What's the best mechanic's creeper?

I've always been a bigass piece of cardboard guy, but I've been thinking about getting a creeper.

The only one that I've ever used was an early flat wooden one that I inherited from my grandfather. I actually may have given it to him for Christmas back in the 80's. Even when I was younger, I used to fall off of it during the mount/dismount, which is why I turned to cardboard.

My first inclination is to go with the plastic dogbone style with the covered wheels, but I thought it would be best to consult the GRM experts first.

Also, my knees and back are garbage at this point, so that's a factor here.

A lift.

Seriously though, I never found one I liked.

The Bone Creeper from Dale Adams Enterprises was pretty good.

I was a cardboard box guy too, until I used my friends HF creeper. It's the molded plastic type that goes over the wheels and has a tool storage tray on the sides which comes in handy. Having long hair means any of the ladder frame types is a recipe for mass hair loss. So far this one has been amazing. 
 

On sale for $30 at the moment  

I have a bones one and I wish I could use it more but my garage at home just doesn't have enough room. The covered wheels are great and the one advantage it has over the harbour frieght version above is the wheels are larger so they roll over stuff on the floor easier. It also gets you nice and low so you have room to work.

How about a stool creeper? Best or worst of both worlds?

In reply to ShawnG :

I have a lift. But sometimes, that's overkill/inconvenient. 

In reply to WillG80 :

I have one of these, I would also recommend. The trays are super helpful for misc bolts and tools. 

I have two of the HF ones, they've worked well for probably close to 20 years.  I like the fact that they're light, low profile, and have trays on the sides.  Features I think I'd like are the magnetic trays (I may put a magnet strip in my creeper and see if that does anything), and larger wheels.  And as I get older, I think one with an adjustable neck support would probably be an upgrade (or I should just steal one of the junky old throw pillows from our house). 

I have a Jeep and a truck, so  there are times when a creeper would be easier than moving stuff around to use the lift. 
 

Long hair isn't an issue, but I'm sure I'd appreciate the larger wheels. 

My creeper is an old wooden one with no headrest and awful wheels.  Don't get one like that.  Before I got the lift, I was going to replace the creeper and the number one feature that I wanted was the little trays to hold tools and whatnot.  That is the most annoying thing about being under the car.

Bone creepers are currently unavailable on Amazon. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

Bone creepers are currently unavailable on Amazon. 

Likely because Dale passed away a couple years ago. The company is probably in limbo right now.

I have a Bone creeper that I will gladly give away to a GRM member that wants it. I bought it used off Craigslist a few years ago and I absolutely hate it. Gave it to a buddy and he hated it so much he brought it back.

I prefer the Harbor Freight creepers, they're around $30 and last me a couple years. Might try one of the Icon ones next time. 

In reply to WillG80 :

I have this same design.  It's worth it for sure.  The trays are invaluable for holding tools and removed nuts and bolts too.

I have the one that WillG80 posted above. 

Once you are on it, its great; but getting up from it or laying on it with back problems is a bitch. Sometimes I lay on it for a little while longer contemplating whether its worth it tp stand up and suffer through the back pain lol. For some reason the pain is not as bad when laying on the ground. 

I tried using a creeper many times but ultimately i just found it incredibly annoying. Younger me usually ended up throwing them in anger. They are good for throwing.

Cardboard works better.  I have not used a creeper that actually worked at rolling.

My problem with creepers is that they raise me up a few inches, so I then have to raise the car up a few more inches in order to have room to work. I used to use old carpet scraps, but those get really nasty after a while. Now I use a couple squares of foam anti-fatigue mat, like this stuff:

My suggestions for creeper heaven: 

Adjustable headrest

Center drop so you can lie lower than the old deckover style. Evrery millimeter counts.

Polyurethane wheels that will travel over a screw or extension cord easier

And be sure the castors are not exposed. Mine has them in a position where I can be scooting along and suddenly get two inches of elbow flab wrapped around the wheel. Holy motherberkeleyer does that hurt.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

This is what I use. A set of four interlocking squares runs about 10 bucks at HF. I have two sets. 

ShawnG said:

A lift.

Seriously though, I never found one I liked.

The Bone Creeper from Dale Adams Enterprises was pretty good.

I was a bigass cardboard guy, then I graduated to a plastic tote lid.  Then I got a creeper and hit my head a few times and had it slide away a few times and decided that it is the the awkward compromise between lying on the ground and having a lift.  Went back to my tote lid.

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

I tried using a creeper many times but ultimately i just found it incredibly annoying. 

This.

Putting aside the whole getting-in and getting-out issue, ignore the sacrifice of precious inches of lost clearance and finally roll yourself into position where...  any force applied to a wrench just gets me coasting across the garage floor.

My creeper occasionally gets put into use as a rolling parts/tool caddy under the car but I long ago gave up trying to drape my fat carcass on top of it.

Another reason that I eventually donated Grandpa's mechanic's creeper to the dumpster was that it was a real PITA to have around when I wasn't using it.  

I think I've found a solution. I'll post a photo tomorrow after a trip to Home Depot. 

Human hoist power shop chair looks awesome!

Video link