Moving a 1600lbs machine?

[Bryan Hall]

So, I am trying to wrap up my machine purchases and the Hammer c3-41 is quite high on the list, but getting it to my home is turning out to be quite the hassle.

Hammer can't deliver it to my home if I don't have a forklift, and if I pick it up with a trailer, I'm at a loss for how to move it from the trailer and into my shop.

I don't have any specialized tools for lifting and I've never done a move like this before, so I'd rather ask and get advice than reinvent the wheel here.

Thoughts, tips, tricks?

[Zachary Hoyt]

We will need more details. If you are in a garage you can hire someone with a rollback truck to pick it up from the depot (or wherever they deliver it) and put it right into your shop, but if you're in a basement and need to move it down stairs that's a whole other level of dread and existential angst. When we had a new boiler delivered that weighed about that much the delivery truck had a liftgate and they set the boiler on the woodshed floor (concrete slab) with a pallet jack. Then I jacked it up and used steel pipe rollers and a pinch bar to roll it into the adjacent boiler room and into position.

[Steve Jenkins]

You might look into hiring tilt back wrecker. Obviously I type too slowly

[Ronald Blue]

As has already been stated supply with all the details you can. What obstacles might hinder things, terrain, where it's going, property access and anything else that could possibly factor in.

[Mark Hennebury]

Hire someone with a forklift to unload it. (The easy way.)
Get it delivered in a truck with a lift gate. ( stressful and harder work. more chance for trouble) Some liftgates are in bad shape.

[Tom Bain]

Hire someone with a forklift to unload it. (The easy way.)
Get it delivered in a truck with a lift gate. ( stressful and harder work. more chance for trouble) Some liftgates are in bad shape.

The liftgate might be dicey for a machine that size. Standard size lift gates don’t give you enough room to turn and maneuver safely. The oversize ones can work, but little guarantee you will get one of those. Forklift is much better option as Mark mentions.

[Bryan Hall]

Hammer/felder has made it clear that they will not deliver it via liftgate, it won't fit safely.
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My shop is a detached two car garage in the back yard. Probably about 100' of cedar chips to drive across to get to the garage doors. 82" high by 105" wide door openings.

Forklift rental is ideal in my mind, but it would need to make it over the hump from road onto driveway, then down the driveway until it gets to the cedar chips, then across the cedar chips without issue. I've never seen/used a forklift that goes across flat, but mildly unstable surfaces, so I'm not sure if they are easy to come by?

[Zachary Hoyt]

I would look into a rollback tow truck, the one I have used locally here to pick up dead tractors for me back when I used to be in the parting out business also hauled sheds for the Amish and anything else. It was $75 for a haul of up to 15 miles or so, and he could put whatever he delivered right where you wanted it, smoothly and effortlessly. The wood chips would not be a problem providing the ground under them is strong enough to hold the truck without sinking.

[scott lipscomb]

A tracked skid steer with a fork attachment on it would do it...you would want to have to have someone with some experience to drive, though its not that hard.

[Bryan Hall]

A tracked skid steer with a fork attachment on it would do it...you would want to have to have someone with some experience to drive, though its not that hard.

Is this a spend 30 minutes playing with it and you are ready to go kind of experience, or is this a hey, you need a legit pro to do this. I've rented little skid steers and driven them plenty, just none with a fork attachment. I have zero fork experience.

[Bryan Hall]

I would look into a rollback tow truck, the one I have used locally here to pick up dead tractors for me back when I used to be in the parting out business also hauled sheds for the Amish and anything else. It was $75 for a haul of up to 15 miles or so, and he could put whatever he delivered right where you wanted it, smoothly and effortlessly. The wood chips would not be a problem providing the ground under them is strong enough to hold the truck without sinking.

I wouldn't expect to sink, but could it get it into the garage with the low opening?

