Heavy Tool Crisis

[Tim Streagle]

I've got a (new to me) Grizzly 1021 15 inch planer that I picked up on C.L. and it was loaded onto my F350 pickup by the previous owner. He had a truck with a tommy lift and we rolled it over into mine. It's now stranded there because I don't have anyone else to help me get the darned thing off of my truck! I took the motor off the top but it is still heavier than I can manage. My wife would help but there's no way she can lift one side of this thing. I'd remove the stand and mobile base but I still have to pick it up to do that!

Tomorrow I'm going to go rent an appliance dolly from Uhaul and see if that will enable me to lower it off the truck with the tail gate removed. I'm not sure my back will ever forgive me for what I'm about to do. I am a recent immigrant to my new state and I don't know anyone nearby, so I'm kind of on my own.

Any ideas before I kill my self? Block and Tackle from a tree limb? Pile up dirt then push it onto the pile? I'm at a loss for something this heavy. Sure do miss the Bobcat I had back in Virginia.

[Michael W. Clark]

I know the dirt pile was meant to be sarcastic, but the concept actually works well. My wife and I unloaded a 1023 TS from my truck bed by ourselves. I took the top off but the base was still too heavy to handle. I backed the truck into a ditch to get the tailgate as low as possible. Then I used 2x4s stacked up for cribbing and slid the base out and onto them. Then all we did is remove the 2x4s one a time until the saw was on the ground. If your planer has feet or legs, you may consider sliding a piece of plywood under them and attaching it. This would give you a flat bottom to work with when sliding it. I wouldn't do the dolly unless you KNOW that you can hold it. Once you start over the truck bed, there is no going back, and if you drop it, its done.

[Stephen Cherry]

The problem is that it is top heavy. Where is it going? My garage has an attic above, and I've taken a 4x4 and put it across several of the roof trusses above the attic entrance. Rope, a harbor frieght el cheapo come a long, and I've lifted lots of machines.

Today I took a ritter 23 spindle line drill out of my truck by myself, no comealong or anything. How? You let gravity work for you. Also, I always try to haul on the side for stability and ease of unload.

Or use a pallet and ramp.

241923

[Stephen Cherry]

Oh- welcome to the site!

[David Kumm]

You can rent an engine hoist from a rental center, roll it under the wheels , lift the planer, and drive the truck away. Dave

[Mike Metz]

Like Dave said i have used the engine hoist trick. Worked very well to remove my 20" grizzly planer off the pallet

[Steven Green]

Plus two for the engine hoist. I brought home a Powermatic 45 Lathe a while ago and my son came over with his hoist. Picked it up in the bed of the truck, drove out from under it, rolled it into the shop. Piece of cake.

[glenn bradley]

Hurting yourself is not worth it. I built a ramp out of the packing crate one machine came in. A long gradual angle can be managed. A short or weak ramp spells disaster; take it seriously. Most rental yards rent some sort of Genie-lift if you are on a paved surface. These are hand cranked forklifts that can handle quite a load. I used one to wall-mount my cyclone and it was one of the best cost-to-benefit decisions I ever made.

[Ole Anderson]

Yes, rent a collapsible engine hoist from your local auto parts dealer or rental shop. Don't screw up your back, it can stay with you for a lifetime.

http://contentinfo.autozone.com/znetcs/product-info/en/US/tor/T32001Z/image/2/

[Paul Johnstone]

Any ideas before I kill my self? Block and Tackle from a tree limb? Pile up dirt then push it onto the pile? I'm at a loss for something this heavy. Sure do miss the Bobcat I had back in Virginia.

Man, there's an easy solution..
Go to Criagslist.. there's professional movers that do side jobs there.
I had a 20" planer, I think it weighed about 800 lbs. It cost me about $60 to have it moved from the garage down to the basement. Best money I ever spent. I wish I had known about this before bugging my family to haul heavy tools down the basement. The guy I hired was huge.. moved pianos for a living.

[Paul Sikorski]

I've got a (new to me) Grizzly 1021 15 inch planer that I picked up on C.L. and it was loaded onto my F350 pickup by the previous owner. He had a truck with a tommy lift and we rolled it over into mine. It's now stranded there because I don't have anyone else to help me get the darned thing off of my truck! I took the motor off the top but it is still heavier than I can manage. My wife would help but there's no way she can lift one side of this thing. I'd remove the stand and mobile base but I still have to pick it up to do that!

