Receiving delivery of new equipment

[Jay Stellers]

I have just ordered a new planer and I'm looking for some suggestions. I live rurally and my house is 3/4 mile from the nearest paved road. It's a dirt and gravel driveway from the paved road to the house. There's no way a tractor trailer will make the trip and be able to turn around. I'm really hoping that the freight company will have a panel truck with a lift gate, but I haven't been contacted yet, so I'm just trying to plan ahead.

The planer I'm getting is the grizzly g0453. Any of you that have this planer have any ideas? I have an enclosed trailer that I can tow with my P/U. The rear door of this trailer opens down so the door becomes a ramp. You can't, however, drive a forklift on this ramp/door. Is this planer (677 lbs shipping weight) something that a few guys (3-4) would be able to move up into the trailer and then out again into my shop?

Also, the manual for this planer that I downloaded says you need a forklift to unpack it from the crate. Anyone know if there is a way to do so without the forklift? Perhaps disassemble the crate and then a few people lift to get anything out from underneath the planer.

I'm looking forward to using the planer. I've got plenty of room in the shop, I'm just stumped on getting it there.


Jay

[Ken Higginbotham]

I used my kabota bucket and straps to lift my new table saw out of my truck. I suppose you could use a 3 point hitch lifting bar to do the same...

[Philip Rodriquez]

I picked up a Griz 15” spiral cutter a few months ago. After it was unpacked, a friend and I lifted it off the pallet… and I had major shoulder surgery last September. I do not think 3 or 4 guys would have any problem moving it. These planers have extendable steel rods that are designed for lifting. Uncrate it and unload all of the extra stuff. The wings alone will drop over 100 lbs. From there, just lift it on to the trailer.
If weight is still a concern, you could also rent an engine hoist. I went this route when I got my 1000 lb jointer and my 700 lb SawStop.

[Irwin Fletcher]

You say you have a pickup. How close are you to the shipping terminal? I live in a similar environment, and I've vowed to just drive to the trucking terminal (2+ hour roundtrip) next time I get a piece of heavy equipment and have them load it in my pickup. My next door neighbor has a bobcat with a forklift attachment, so that helps.

Depending on how far you live from the terminal, you could do the same and rent/borrow a cherry picker to get it out of your truck.

I've also had success with meeting a truck in a parking lot somewhere and backing my truck up to theirs, and they lower the liftgate onto my tailgate and just roll the machine into my truck with a pallet jack. You still have to get it out of your truck somehow though.

I love living in the middle of nowhere, but it's a hassle sometimes. Good luck.

[Eric DeSilva]

I got a great deal on a Grizz 20" planer, and picked it up in my PU. The dude selling it strapped some chains around the steel bars, hooked the chains on the teeth of a front end loader, and deposited it in the bed of my pick up. Since it was just me on the unloading end--and I seem to have not gotten around to getting a front end loader--I borrowed a really hefty engine hoist from a friend, picked it up a few inches off the bed of the truck, drove the truck out from underneath, then deposited the planer on a moveable base...

The second half might help you out...

[Jay Stellers]

Thanks People. I like the idea of the Pickup and the engine hoist, although If can carry this thing into the trailer with a few people that will save me from taking the campershell off the pickup truck.

[Jim Riseborough]

Check this out, I just got the same planer. Its about 450# when you take off the base, and it has handles that 4 guys could lift it.

I carried the base with the motor down the stairs myself. The top I used a crane and a chain fall to manuver, and some straps.


Piece of cake.

Now the 1300 BF of lumber I moved, that left a mark on my shoulder :D

http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=4247074&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

Jim

[Ben Cadotte]

I am also a firm beilver in the pickup / shop crane idea. If you call the trucking company they can arrange for a fee for lift gate service. I have used my engine hoise / shop crane for so many things it would take a book. Even my wife used it one time by herself while I was away to move a compressor that her dad wanted to borrow. An engine hoist / shop crane will pay for itself many times over.

[Jay Stellers]

I got a call from the shipping company today and they are delivering it tomorrow. Wow that was fast. They have it coming on a lift-gate but they didn't have any short trucks so I'm going to meet the driver in town. The plan is to see if I can get the lift-gate and the trailer close enough so the driver can just use the pallet jack straight off the lift gate and into the trailer. Once we get back home, we'll tip the planer crate enough to get my 4 wheel dolly under there and then roll it down the door/ramp and into the shop.

[Guy Belleman]

I have have unloaded 2 tablesaws, jointer and a big bandsaw, twice, out my trailers. One trailer did not have a ramp, but I was able to slide them down some thick board ramps with good control. The one time I used a dolly, I was worried about losing control down the ramp, so I tied a rope around the tool, wrapped the rope around a front post a couple of times, and my son was able to pay out line, providing for a smooth offload. Most of these tools are top heavy, so you have to be careful. Slow is better.

Be careful. We to hear a good report.

[Jay Stellers]

I met the UPS Freight guy in town yesterday and we found a place to get the trailers back to back. He was able to use the pallet jack to roll it into my trailer. I secured the load with tie downs and then came home.

I bribed the neighbors with beer and pizza and I had a great turnout. I had more guys than could get into the action. We tilted the planer crate, got a 4 wheel dolly under it and rolled it into the shop. Easy peasy! Don't know what I was worried about. ;)

The only thing that I did "special" was to rip a board to the width of the gap that is between the trailer door and the ramp/door. That made for a real easy transition. Then I opened the crate, unbolted the planer from the crate bottom and four of us lifted straight up and onto the shop floor. Worked like a charm.

This morning I put the parts together and tested the operation. My only real complaint was when I checked the gear oil. It was BONE dry. Absolutely no oil in there. Glad the manual wanted me to check it. I happened to have the correct oil so it wasn't another trip to town.

I test planed some boards and I've got to modify some of the D/C stuff because there were a fair amount of chips that got pressed into the board on the way out.

All in all, seems like a good machine. Time will tell when I start making board stock this week.