[Mark Hennebury]

Hire someone with the skill and equipment
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[scott lipscomb]

I may have said this a little off the cuff, because I have such a machine (Cat 247b) and I use it all of the time for my woodworking and metal machines, including off loading a 30" Tannewitz bandsaw, which is top heavy and weighs just shy of 2000lbs. You will want to make sure that the machine is heavy enough and strong enough for the job. Most regular sized skid steer loaders should be fine with 1400 and to be safe, you can use a heavy duty ratchet strap to make sure the machine doesn't move around on the forks. I would say if you have a bit of aptitude for this kind of thing, you could pull it off with a little practice on the machine before hand. They are easy to drive. But...take that with a grain of salt, I've probably got 1000 hours on mine. You want to avoid lurching, which hydraulic machines can if the throttle isn't feathered with finesse. The machine from the rental yard should be capable-and I'm guessing that if you have a property with a detached garage and 100' of cedar chips, that there are other jobs on the property that you can knock off while you have the machine.

[johnny means]

+1 on the roll back. I've had 3000# sliders moved this way. Then I did the last few yards with sticks and a pallet jack.

[Richard Coers]

I wouldn't expect to sink, but could it get it into the garage with the low opening?
A roll back can tilt the bed down and fore and aft. When he has it tipped back, he can back up so the bed goes into your garage. Then use the winch to slowly slide it down the deck. Have pipe and some 2x6s sitting on the floor and he'll let it down right on the and it will roll further into the garage. He'll pick it up right at the local trucking company, right off the dock. I had them bring home a 3,000 pound lathe, cost me $100

[Mike Wilkins]

Pallet jack and some cheap plywood. After the delivery driver placed my A3-41 onto my driveway I used a rented pallet jack to lift the pallet, laid some 3/8" plywood on the yard and pulled the box to the shop. Uncrated the machine and used the pallet jack to get it into the shop.
You could also get some high school football players to assist if needed. Pizza payment usually works.

[Ron Selzer]

Talk with your (local) landscaper about receiving it at his place of business and then delivering it to you and setting it in place for you.
They should be able to unload it and then use a skid steer with forks, load complete on a trailer and bring it to you. Unload, drive across yard and set in place.
Should be comparable to renting a skid steer and trailer to move it
Good luck
Ron

[Alex Zeller]

Pallet jack and some cheap plywood. After the delivery driver placed my A3-41 onto my driveway I used a rented pallet jack to lift the pallet, laid some 3/8" plywood on the yard and pulled the box to the shop. Uncrated the machine and used the pallet jack to get it into the shop.
You could also get some high school football players to assist if needed. Pizza payment usually works.

What's this cheap plywood you talk about? lol

[Alex Zeller]

You can rent forklifts of any size. A telescoping forklift would easily do it and are very easy to operate. They are large but that just gives you a better feeling that the machine it's too heavy. Rough terrain isn't a concern and with their large tires neither is soft ground. A skid steer could work but I don't know where the weight will be balanced so there's a potential to be too far in from of it. If you had a skid steer I would try it but if I was renting (I'm guessing you would have to have it delivered) why not rent a real forklift?

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have moved several machines around this size or heavier into my walkout basement, which is about 40’ away from my driveway across the (flat) yard. I have tried various methods depending on how much money and extra help I’ve had at the time of each machine acquisition. Skid steer with slings, lift the machine out of the truck and set it down right in front of the door with some steel wheels bolted to the bottom for mobility. Then the hardest thing was getting it down the homemade ramp that gets you over the door threshold and down on to the slab about 4” below. That was the 2000 lb jointer and I had another 2 sets of hand available to help navigate it down the ramp at a controlled pace.

Ive also use a pallet jack on top of 3 sheets of plywood leapfrogged across the yard and this was easy peasy except for the transitions from trailer to ground (via wooden ramp) and the aforementioned yard to door threshold down to basement slab ramp.

I’ve also used black pipe and long pry bars on plywood across the yard - Egyptian style. This was with a 1500# Tannewitz table saw and while I did manage to get it done with some selective help from my wife, it was the most physically difficult and took the most time.

