S-10CREWCAB.NET

It is past Halloween , so maybe safe to bring up a topic like this ?

What do you use? What works the best?

A cheap tarp is tough to beat in the gravel driveway, or offroad, but what do you use for the "real" wrenching?

I have had one of those old wooden creepers with the hard plastic wheels cocked on a 45. No frills small 2" square by 6" long pad for the head. It is made from oak 1x2's and 1/4" plywood.
It has worked OK for less than daily use on a smooth surface at home, but recently one of the wheels disintegrated. I repaired it with an old steel wheel take off from the shop, but it is just not the same.

At work I have three creepers. One was built much the same as the one I described above with the addition of a head rest that would raise. That didn't work very well, was awkward and was disassembled for parts. I covered 3/4" ply wood with a rubber belted cover, added 2" rubber wheels and made it a creeper for use outdoors on the steam cleaners pad.

The second was a lowrider creeper with straight up 2" nylon wheels. It has been patched together several times and has a nice 2"x6"x8" head rest. It is the rough bay creeper and after upgrading to rubber wheels works pretty well.

The third is one of those low rider creepers made from 1/2" tubing. It has the whole back padded and a nice size head rest. It is used on the smooth bay floors only. Not too bad, but still tends to hang on small debris.

I have used the plastic creepers in the past. Specifically one from MAC tools. I had trouble with it flexing too much, and getting hung up on a stray wrench.

My next one is going to be one of the Dog Bone Rough Riders. It is a big investment for a creeper, but I have wanted to try one for a long time.

If all goes well this thing will scoot across the garage, carport, and out through the gravel driveway

f9k9 wrote:...Gravel?

grav·el Audio pronunciation of "gravel" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (grvl)
n.

1. An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.
2. Pathology. The sandlike granular material of urinary calculi.

Some of us in a rural setting use this as a covering for the driveway.

It better do all it says for $150 and what a deal........free shipping

That looks like a good price. They are almost $200 through Jeg's and that one is less than the one I ordered.

This may not be for everyone though.

There are some very cool creeper designs. I was just curious what everyone uses?

I Have One Of The "Bone" Creepers, (Like In F9K9's Post Above)Had It For Years....Don't Use It That Much Though. To Use It I Would Have To Jack Up My Vehicles. As It Is Now I Throw An Old Carpet remnant Strip Down And I Can Fit Under All 3 Of My Vehicles To Do An Oil Change Or Whatever And I don't Even Have To Jack 'Em Up. Although I Don't Have Any Gravel Around Me, I Have A 30x38 Garage With A Concrete Floor and An Outside Concrete Slab Of 28x33 To Go With It. So The Carpet remnant Works Good For Me

That is not all that funny I too have left over carpet under my HenryJ and Vega. It covers the area the cars sit on plus about two feet all the way around the outside. It is nice for working on, but I don't always pull them out to work on the truck. There is plenty of room to roll around under the truck with a creeper the HenryJ does have to be up on stands to even think about crawling under it.

Good tip on the carpet! I had forgotten about it

I figure I haven't commented here for a while...

I like the "Bone" creepers and here's why:
I have one of the metal framed "low rider" creepers. I was using it under the Blazer about 3 weeks ago and was rolling under it when I suddenly stopped like a wheel had hit something. Problem was, I couldn't back up to go the other way. It was then that I noticed the tugging feeling on my shirt. My sleave of my t-shirt had got caught and wrapped around one of the wheels. I managed to slid out from under but couldn't sit up or anything. I ended up cutting myself free with a knife I had within reach. That WAS a brand new t-shirt! Now I'm in the market for a new creeper too (don't ask what I did with my old creeper once I got free - it ain't pretty). The bone creepers have covered wheels so no more getting myself tangled up.

This really isn't funny , but I had a similar experience. My wife was helping me...I think you see where this is going?...She was on the creeper and her hair got wrapped around one of the wheels. We could not get her out from under the car until I retrieved a pair of scissors to cut her free.
It has been long enough ago that hopefully she can see some humor in the situation. Needless to say she was not real impressed with me at the time

There is something to be said for the warnings of loose clothing, jewelry, and hair while working around any equipment.

This place seems to have quite a selection - White Side MFG

The Pneumatic Roller looks interesting. It is pretty pricey though.
I could see building a custom creeper too. The price of that style casters can be scary though.

This one has the high tech tube look - 4tek's Kreepster that pipe across the back doesn't look to good to me though.

HenryJ wrote:This one has the high tech tube look - 4tek's Kreepster that pipe across the back doesn't look to good to me though.

