the disposable income part. Some of us don't have the moola laying around to buy a fancy lift, true.
 
I have a bad left knee too, and was doing some work around the house. I got some knee pads from Amazon. I think the brand is called "No Cry" and they seem pretty good. They really seem to help more than I though. Might try one of those knee compression sleeve things. The compression/support seem to really help me walking up/down stairs.
 
Two knee repo's worn out right ankle PLUS 300+lbs of lard I can be on knees for a short time 20 seconds. Chair with handles 2 feet high, lower one then other roll on to side. To get up, on knees in front of chair drag a leg around in front stand with one leg while pushing up on chair with arms.
 
My wife uses the gardening knee pads - I have used them in the garage as well as the squares that click together made with foam both items sold at the depot .
 
@Cornpatch MO

So did ya wind up solving the problem, MO?
Pretty much so. This month is my 1 year anny. of the knee replacement. Didn't go as I wanted , but guess different people heal different ways . Still painful getting up and down and stairs. Long as I have something to hold on to, I get things done. Waiting another year to get the other knee replaced. Thanks for asking...................MO
 
Two knee repo's worn out right ankle PLUS 300+lbs of lard I can be on knees for a short time 20 seconds. Chair with handles 2 feet high, lower one then other roll on to side. To get up, on knees in front of chair drag a leg around in front stand with one leg while pushing up on chair with arms.
Fran, we are in the same boat ----and it is sinking ! LOL.......................MO
 
Cornpatch I use a thick old chair cushion under my knees. It works better then a garden pad for me and larger. I am 70 and have no hoist either. The getting off and on the creeper is hard to do. Friends in car club are all saying the same thing about working under the cars. I have started to have some of the under car work done at a good local shop. Good luck with your project.
 
leverage,man, you need leverage. My Dad used to have a contraption in the garage for exactly this purpose because he had a chronic back issue. It had 4 stout pulley wheels mounted to overhead joists at either side or end of the car. It had a climbing rope. 3/4 inch that ran through it, a hook to move it to where ever, and a sand filled punching bag hanging from it. on the other end was a loop he could grab. Going down he would lean back against the weight of the bag and it would lower him gently to the floor. The rope had a ratchet lock on it. When he was ready to get up- he grabbed the loop and gave it a yank to release the ratchet, much like an air hose reel, and the bag weight would help him rise. You just have to get the bag filled with the correct amount of sand. The bag had a light weight frame under the bottom with rollers to move it easily to each area. Worked every time.
 
The day i cant get under a car and get back on my feet is the day without somebody helping me is the day I'm finished working on cars. I still work on big rigs and my both knees have partial torn meniscus and arthritis as a result. So i have trouble standing up after I've been on my knees. Guys are always trying to help me and i tell them thanks but i can get up myself. The day i cant get up without help is again the day i hang up the shield. Yes, getting old sucks LOL
 
With the proper amount of adrenalin rush almost everything possible. Some times just the need to get the job done is enough. Then there is payback. Ain't getting old great
 
Cornpatch, I myself have a bone on bone knee, and back with a couple of fused vertebrae. I use a thick moving blanket to get up and down on and then spread it out to lay on. Can fold it over to make it pretty thick. I just move slow and deliberately. The suggestion of keeping your phone with you is a good idea also, I'm going to start doing that? I also take naproxen before starting the job also..
 
Cornpatch, I myself have a bone on bone knee, and back with a couple of fused vertebrae. I use a thick moving blanket to get up and down on and then spread it out to lay on. Can fold it over to make it pretty thick. I just move slow and deliberately. The suggestion of keeping your phone with you is a good idea also, I'm going to start doing that? I also take naproxen before starting the job also..
Yes the phone is a must couple of months ago, fell on my a$$ no phone. Usually bring one twisted good ankle stepping on a folded card board box. Sitting and hoping I didn't screw up this ankle. Have neuropathy in my feet. Put me in the middle of a room with nothing to hold on to and turn the lights off, I'll fall down.
 
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