Moving shop - time to buy a forklift?

[Jonathan Jung]

I'm looking at moving my shop soon, up to 45 minutes away, and am faced with a couple decisions. Thanks for being a sounding board. I'll want a forklift eventually, out of convenience not necessity for daily operations, and am wondering if the move is bringing a large enough reason to justify the purchase.

A) buy a used forklift for unloading at the new location and borrow one from a friend for loading at the old location, use flatbeds and various vans/cargo trailer (no cost)
B) rent one forklift, $684 for one day w/pickup & delivery, $286 for a second day, and borrow a second forklift, use flatbeds and various/vans/cargo trailer (no cost)
C) rent a Penske 26', 3,000lb lift gate, truck, skid the lift approach so I can roll a loaded pallet jack onto it, $491 for one day and estimated mileage, $175 for a second day

What could I expect to spend for a used forklift, one that doesn't need work and won't need significant work for some years? I'm seeing prices from $6,000-12,000.

Equipment where a forklift could be helpful moving:

WBS ~ 2,200lbs
Jointer ~ 2,000lbs
Bandsaw 26" ~725lbs
4x8 Workbench ~250lbs
Sawstop 450lbs
Spindle sander 300lbs
Bandsaw 16" 470lbs
Edge sander 600lbs
Bandsaw 24" 1,050lbs
Drill press 20" ~600lbs
Planer 15" 550lbs
Plywood storage rack, loaded ~2,000lbs
Powerfeeder cart ~200lbs
Chemical cabinet, loaded ~600lbs
Toolboxes x4, loaded, each ~who knows?
Hardware cabinet, loaded, ~who knows?
Radial arm saw, 300lbs
Unloading stacks of materials

I'm counting 14 items where it would be especially handy, for weights and awkwardness where even 4 guys would be pushed to the limit.

I got all this stuff into my current shop without a forklift, using a pallet jack, skidding trailers to the shop floor so the jack won't high-center, strapping ingenuity, and lots of time.

A box truck would be useful, but not necessary, for moving our personal items, as we'll be moving home too, out of a small rental at the same time we move the shop. Both our home (one rental) and our shop (commercial space) will be moved onto the same property.

Any other ideas, suggestions?

[Cameron Wood]

Include in your calculations the ongoing cost of owning a forklift vs the amount of use it would get. Maintenance, depreciation, but also having a place to keep it.

I would investigate hiring movers for the big stuff.

[George Yetka]

If not abused maintenace is pretty light. Ours is about 10-12 years old. I believe we have spent about $1000 on it in all that time. Its probably due for a little maintenance. But still original tires/brakes/ and almost everything else. We put a new ignition switch and 2 new batteries in. It was 40,000 new.

I would figure that the cost for rental will be more. Everytime we rent we get shown a price of x but said and done its 3x. 1x is delivery, 1x is the rental, and I have no idea where that extra x goes

Is the second property a shop in your yard? you can look at tractors with forks. Lulls are also a good buy if you have any uneven terrain

[Michael Burnside]

Is this even a contest? To add what Cameron said plus storage and if this is a business, insurance, I just don't see "buying" anything short of throwing money away. And 6K for a forklift that is actually worth while is going to cost several grand more fixing it up, if you can find parts. I'm surprised you could find anything near that. The devil is in the details on something like this for sure.

I rented a 5K lb fork lift with 6' extended forks when I took delivery of my 2000lb CNC. It was 350 bucks for the day with added insurance. I picked it up and brought it back.

There are also drop-deck trailers, but I don't know if they are in your area for rent and you need a 3/4 ton to tow it unless it's a smaller 5x9 bed.

[Jim Becker]

If you have intention of actually using a forklift at your new property with enough frequency to justify owning one, I think considering that is sound along with taking delivery there and borrowing for load-out if you can actually do that. It looks like you're a business so there are potential tax benefits for the acquisition, too. (those should also influence whether or not you buy used or new...talk with your business accountant) I know that when Matt Cremona got more heavily involved with building his business and got into a warehouse situation, he ended up buying a new machine because finding something that hasn't been beat to death was proving difficult and I suspect that Section 179 write off may also have come into play.