In your case, as long as your 100’ of cedar chips are dry and solid, I would hire a wrecker/roll back to meet the freight truck somewhere close (possibly even your house if there’s enough space) and have them transfer if via pallet jack (that they would almost certainly have onboard the truck) on to the roll back. Have the roll back back across your cedar chip yard and slide his bed right down into the opening of your shop door. Have some blocking or black pipe or something similar in place on your shop floor to set the machine on so you can move it further in...or rent / buy a used pallet jack and use it to move the crate wherever you need inside the shop.

Shouldn’t be much $ (less than $250-300 total) for this setup and safer and cheaper than skid steer / forklift rental costs especially with an operator that isn’t 100% confident.

It’s not rocket science, but move slowly and intentionally and think through all the steps and have supplies at the ready for the next steps and it should go smoothly.

[Ronald Blue]

I think your 2 best options are the roll back or skid steer/all terrain fork lift like was mentioned by others. I would absolutely avoid a standard fork lift. Even one with pneumatic tires is easy to get stuck off solid surfaces and then you have a bigger issue. Standard forklifts are back heavy and rigid and basically helpless on such terrain. It sounds like this is all soft terrain. (grass is soft terrain) If there isn't any space constraints a roll back can line up straight with the door and put the lip of the bed inside the garage. If you have a pallet jack (rented or purchased) you can at this point lift it enough to roll and he can ease it down with the winch. Safest method because it's a controlled move. If you can hire someone with a skid steer to do it that works too. Unless you are comfortable with running equipment this isn't a time to learn. Whether it's tracked or wheeled it's going to tear up where it turns too. I know this has pretty much all been covered in the posts. How soon will it arrive? Getting a plan in place in advance is obviously a wise choice.

[Darrell Bade]

Live in the country or city? Tractor with a loader and forks if a neighbor has one. I have one I use for that. I like the rollback idea, never thought of that.

[Jared Sankovich]

Under 1500lbs I've always just loaded (or had loaded) the machine in my pickup truck and unloaded with a engine hoist. Over 1500lbs has been a interesting mix, but the best (fastest and easiest) method was a hydraulic drop deck trailer and pallet jack assuming the machine would fit on one pallet jack.

[Joe Calhoon]

1500 lbs is easy with a skid steer. They can be jerky to operate and require a soft touch on the controls but other than that easy to operate. A pallet jack ia a valuable tool once you get to the door and good to have for moving machines around the shop.

[Chris Tolbert]

I’m thinking hire a rigging crew. While a forklift might work, you’ll need to make sure that the mast will fit under your garage door. Riggers will know exactly what they need to do and should have insurance if there’s any damage.

[Justin Rapp]

Rent a Telhandler fork lift like this one: https://www.bigrentz.com/equipment-rentals/forklifts/telehandler/5000-lb-telescopic-forklift-19-ft

It has a boom that will give you some ability to get the machine into the garage door if the machine itself is too tall for the garage door height. The further into the garage you want to place it the larger the machine you will need. A 5000 lb capacity machine should be able to extend about 10 feet out or so with the tool you are moving.

[Wes Grass]

A standard 3 foot liftgate is a scary proposition. Here's what mine looked like.

I got it done. Along with my AD-741, FB-600, and a Lincoln 50 safe. Back breaking work, nerve racking to the extreme. Had a close call on the first one, the planer. Not with the gate, but it 'running away' on the casters once it was inside the truck. There's a slope up to the 'paved' section, and I had pulled the truck forward a bit so the liftgate would be a bit more level when it sagged under the weight. Not so much slope I couldn't stop it, but definitely not fun.

Basic process was install the casters, roll it onto the liftgate. More like, pry it up onto the liftgate with a wrecking bar. Jack it up, remove casters. Raise lift gate, wrestle it into the truck with a wrecking bar. Install casters, roll it into place, remove casters. There was a forklift at the other end, so it was crawl underneath to install the casters, roll it back, forklift it into the warehouse. Reverse that procedure with the 22ft moving van a few days later.

