Moving Equipment?

[Brent Dowell]

So, I'm in the process of moving. We've bought the new place, and are renovating our old place a bit. I've already taken a huge truckload of house hold goods up, but soon it will be time to pack up the shop.

I'm only moving about 200 miles away, and we have been doing the move ourselves.

The question is, how do I move the heavier stuff? Stuff like a piano, gun safe, cabinet saw? The jointer, and 14 inch band saw I think I could maneuver up a ramp, but the rest of it, no way.

Most of the truck rental places say they have lift trucks to rent, but only to businesses.

Does any one have any experience doing this? I'm not real keen on hiring someone to move my tools. Had a bad experience one time when I had some folks move my stuff and some of my tools didn't seem to make it to the final destination.

Thanks for any advice!

Brent

[Matt Meiser]

I was able to rent a lift gate truck for the heavy stuff. I also moved a fair amount of it using my utility trailer which sits low to the ground. I temporarily put a piece of OSB on the ramps so that I had a very small edge at the bottom. I don't have a piano or gun safe though.

What about hiring a pro company to move just the big heavy stuff?

[Brent Dowell]

Well,

I guess it's a matter of trust. I've seen the way the equipment has been treated by the delivery companies, and I've had a couple of nightmare deliveries in the past.

I'm also big on DIY, self sufficiency, so if I could do it myself, I'd rather do it that way.

Did you rent the lift gate truck as a business? or as an individual? Was it one of the big guys, or a local rental yard?

Thanks Matt!

[Jim O'Dell]

If you are talking a grand piano, don't even try. A console or spinet is manageable, just be very careful with the front spindle legs. I'd build something out of wood to let the keyboard part rest on so that it takes the weight off the smaller legs.
Other heavy items, if you can get them up on a furniture dolly or two, you could use a come-along to pull them up the ramp if the ramp is not too steep. Just make sure the truck bed isn't pointed down hill after you crest the top of the ramp. It would not be pretty!!!
Good luck! Jim.

[Jack Hutchinson]

items & techniques professional movers use that might work for you - a manual hydraulic lift truck/pallet jack (pictured) will lift 1000lbs or an appliance dolly (designed to climb and descend stairs with a refrigerator)?

There are several options in movers' dollies as well. Industrial catalogs list those.

I've moved spinet piano by laying it on its back - then lifted by the four corners. It needed tuning, but came through undamaged.


- Jack

[Art Mulder]

Stuff like a piano, gun safe,

What kind of piano?

An upright piano can be moved with a group of friends without too much trouble. You can rent these cart/strap gizmos specifically for pianos. They strap around it, and have arms that stick out at each end giving you something easy to lift with.

But you will need to hire a tuner once it is installed.

Grand/baby-grand? Forget it. Hire piano movers. I wouldn't touch it.

[Brent Dowell]

The piano is no great shakes.

Just a typical old short upright type.

It rolls ok, and theres only one step to get it up and over to get it out of the house.

And I'm not really worried about getting it out of tune (It hasn't been in tune in years! :rolleyes:)

I actually purchased the tools and an instruction book on tuning the piano. I've got a nice little strobe type tuner that should do a pretty good job of tuning it once I get it moved. Like I said, it's not that great of a piano, so I really can't harm it too bad.

Fortunately, no stairs at the new place either...

[Kirk Poore]

For moving the cabinet saw, take the motor off. No matter how you pack it, you don't want that motor bouncing up and down and possibly breaking the mount. It will also be easier to move if you take off the table. Same with the bandsaw--take off the table and save your trunnions. For a radial arm saw (should you have one), remove the blade and lower the motor down to contact the table.

The appliance dolly will move most stuff pretty well, once some of the critical parts are removed. Listen to others on the piano, though--I don't know anything about moving them.

The good thing about using a company to move household goods is that you will be there on pickup and dropoff --otherwise, who will open the door? If they're just loading and unloading the same truck, not storing anything, you should be able to supervise to your satisfaction. If you're really nervous, take pictures just before the tools are loaded. Nothing says "damage claim" like a busted cast iron table.

Kirk

[Erik C. Hammarlund]

I dunno. I've moved grand pianos, they're not that bad. They're actually not all that heavy.

You need a LONG ramp. That reduces the angle on the ramp. Be sure your ramp is rated for that weight though!
You also (obviously) need a good dolly which will
roll easily (not tiny wheels) and good secure manner of strapping it on.