Tomorrow I'm going to go rent an appliance dolly from Uhaul and see if that will enable me to lower it off the truck with the tail gate removed. I'm not sure my back will ever forgive me for what I'm about to do. I am a recent immigrant to my new state and I don't know anyone nearby, so I'm kind of on my own.

Any ideas before I kill my self? Block and Tackle from a tree limb? Pile up dirt then push it onto the pile? I'm at a loss for something this heavy. Sure do miss the Bobcat I had back in Virginia.

I just had the same problem I just bought a 20 inch planer from grizzly it weighed in at 800lbs. I pulled the front of my truck up on car ramps and let a bunch of air out of my rear tires this got the tail gate about 18 inches off the ground then just a couple 2 x 10s and I slid it off.

[Thomas Hotchkin]

1+ On the Engine Hoist. Off loaded a 12" Northfield jointer by my self with a over sized engine hoist. Just lift it up and drive away. Tom

[Carl Beckett]

I have done a couple large tools myself (>1000#)

I make a ramp. Then lever it up and screw some wheels on it (all my stuff is on wheels). Then a block and tackle or chain hoist to 'pull it out' - while at the same time a rope (the friction works so dont need a block and tackle in this direction) to 'hold it back'.

So as I pull on it with the chain hoist, I am slowly letting out the rope that is holding it back. In this way I can slowly work it down the ramp. The shallower the ramp, the better (but I need to go right into my shop - even pulling under a tree limb and unloading would just leave it stuck there.....)

[Dave Novak]

I've hired help for everything from moving to digging out overgrown bushes in the classified section of craigslist.

[Peter Kelly]

Most rental yards usually have folding metal loading ramps for pickup trucks as well. Shouldn't be terribly expensive. Would be certainly easier than trying to cobble something together out of construction lumber. I've moved all the machines I currently own (12" jointer/planer, Unisaw, 20" bandsaw, Delta HD Shaper, 12" drill press, etc) into my shop with them and an appliance dolly.

[Gary Herrmann]

I use my 2 ton engine hoist for things like this all the time.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I bought a 1 ton folding engine hoist from Harbor Freight for $100.

Used it on oneway lathe, hammer jointer/planer, and grizzley shaper.

I also used it once on an engine, though it was just to support the engine while i replaced mounts, not to swap the engine.

Folds up and stores tightly in the corner of the garage.

[John Lifer]

Rent or buy engine hoist. or Make ramp and slide out. I've done latter several times with 400-500 pound items. Get some 2x4s, and sheet of 3/4 ply and make a ramp. Double or triple them up if your worried about weight. Renting the hoist is probably best idea if you have capacity for the height required. Take it easy, think about what your doing and DON'T GET UNDER IT!

[Ronald Blue]

Definitely the engine hoist. Especially if your driveway is paved. Then you aren't wrestling it down a ramp. Lower it down close to the ground and roll where you need it.

[Tim Streagle]

Okay, it's off the truck and in my shop. I simply bought a six pack , drank it, then I didn't feel a thing. I'm a big guy and guess there's an advantage to that.

Okay, so the chain hoist (on sale at Harbor Freight) and two straps didn't hurt either! Backed up to a tree and lifted it, drove out from underneath, then lowered it onto a sheet of 7/16 OSB. The we used another sheet to roll it over to the shop floor. Worked like a charm. No trees were hurt during the process. Chain hoist is nice to have. It will be a permanent fixture hanging from the large beams in the shop from now on. (Couldn't use the beams in the shop to hang the planer, it was being used to hang the truck camper shell at the same time). Don't need no stinkin' engine hoist. If I get one of those things the shop's personality will change toward the car mechanic look too far. Plus it would be in the way all the time. I'd much rather be identified as a board stretcher than a wrench turner!

[Peter Gregory]

Be warned, just because you can hang a chain hoist from your ceiling, doesn't mean you will not pull the ceiling down on your head. It is better to have a gantry crane instead. A gantry crane, chain hoist and a push beam trolley are the best solution. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-ton-telescoping-gantry-crane-41188.html You roll the crane around your truck and you are golden. We know that 5 minutes, is unlikely to do much... but don't hang an engine up there for the afternoon.

Glad it turned out for you.

[Tim Streagle]

Understand about the ceiling coming down. It is hung on through bolted, paired 2x6's that are braced with a couple of triangles involved, all held up by 6x6's, so I'm not worried much about weight up to a 1/4 ton. However there is no way I'd do more than that. Thanks for the concern!

[Tom Walz]

Aw shucks, I was hoping you were close to Tacoma, WA. I was going to get a couple of my sons and come over.