1700 miles later, my best option was a neighbor with a tractor (9N?). Chains over the bucket, wrapped around some sizable sticks of Bubinga slid under the pallets. Barely scratched them. The Bubinga that is. Everything else came thru unscathed. There's less to see in the dark, therefore less to worry about while you're doing it ;-)

My original plan was to rent a liftgate truck with a long (6' or so) gate, back them together and adjust the height if needed with blocks under the tires. But the telecom wires running across the driveway were too low to get the truck backed in. So it had to be backed onto the 'lawn' where the wires were higher. Doing it all in the road wasn't practical.

A rollback is a better solution. You just need to coordinate timing, or pay the guy to sit around for awhile if you have to. And have some chunks of 2x8 ready in case there's an issue with the delivery truck being higher than the rollback.

[Bill Dufour]

A lift gate will require the truck rear frame to be blocked so it does not tilt the entire truck nose up and slide the load off the gate. Regardless the load needs to be strapped to the gate or forks so it does not slide off as it moves. I would buy a used engine hoist or gantry crane to use for other stuff later. They are nice to hang stuff from for painting outside. You can rent a truck with a lift gate for about $100 but I never found out the gate capacity. You can rent an engine hoist and probably a gantry.
Modern pickups have taller suspensions and a engine hoist may not be able to lift high enough to get it out without removing rear wheels. Is there any documentation about top lifting?
Bill D.

[Bill Dufour]

If you do use an engine hoist or gantry most are not rated for moving with a load, static load only.
Bill D.

[Wes Grass]

My take-down/fold-up engine hoist (typical auto parts store model) wasn't capable of lifting any of this stuff high enough to get in a box truck. In most cases, there was interference with the boom before it topped out. I modeled it all in SW to check. And looked at spec's on bigger rental units, which didn't appear to be much better.

The only way to use the hoist was to build, and un-build, a platform to elevate the entire mess. Lift the load onto the platform, and then wrestle the hoist up there. And it wasn't possible to leave the entire platform in place, it had to be partially disassembled to enable access for the hoist to get the payload up on it. As it was, it took me the better part of 2 days to load and haul 4 pieces down the hill.

The gate capacity on the truck I rented was adequate, but I was nearing the limits with the planer. BTW, there were no placards on the truck anywhere as to what it was rated at. I had to look up the lift itself to find out. And the rear suspension did compress as I raised it, but the flexing of the gate itself had a larger angular effect.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

Brian,

I had pretty much the same situation with my A3 31. I live at the end of a cul de sac so the semi couldn't deliver. And my shop is 90 feet behind the house. I hired riggers to pick the Hammer up at the shipping terminal and they delivered it to the shop. After watching how they handled it I was glad I didn't try to wrestle with it myself. Cost a couple hundred if I remember correctly and would do it again. With what the machine cost it wasn't that much more to assure the machine got into the shop in one piece and no one (especially me) was hurt. I believe my Hammer salesperson arranged for the riggers.

Cliff

[Alan Lightstone]

I hired riggers for a 1600# wide belt. Glad I did. They also delivered the large bandsaw, jointer, and planer. They picked it up from the terminal and brought them into the shop with a forklife.

Money well spent.

[Timothy Orr]

If you can pick it up from the freight terminal and they’ll load a trailer at ground level, rent a drop deck trailer like this:
456112
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/e9ffe7a6-b994-4173-871c-d5e4dfbbe59c
the deck hydraulically lowers flat and parallel to the ground. Then you can move it with a pallet jack. Use plywood to lay a road across any soft ground. Another useful rental is a set of rol-a-lifts:
456113
https://sawmillcreek.org/blob:https://sawmillcreek.org/8300fb41-5b7b-43ae-aacd-e6dadb057b48
they make handling the load a bit easier than a pallet jack as you strap them to both sides of the pallet and they have swivel casters so more maneuverable and wider base of support. They are good for 3 tons.

I used both to recently move several pieces of equipment into a walkout basement. Made it easy and drama-free.

tim