I like this one except that it sort of looks like it belongs in the back of an Ambulance or some other type of rescue vehicle. Bad omen? At least the wheels are far enough away that nothing should get caught on them and the trays for parts and tools is really nice.

I've been trapped like that too. Catch a shirttail under the
wheels or something goofy like that. I used to have
a Snap-On creeper that had those shape edged wheels
on it and one time I was backing up and got my arm pinched
by one of those things..Let me tell ya, that poor ole
Snap-On creeper went sailing against the wall.

Man that hurt. I pulled those wheels off and got small
caster wheels to put on. I still have the scar from that
so I guess in the end the Snap-On creeper got even
before I did...

I like those creepers with a head rest you can adjust.
Sometimes I have to look up over the bell housing
on big trucks and with it set up it helps.

At the house, it's almost all the time,fresh cardboard.
Easy to slide on, easy to move and easy to get rid
of.

I have one of "The Bone" style creepers in my garage at home and it works pretty well in my oppinion. Its really low to the ground and the wheels are covered on all four corners so you dont get caught in them at all. I wish the head rest was a little thicker though...since the corners are raised your peripheral vision is reduced with the head rest as low as it is. At work we have the " Jeepers Creeper" and my only complaint is pinch points...you get a finger/hand anywhere near a wheel and its crunch time. Oh and I always seem to get my ratchets stuck under them...but that is just operator error.

Rusty Shackleford wrote:I have one of "The Bone" style creepers...Its really low to the ground...

How much clearance do you have?

The Bone "Rough Rider" is supposed to have more clearance and wider wheels with traction. I hope it is all I want it to be.

I'll get it on the ground and measure, but its not much at all...I wouldnt recommend it for anything but garage/concrete/really smooth asphalt use.

The dog bone creepers rule. The pluses it has are important for wrenching. It seats you nice and low for squeezing under tight spots. It's got huge wheels for rolling nicely over the extension cord, power tool cords, air hose, and wrenches. Something is always getting in the way. The regular small wheels suck, the get hung up dinky pebbles.

My luck with buying a rough rider bone creeper has been almost as sad as the quest for the elusive spare wheel.
First try foiled by a backorder. Second attempt failed with Amazon and one of their partners. Now I try the ebay route. We will see sometime in the next week, I hope.

I feel for ya. I lucked out when a buddy gave me his.

I did get a Bone rough rider creeper finally. I have had it for a couple weeks now , but just tried it today. Very comfortable, rolls around smoothly and the extra ground clearance is nice.

So far "two thumbs up!"

HenryJ wrote: ..........................the extra ground clearance is nice.

So far "two thumbs up!"

Hmmmmmmmm, suspension lift?

HenryJ wrote:I did get a Bone rough rider creeper finally. I have had it for a couple weeks now , but just tried it today. Very comfortable, rolls around smoothly and the extra ground clearance is nice.

So far "two thumbs up!"

With your 33's you should be able to slide under your Crew without any ramps. With my Bone creeper I can just barely slide under my truck with 31's, although it is really close. The Bone creepers are a little weird at first, but they are very smooth with their big wheels and it's nice to not loose pieces of clothing anymore. You would not believe how many ripped t-shirts I have because of my previous creeper.

Steve

I just got around to reading the thread about creepers. I have used a few different ones, but the one that works best for me is a JC50A from Snap-On. I like this one since it elevates the upper body from the waist up, helpful if you have lower back problems. It was a little pricey at about $175.00. but it is comfortable for extended periods under a vehicle

UPDATE: The Dogbone Roughrider creeper is the best!
It rolls over the concrete and out onto the gravel with ease. I have used it in the gravel where I would otherwise have used a tarp.

If it has a down side it would be that you don't easily slide off of it and what ever I wear seems to generate static electricity. It does not seem to take much movement on the plastic to charge up for a pretty good "bite".

There have been times where sliding off a creeper was needed. The "bone" is form fitting and I do not see that being an easy option.

Other than those pretty insignificant issues, this is one of the best things in my garage.

Bump this one to your birthday, Xmas, just 'cuz list.

I just bought a second one to use at work. They really are the best creeper ever made http://www.bonecreeper.com/

Sears sells them for $129

Thought I'd add shop seats and trays to this thread.

I just bought a new creeper seat for my garage. It is heavier than others I use elsewhere, but I like it.
Bigger wheels, wider seat, sits a little higher, 400 lb capacity , split tool tray underneath, Chrome and did I mention a cup holder?

These Goodyear creeper seats were manufactured for Sams Club



They are priced at $50 retail. I picked mine up for under $30 shipped on a Sam's Club auction.

Hey At 400lbs even I could uses this on my garage floor- oh wait never mind, someday I will have a garage floor again then this will come in real handy.