[Bill Dufour]

used battery lifts can be had for scrap value if the battery is no good. For light use a few truck batteries will let it run for 10-15 minutes which may be enough. Also need several hundred pounds of extra ballast.
I would think hard about a battery pallet mule or walkie stander. how much lift height do you need?
Bill D

[mike johnston]

A forklift is handy for a lot of things. But beware of the surface you are traveling on. Forklifts are great for putting machines together. Our lifting up something to put a mobile base under. My forklift is a hard tire version. It likes smooth hard surfaces (concrete) and little else. If you can swing it a skid loader is a great option. Unfortunately a bit more money. It’s all terrain, and opens opportunities for lots of attachments. I probably use my skid loader 50 times more than my forklift. Perfect example, a foot of blowing snow yesterday and today will be moved, if it ever stops snowing and blowing

[Jonathan Jung]

Well, I certainly want to get one at some point, it's just a matter of cash flow.

According to the rental place, $346 is pickup and delivery.

I've thought about the battery option, as Bill you're right that once the batteries only last a short while the value of the forklift is much much less. I know a guy that got one for $1000 only because it only runs 10 minutes or so on a charge. He's had it a long time that way.

[Jonathan Jung]

There's ones like this that come up time to time.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/hvd/d/bend-clark-warehouse-forklift-3k/7706138299.html

Good lift height, sufficient capacity, would do the trick fine.

[Kevin Jenness]

There's ones like this that come up time to time.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/hvd/d/bend-clark-warehouse-forklift-3k/7706138299.html

Good lift height, sufficient capacity, would do the trick fine.

My friend had that same lift, got it cheap when our employer bought new and put a new head gasket in it and used it for several years, but it was always a bit sketchy in his rough shopyard. He recently replaced it with a skidsteer with forks and is a lot happier with its greater stability and capacity.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

How about a compact tractor with a loader and a pallet fork attachment. It might not be nimble enough for indoors?

[Phillip Mitchell]

“Compact” tractor with forks on FEL will not come close to handling the weight of many of his items. It takes a heavier, more full sized tractor in the ~60 hp + range to think about safely lifting ~2,000 # with forks. Rear ballast weight and filled rear tires can help this equation but a tractor and FEL is a poor forklift if that is the primary use, in my experience. A skid steer is a marginally better choice if you’re needing more flexibility from an all purpose machine that also needs to life with forks, but even then you will need one of decent/reasonable size and weight to lift around ~2k pounds +.

My vote is used, excellent condition propane forklift with all terrain / pneumatic tires if you have the space and cash flow to handle it. Once you have used one in your workflow, there is no comparison to anything else.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

We moved "Belching Beulah" the gigantic antique dbl drum oscillating sander with the JD 2030 we did have it ballasted. The loader is rated for over a ton, that sander is closer to 2 tons. I will restate my thought. How about a full-size tractor with a loader? I guess that would not be nimble enough either?

[Jim Becker]

I agree with Phillip. A tractor isn't a good solution for this specific kind of work and the spaces that it needs to be done in, let alone capacities. I feel the same way about a skidsteer for the environmental reasons, even though the load capacity tends to be higher for the given side...not a good "indoor" tool. A forklift is designed for the purpose.

[Jacob Mac]

I just moved my shop an hour away. What a pain. I had tools from 600 to about 1500 lbs. I used a pallet jack, cherry picker, and a lift gate truck. Throughout the move, I thought I should have sold everything and taken up golf. Now that the move is over.... I'm still not convinced.

But to your question, I'm not sure a forklift would have been worth it.

[Bill Dufour]

I wonder about used BEV batteries in a lift truck. They may not hold enough charge for a car but you need several tons for a lift truck so they might add up to enough power.
I have heard of people getting worn out BEV batteries and using them for home solar storage.
BilL D

A little research say Telsa battery pack units run 22.8 Volts and charge at 25 volts. This is as new condition, used who knows?

[Jim Becker]

Form factor can come into play with BEV/PHEV batteries, Bill. Most of them are designed as large assemblies that sit down low under the floor, at least for the BEVs. That keeps the weight as low as possible for stability because of how heavy those suckers are. But they certainly might be possible to use.

[Jack Frederick]

I have a friend who has milled a lot of big lumber. He has a Ford 450 flat bed with a side boom center mounted behind the cab. It is an old pipe-line welders rig. Depending upon the space you are in and going to I think it ideal for your business. If you have the height to get it in the space you can boom out and pick. If to short you have to be able to get the load to the door but easy peasy from there. The advantage is you have a Truck to handle material every day and the ability to handle it safely, assuming you aren’t surrounded by meatheads. Insurance is an issue with these rigs. You might try your local utility to see if they are replacing their boom trucks. To me your real issue is the on/off lift and transport. Fork, skid, TLB all can do the job, but then they sit. A boom truck can pay in a lot more ways. One bit of additional advise. If you go this way, get a new cell phone number, because you are going to have a lot of new friends. You are fortunate to live in such a fine place.

