For some strange reason my house didn't have a hydraulic car lift already installed in my garage, so I've spent decades on my back and inching under vehicles for repair work. My relatively-new-to-me 2006 HSE needs its first oil change on my watch and though it might be possible for me to squeeze under the frame from different angles to access the skid plate bolts, I'd rather have some room to navigate and be able to freely use multiple hands when dropping that much metal. Based on what I've seen, there are four methods people commonly use to create enough clearance to make the job easier:

1) Setting the EAS to off-road with the engine running and the driver's door open, then with the door kept open throughout the oil change, put jack stands in the middle of the chassis rails as a safety device before turning off the ignition. Something like that.
2) Using one pair of ramps of modest size to raise up the front and then chock the rear wheels. Harbor Freight has a rubber or plastic set with 6 inch lift for $55 a pair ( https://www.harborfreight.com/13000-...set-63956.html ). This seems like the most straightforward approach but I always worry about non-level vehicles when trying to drain out as much oil as possible. (I have a set of metal ramps that I use for other vehicles, but the lift from those ramps would really be much higher than needed).
3) Using two pairs of ramps of modest size to raise up both the front and the back, and then chock two opposite corner wheels. This eliminates the non-level draining issue and provides all sorts of room to move around for this job and others in the future, but it means a $110 plus tax investment.
4) Jacking up one of the front wheels using the OEM jack included with the vehicle, adding a chock to the rear wheel, placing a jack stand just aft of the front wheel, then repeating the process on the other front wheel. I'd assume the pitch from this would be pretty severe.

Recommendations?

Thanks,

Nick in Palm Springs

 

I use my dads ramp when i can otherwise offroad height with a single axle stand is all i use, not under it long enough for it to be an issue.

 

I just use off-road height
Enough access to not bother with creating more work

 

5. Use a GAP tool to raise the normal height (remember how many MM you raise it), then put it back to normal when you're done.

Really though, I always just use ramps. The amount of oil trapped by the angle is pretty negligible

 

I have found that a set of four of the ramps you linked was a worthwhile investment, for me. Ramps are much easier than jacking, and four ramps makes it easier to get the rear skid plate screws. They were also incredibly handy when I changed out transmission pan/filter/fluid, and for several other projects on the LR3 and other vehicles. 10/10

 

A lot easier to do a guided calibration, but just before one would normally set the valve just pull the EAS fuse in the engine bay to lock in that height. I do it all the time for camping, really need to install an EAS disable switch instead of pulling the fuse tho. Anyway, no need to them go back in and re-program it to the original height that was set.