Depends on your track. Our home track EVERYONE rolls the kart to the grid on the stand, we even have designated kart stand parking lot by the weigh scale. But our parking lot is gravel, so you really wouldn’t want to roll the kart to the grid from your pit area, and track rules prohibit driving karts up to grid either.
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A stand is really important. Its how you get your vehicle around which there is a lot of. Going to and from Pits. The basic scissor stand is fine if you get one with inflatable wheels. You can go all the way up to fancy electric jobs.
Mine always is on a stand unless it’s on the track.
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Most places don’t let you drive around in the paddock. Far more dangerous to be putting around a foot off the ground where people are walking and trailers and trucks (which are at your head height if you’re sitting in the kart). Nothing dangerous really about moving the kart around on the stand. It’s also hard on your clutch to scoot around slowly in the pits.
Plus I think you’ll find that karts are not that maneuverable at crawling speeds in a tight paddock.
Also as mentioned above, some pit areas are not even paved nicely, so it’s not even an option for many people to not have a stand. I can think of a few pit areas (Springfield) where it would be physically impossible to get your kart up to the grid without a stand because of the terrain.
Cool. Got it. I appreciate everyone’s input. I’ll have to pay a little more attention to how folks are using their stands. All points well taken. 
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Most stands will have swivel wheels to make moving & maneuvering a kart significantly easier than just rolling & steering it on the ground. It’s really no contest in comparison. Note that swivel jacks - a variant of kart stands - are used in F1 to make it easier to move the cars about/in/out of the pit garage.
I’ll add that an electric or manual 1-person winch stand that enables you to load/unload your kart solo is highly preferred (& your back will thank you in the long run). There are several good brands available.
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What would I expect to pay for a good used one with a manual winch?
Not sure as the majority I see around tend to be of the electric variety. IM-USA sells their own manual winch stand & also a solo manual tilt-to-lift style stand.
I think those stands are a little harder to come by. Most everyone starts with a manual stand like the Streeter. They have been around a long time and copied too. Anyone with some square tubing and a welder can easily duplicate the scissor design. Those looking to not lift their karts anymore “graduate” to a lifting type stand, so they don’t come up for sale as often. The other drawbacks are kart stands, especially lifting types are big, bulky and heavy, all of which make shipping expensive. Keep your eyes open at the local track and you might find one.
My track hosts a vintage race every year and it appears in the old days no one used a stand, they would wheel the kart to the grid. Some even fashioned an extension for the steering wheel so they could push and steer. Karts today are heavier and lower to the ground which makes pushing or even driving to the grid almost impossible. I think you have the point, but You mention you are an RC racer…do you drive your car through the pits to the track? I am going to guess not, you carry the car to the side of the track. Think of karts the same way.
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That IM semi-auto kart stand looks good. And a $50 flat rate shipping fee in the lower 48. And it only weighs 65lbs and folds for transportation on the kart trailer! Thanks for that link. That’s my fave so far.
There’s a few one man mechanical stands. I think stone is one brand.
No tracks I’ve been to allow you to drive to the grid during a race. I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t use a stand as well. Makes it super easy to move, maneuver, and work on your kart. It’s a MUST have.
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speaking of kart stands, anyone have a cheap one for sale? I live in Rochester hills MI
thanks all
BJ
I just got back into karting myself and when I looked for a kart stand I knew I needed 2 things. Since I’m on my own I needed to be able to load/lift the kart by myself if needed and the kart stand needed to be light and be able to be taken apart in case I just want to load up the back of the truck for a quick practice day. I ultimately went with the stiletto stand from Italkart and it’s been great. I highly recommend it.
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That looks great. How much does it weigh? Didn’t see it on the site…
It DOES come apart for flat transport, right?
I have the black one man stand…It is okay but I will mention a few things.
Yes it does come apart and the weight is similar or less than other stands. It works as advertised but…
This stand will require you to lift your kart in the front and pivot on the rear bumper. While it is a one man operation cordinating lifting and then positioning the stand can be a little tricky.
The small front wheel suck for gravel, if you have uneven ground or a lot of gravel in your pit this may not work for you.
The large tires are low quality, I had a tire split and others that have another version of this stand have experienced the same issue. I am looking to retofit neverflat wheels.
I would not transport a kart on this stand as it is a little flimzy and flexs.
For the money its not a bad deal.
I appreciate the frank review! Maybe the one with the hand crank lift IS better for me…
I’ve been working on this little project over the winter. I bought this used, home-built stand and put new wheels/casters on it. My goal is to stuff the kart, tools, gear, and everything under the topper on my Ford Ranger. I think its going to work out pretty well. I have to take the tailgate off, lock the front casters, remove the rear tires and bumper, then it’ll roll up in there. I know the stand is low if I need to work on the kart but I think it will function perfectly for getting around the pits.
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