[John Pendery]

What kind of property do you plan to move your shop to? Are you looking at commercial space in a metro area, or a more rural property where you plan to build a shop? I only ask because I used to have a shop in a warehouse type environment where a forklift made most sense, but recently moved and built a shop in a more rural area where I have a compact tract loader that is exponentially more useful than a forklift. If you’re just forking material on flat concrete indoors the forklift wins hands down, but track machines have so much flexibility depending on where you are and what you might wind up doing.

[Dan Barber]

I wonder about used BEV batteries in a lift truck. They may not hold enough charge for a car but you need several tons for a lift truck so they might add up to enough power.
I have heard of people getting worn out BEV batteries and using them for home solar storage.
BilL D

A little research say Telsa battery pack units run 22.8 Volts and charge at 25 volts. This is as new condition, used who knows?

That voltage is for the individual cells in the Tesla battery pack. The entire pack output is more like 400 volts. Adapting a BEV battery pack to an old battery forklift would be a VERY challenging project. Not saying it can't be done, but it's likely cheaper to buy a new forklift.

[Michael Burnside]

That’s right Dan. You can wire batteries in series to increase the voltage and parallel to increase capacity (amp/hours) or a combination.

[Jonathan Jung]

Thanks all for your replies. Based on your advice and talking to my friend who will loan one forklift, it looks like it will be best to only borrow one forklift for everything. By renting a box truck and borrowing two big flatbeds, we can hopefully get the heavy equipment in one run, which would allow us to take the forklift to the new location to help unload. Even if we have to take it back to load more, it's cheaper to ferry it back and forth once or twice than pay for the luxury of having a forklift at each end. This obviously only works because it's a short-distance move.

[Ron Selzer]

Thanks all for your replies. Based on your advice and talking to my friend who will loan one forklift, it looks like it will be best to only borrow one forklift for everything. By renting a box truck and borrowing two big flatbeds, we can hopefully get the heavy equipment in one run, which would allow us to take the forklift to the new location to help unload. Even if we have to take it back to load more, it's cheaper to ferry it back and forth once or twice than pay for the luxury of having a forklift at each end. This obviously only works because it's a short-distance move.


How are you going to move the forklift?? 3000lb liftgate won't safely load the forklift
Keep safety at top of your list, what will it cost if you end up with a broken arm cause something shifted and your arm was in the way
Ron

[Jimmy Harris]

Forget the forklift. Just rent a truck with a lift gate and use some pallet jacks.

If you use a forklift daily, they're great to own. If you only use one every once in a long while, they're a nightmare. First off, not using them for long periods of time is a great way to damage one. They don't like to sit idle. Second, they will tear up your concrete floor, especially around the door where they go in and out. Thirdly, if anyone breaks into your shop, they'll use that forklift to either steal your heavy stuff or damage stuff for fun, depending on if it was professional thieves or bored teenagers. Plus, you'll have to pay increased insurance rates and make sure you have someone who's licensed to drive that thing. Can you get by without a licensed driver? Sure. Lots of businesses do. But if something happens and your insurance company finds out the driver didn't have a license, you're paying the damage out of pocket. And with a forklift, the damage is almost always significant and expensive.

So, my point is forklifts are indispensable if you actually need one. But they're a huge cost and liability if you don't.

[Jim Becker]

For you folks saying "just use a liftgate", you need to reexamine what the OP said his machinery weighs and potentially what the size is.

[Aaron Inami]

For you folks saying "just use a liftgate", you need to reexamine what the OP said his machinery weighs and potentially what the size is.

Totally agree. Actually, my local Felder warehouse will no longer arrange "normal liftgate shipping" for many of their machinery because of weight and risk. It's strictly a rigging company process with flatbed and forklift.

If you are going to use a pallet jack for these 1000lbs+ machinery, the only thing I would recommend doing is rolling it onto a drop-deck trailer.

[Jim Becker]

Aaron, another option for terminal to chop is a tilt bed, roll off "wrecker". I used that method for my CNC machine...direct transfer from the semi-trailer in a parking lot near my home to the roll-back and then winched down to shop level. But for the OP, a forklift makes sense for loading unloading the heavy and numerous gear they need to move, whether the forklift is owned, borrowed or rented.

