Moving equipment and lumber

[Kurt Swanson]

I am in the process of building my dream shop. I purchased equipment and lumber from my brother-in-law who lives an hour and a half away. The equipment includes a cabinet saw, 20" planer, shaper, lathe, dust collector and 4500 bd/ft of lumber. My question is, how am I going to move all of this stuff? I can't seem to find anyone with a decent flat-bed trailer. I have a 5' x 8' utility trailer that I can get some of the smaller stuff in, but that won't hold an 800 lb. planer or all that lumber. I'm thinking of calling one of the moving companies in my area. I live in northern Michigan. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kurt

[Jon Endres]

Gonna cost you a few bucks but how about renting a box truck with a lift gate?

[Ronald Blue]

I can't imagine there not being plenty of companies/individuals with 5th wheel trailers in your area. But another option would be to rent a uHaul or similar large truck to do it yourself. If you get a local by the day rental you will only pay the daily fee plus gas and mileage. Try a website like uship also. You can put it out there and see what type of response you get. Good luck.

[Van Huskey]

Make note the weight of the wood alone, depending on species, is going to be between 4 and 8 tons, a 26' Uhaul has a max load of 7,400 pounds.

[Marc Burt]

For that much I'd hire movers and be done with it. That much weight needs to be properly distributed on the trailer too.

[Robert Engel]

+1 on the lift gate truck. You should be able to rent one or hire a moving company.

Getting the equipment to the truck can be biggest issue. Are they on mobile bases?

If not on a mobile base, obviously you'll need a hoist to pick up the planer (which is the time to put a mobile base on it).

You could also try calling a machine shop they may have some suggestions on who to call re: moving heavy machines.

[John Lanciani]

4500 bf is a good chunk of wood. I'd be looking for a lumber yard that has a delivery truck equipped with a piggyback (3 wheeled all terrain fork lift) and hiring them to move it. Hopefully for you it is still in lifts, not loose...

[Kurt Swanson]

Good idea on the rental truck with tailgate lift. I'll have to get a moveable base to put under the planer. The lumber unfortunately is stacked in several loose piles. I'm going to pack what I can into the moving truck and maybe have a professional deliver the rest.

Thanks for all of your responses. It is very much appreciated.

Kurt

[Charles Lent]

A big rental truck with lift gate is likely the best way, IF you plan on doing the move yourself, but you will need some good reliable friends with good backs. machines that are less than 400 lbs each can be moved safely, without lifting, by two people. If heavier than that, you need more people who know how to move heavy machinery. Tip machines slightly to lift one side at a time. Then put a dollie or block of wood under it and then repeat to lift the other side. Don't try to totally lift anything with just pure muscle. Use a Johnson Bar to pry up one edge / side at a time without doing any lifting if it's heavier than 400 lbs. Buy each helper a pair of new leather work gloves, and hand them out before they start helping. They will appreciate them and you will maintain their friendship by showing that you care about their safety. These gloves can be had for about $1.25 / pair, so the investment is very little to reduce pinches and splinters. Plan on doing at least two round trips, and possibly three to avoid overloading the truck, but I think you can do it in two trips if you get the biggest truck that you can legally drive. Have plenty of padding and rope to tie the machines in place in the truck and keep the delicate parts of one tool from hitting another. Rent a heavy duty hand truck, machine moving dollies, and a Johnson Bar if any heavy machine is not already on it's own wheels. Have many 2 X 4 shorts of varying lengths and a circular saw, an impact screw driver, and power drive screws to screw the 2 X 4s down to the truck floor to anchor the tool bases in place to keep them from shifting. This is a common practice and the screw holes will not even be visible when the screws are removed. Since truck lift gates do not lower dead flat with the ground, plan on having some heavy sheet steel (3/8 thick ? ) to serve as a mini ramp to get the tools from the ground to the lift gate. You might be able to use a piece of 3/4 plywood for this, but both plywood or steel need to be wide enough for the widest machine. If thicker than 3/8", the edge needs to be beveled so you can roll things across it easily.

I've been involved in many machinery moves. Taking your time and thinking each motion out to find ways to move things without trying to muscle lift anything heavy is the key to success and safety. You and your friends should not try to muscle lift anything weighing more than 60 lbs. The dollies, hand truck, and Johnson bar are for that.

Do not hire furniture and household movers. If you want to hire someone to do this move, find a reputable "Rigger" by asking around for people who specialize in moving heavy machinery. Your move will be a "piece of cake" for them. These guys specialize in moving the big industrial machinery and putting railroad engines back on the tracks. Your move will almost be a "vacation" for them. Household movers have no concept of how to move heavy machinery and no concept of what furniture grade hardwood is. They will handle it like firewood.

Charley

[Rollie Kelly]

When I moved from So. IN. to Central Tn.,I bought 2 20' shipping containers, they can be rented monthly. I bought them so I could continue to use them as storage. They are weather proof and securely lockable, therefore, I didn't have to be in a great hurry to unload. If not loaded to max (67,000#) they can be moved by anyone with a "Rollback".
Just a thought,
Rollie

[Martin Wasner]

Shipping container is a good idea. I'd even look into just buying it and using it as long term temporary storage or just reselling it after the fact.

[John K Jordan]

4500 bf is a good chunk of wood. I'd be looking for a lumber yard that has a delivery truck equipped with a piggyback (3 wheeled all terrain fork lift) and hiring them to move it. Hopefully for you it is still in lifts, not loose...

