Safety safety safety! sorry to hear about your friends accident dave. I have used racheting stands for years and never had a problem
even tried to lift the handle with just a little weight on them and the pin just snapped, the pawl never budged.
Ramps are Oh sooo convienent. Get a GOOD Jack! 13 years ago I picked up a well used Lincoln 2 ton floor jack, It's twice the size of those disposable 2 ton floor jacks, I'm sure it will outlast Me and whoever has it next. A $30 china special will need replaced every 2 years with reasonable use, they just aren't worth the trouble of replacing the seals.
No hassle replacment warranties are golden. I havent come across many ratchets, wrenches and sockets that don't break, buying the same thing twice sucks.
for storage a 4 dr box is a good place to start, most tool sets come in some sort of case but you still need a place to put misc tools.