[Ed Weiser]

When I moved my shop 1500 miles I rented a forklift and built custom pallets to load them on a flat bed semi. Had a forklift on the receiving end. Safer for me and the machines and quicker. Weather can be a factor in your neck of the woods also. The type of forklift will depend on the surfaces you have. If you load/unload on level paved surfaces, a forklift like you posted is fine. For gravel or dirt, you need pneumatic tires or even an all terrain lift. Good luck!

[Lee Schierer]

I would rent a forklift and record the hours it is used before deciding to buy one. Most companies that own forklifts require their employees that need to drive a forklift get formal training on them for insurance reasons. You might want to check with your insurance company for their cost increase if your shop owns a forklift.

[Mike Gillispie]

Kubota MX will do. Biggest compact tractor that has hydro. I couldn’t live without mine. Not exactly nimble indoors though…especially with a 1000 lbs box blade hanging off the back.

The new Yanmar hybrid drive system looks intriguing…gear drive but has hydro like features.

[Philip Glover]

When I needed to move my 3,500 lb lathe this is the truck and forklift that was used. It was very easy to the point that it was a drama-less event.
Do not bother with a lift gate truck.

514510

Regards,

Phil

[Michael Zerance]

Looks like you figured out a good solution. The forklift and flatbed trucks should make it quick and easy. I helped move a friend's shop with a liftgate and it was slow and cumbersome.

We just recently moved my shop and my equipment list is similar to yours. We loaded everything with a pallet jack into an enclosed trailer that has a rear ramp door. A flatbed would've been nice but my dad had the trailer so, to save money, that's what we used. I used a forklift to palletize all the equipment first and then used a forklift on the receiving end to take everything off the pallets and set the equipment in place.

I'm surprised at the amount of people recommending not buying a forklift. After owning a forklift for the last 8 years, there is no way I will ever not own one. There were some operations that I can't even fathom how we would've got it done without a forklift, at least without risking damage or injury. They are invaluable for moving and setting up the shop but, really, it's the convenience of everyday use around the shop that makes them worth the investment. It is just effortless to unload and move supplies and materials around the shop. In addition, the ability to load lumber and plywood onto pallet racking or cantilever racking is not only immensely convenient but it also offers a ton of space savings.

As for cost, I paid $2300 for the bigger forklift I have at my old shop and $3800 for the smaller one I have at the new shop. There are tons of deals out there if you're patient.

[Tom Bender]

So you are borrowing a fork lift and moving it to both locations. Sounds like a good plan. A couple of suggestions;

Offer to pay for a little maintenance and get it done before the move. oil change, carb overhaul, new seat, clean up the battery terminals, tires...

Fork lift operator skills vary more than dogs. Unfortunately, sight unseen it's hard to separate the Pugs from the Goldens. You can get this done with a Pug but an ace will make it go so so much better. Best of luck.

[William Hodge]

Figure in lumber deliveries. Being able to take a package of lumber off a lumber truck, bring it to the rack, and sort the wood as you slide it in, is a great time and back saver.

I worked in a shop where we used a fork lift as a freight elevator to get stuff up and down from the second floor. We had my door shop up there. One thing we didn't have was qualified people running the forklifts. One clown would would lift a cart load of lumber up, then bounce it on the forks. He called it "The Cart Stress Test". Good times.

[Dan Howell]

When I had my shop a few years ago, I bought a used Nissan 4000lb propane forklift from a local forklift shop for $4000. They offered a one year guarantee and would also also come out to my shop once a year to do routine maintenance (inspection, oil, grease) for $225. I never had any problems with that lift. When I sold it after closing my shop, I sold it for the same $4000. I would definetly check with some local forklift shops to see what they have as the take trade-ins all the time.

[Jonathan Jung]

Well, thanks all. I'm glad I didn't buy nor rent a forklift. A friend 5 mins away lent me his for loading. The property we bought came with a tractor than can lift about 600lbs on forks. So we trailered everything under 600lbs over on two flatbeds first. Then the last 2 trailer loads had the heavier machinery, so the forklift was relocated to the new shop to unload them. It all went very well. 7 trailer loads of machinery.

Now I have a much better idea of what kind of forklift I'd want, if I even decide to. The tractor is quite capable (with rear counterweights).