That's a good idea but the moving cost might be high for that distance. To save money, that amount of wood could be easily loaded/unloaded by hand. I just moved 6000 lbs of hay by myself, unloaded, carried, and stacked 6 high. Now I did have a lot more energy back when I was 65 but I still get by somehow.

JKJ

[Earl McLain]

Out of curiousity--what would one expect to pay for a 20' shipping container, and who do you buy them from? Might be a good alternative to building another shed and 20' x 8' or so might be more usable than 12' x 12'.
earl

[Mike Heidrick]

4500bf is a lot more than 6000lbs. Going to take three trips with a standard car hauler. About ~4lbs a bdft. At 6-7K a trailer load is 3 trips at least with a car hauler trailer typically.

[Van Huskey]

Out of curiousity--what would one expect to pay for a 20' shipping container, and who do you buy them from? Might be a good alternative to building another shed and 20' x 8' or so might be more usable than 12' x 12'.
earl

There are tons of places to buy them, usually a online yellow pages search will give options in your area. In general they are $1200-$3000 items the ones at large ports tend to be cheaper, the farther inland they tend to be more expensive. You also have to factor in getting them moved to where you want them since most people don't have a means to pick one up. If all else fails try eBay, many of the sellers have them located around the country. My neighbor who has a flooring store here in Louisiana needed extra storage space (the floods here mean 70,000 homes need floors) he got his from New Orleans and paid right around $2,300 each dropped off at his store. If I could get away with it (HOA wouldn't have it, plus my wife probably wouldn;t either) I would have one for wood storage.

[David Kumm]

If you are only an hour and a half away and can make several trips, have you looked at renting a drop deck trailer ( JLG type ) for some stuff and a regular one for the rest? does the lumber need to come soon or can it be spread out over a few months? Dave

[Earl McLain]

There are tons of places to buy them, usually a online yellow pages search will give options in your area. In general they are $1200-$3000 items the ones at large ports tend to be cheaper, the farther inland they tend to be more expensive. You also have to factor in getting them moved to where you want them since most people don't have a means to pick one up. If all else fails try eBay, many of the sellers have them located around the country. My neighbor who has a flooring store here in Louisiana needed extra storage space (the floods here mean 70,000 homes need floors) he got his from New Orleans and paid right around $2,300 each dropped off at his store. If I could get away with it (HOA wouldn't have it, plus my wife probably wouldn;t either) I would have one for wood storage.

Thanks Van. Really competitive with a decent sized shed when the size is considered. We live in the country so now worry about the HOA. My wife, on the other hand, would also be...uh...difficult to convince!!
earl

[Kurt Swanson]

If you are only an hour and a half away and can make several trips, have you looked at renting a drop deck trailer ( JLG type ) for some stuff and a regular one for the rest? does the lumber need to come soon or can it be spread out over a few months? Dave

The delivery of the lumber can be spread out, I'd just like to have it here before the snow starts. Multiple trips may be the answer.

[John K Jordan]

4500bf is a lot more than 6000lbs. Going to take three trips with a standard car hauler. About ~4lbs a bdft. At 6-7K a trailer load is 3 trips at least with a car hauler trailer typically.

It would certainly depend on the tradeoff between the equipment available and the cost of hiring the move. And whether the lumber is stacked both forklift accessible and forklift friendly (i.e. each board doesn't have to be hand carried from storage and stacked onto the forks.)

The amount that can be hauled at once depends on the equipment. I use an 18' gooseneck trailer which could carry that in one trip. Maybe life is different elsewhere - lots of people I know around here have similar or larger trailers or trucks.

Cherry is about 35 lb/cu.ft or almost 3 lb/bd ft. A 12' 4/4 board would be 35 lbs., easy to carry two at a time. To me 375 boards doesn't seem like a huge chore for a healthy person, especially if he had a helper. However it might be too much for one person, especially if working alone and perhaps didn't normally get much exercise.

It would certainly be worth while to get a quote. I was more concerned about the cost than the effort. One guy I know here gets $250 to move up to 6 tons of hay just 50 miles. (He brings an off-road forklift with him.) I got a quote from another to haul a big load of fence posts about 60 miles from the pressure treatment factory. Yikes, they wanted about $900 so I did it myself instead. Fortunately I have a bobcat with forks for unloading. Perhaps Kurt knows someone with similar resources.

I do like the idea of renting or buying a shipping container. Those things are incredibly strong. I have two of them and I can easily drive my tractor inside with 1200 lbs on the forks.

JKJ

[Ken Combs]

You really need to get a good estimate of the lumber weight. Guesses here have been all over the place. But, that's because we don't know the species. Could be 1 to 45 lbs/bdft. Pine/larch framing stuff to white oak estimated weights.

Also lengths are important in planning the load.

More info would help the folks here provide good info.

Rental truck with a lift gate, or just a ramp (like Uhaul) if you have dollies or movers platforms and helpers. I like Uhaul because their trucks are lower, so easier to roll stuff up the ramp. With really heavy stuff, like the big planer, I'd use a hand winch or come-a-long to steady the load. not necessarily to pull it up, but to assure it doesn't roll back down!

An appliance dolly, the one with straps to secure the load, can be used to move some amazing weight. Heavy built, flat, four wheeled dollies can do hundreds of pounds.