Then it's just an issue of pushing it up the ramp. I've moved a piano with 3 people (6' steinway grand) no problem.

The ramp angle is crucial. There's a big difference in work and safety between up-ramp from ground level (often ~3 feet) and from deck level (often flat, or nearly so). Don't be afraid to take the long-but-easy way around. You'll be glad you did. Or build a platform 1.5 feet up, use the ramp to go to that, then from platform to truck.

My wife and I, working without help, have moved a lot of items near (or over) 500 pounds-even while she was pregnant. It's really just an issue of planning and leverage.

Some more tips for moving heavy stuff:
1) ONE person is "boss". Nobody moves without her say-so. Nobody acts independently.
2) Prepare, check, chech, and check again before you start moving things. Especially up ramps.
3) Always have a "run spot" if something goes south.
etc

good luck.

[Bill Webber]

We have been trying to relocate for a while now. I bought a 1500# rated utility trailer and I've moved all my shop equipment, all the new minimax stuff and this piano with it. MLW and I have done all the moving. For the piano, we used an electric winch mounted to the trailer (You can set it in the pic). Padded cleats surround the base and a padded tie-down board sits on top. It was threatening rain the day we moved the piano so it's wrapped in stretch plastic. I was concerned about bouncing the piano around too much so I took the drive pretty easy. I did drop some towels in between the hammers and the strings to help keep those parts in place, don't know if it helped anything. Bottom line, successful move, no damage whatsoever.

[John Downey]

Thats my experience also. The heavy side of a grand piano is the straight side, and once its strapped to a skid board it only takes a couple careful people to move it. I've seen a pro do it on his own (helper had a hangover and didn't show up). A friend and I have moved them in and out of u-hauls often enough, though the ones with the low deck have a really short ramp. We used a block and tackle pulled by a pickup to get it up the ramp. Too easy.

As far as machines go, renting a cherry picker is the way to go. I've also hoisted them from the roof trusses in my old garage, but that's a little risky. Last year I bought a 1500# pedistal crane with a hand winch that bolts on the back of my flatbed. I'm afraid I'm getting soft now.

John

[Randy Denby]

John, I'd sure like to see that pedistal crane....got any pics?
Thanks, Randy

[John Downey]

Its just a little thing, 5' reach. It'll still lift about anything I own though.

Now lets see if the upload worked, not the best picture, but the only one I had handy.


John

[Bart Leetch]

A baby Grand is easy to move. With help take the legs & peddle support off. Yes they are screwed on. When this is done you can set it on moving blankets on the floor of the truck or trailer. My mothers 1928 Brambach 6' baby grand came all the way from Seattle to Vancouver Washington in our 1962 Chevy pickup back in 1965 with no problem at all. When my mother passed on it was moved this way down to Eugene Oregon to my cousins home.

[Greg Narozniak]

We moved 35 miles back in May and I moved my entire shop with a Rented 24' box truck with a power liftgate. Myself and 2 friends were able to get everything loaded and moved with out incident. The gate had a load rating of 2500 lbs and that lifted everything with no problem.

I bought a roll of Shrink wrap from an Office supply store and wrapped most of the machinery and protected the corners of the machines with wood corner brackets. I felt it helped keep each machine together and the only damage out of everything was to the edge of my Biesemeyer fence got chipped. My fault as I did not wrap it.

Most moving companies will move it for you but for me the cost would have been too much as we had "A LOT" of stuff to move from the house. We filled a tractor trailer "to the Brim" and half of a 30+ foot truck. It would have been a good amount of $$$ extra for me to have them move it.

A few Dollys and a real good handtruck made it fairly easy.

[Frank Fusco]

A lot depends on the condition of your back. If you are young, foolish, but with a strong back, improvise and rent equipment. I have been moving furniture and appliances since I was young, it can be done by one person in most cases. (and I'm a small guy) As your back grows wiser, weaker and more painful, writing checks to professionals becomes the only feasible method.

[Tom Henry]

You need a 4 wheel Dolly with rubber slates. With that you should be able to move just about anything. Lift one end and place the dolly under the object your moving. With someone holding the dolly under the piece, slowly lower the raised end down and then let the dolly do the work. Just make sure you get a good dolly with good wheels.