Moving a large laser

[Ron Robbins]

I have been lurking for while on several forums and I finally took the plunge and bought a low priced chinese laser from Ebay:

/itm/351346333192

I am pretty sure this is the redsail x700 because it looks just like a clone of it. It is on the truck on its way to me and then a huge problem struck me today. What if the truck will not unload it to my garage and only leave it at the end of the driveway (which is short) or worse in the street at the curb.

Have any of you had this problem? I am thinking about renting a pallet jack but I am not sure even how to get the pallet jack to my house. I do have a large pickup truck but lifting the pallet jack out of it when I get it to my house might be an issue.

I just wondered what anyone else's experience might have been. Did the drive help you take it into your garage? Did you have to do this yourself?

I am also planning on taking it through a doorway to get it inside. So I will need to take the upper part off of the mobile base and turn it on its side. Has anyone done that as well?

Thanks for any insight. I appreciate it.

-Ron

[Mike Troncalli]

I am sure there will be better answers, but keep it in the crate and grab a couple of flat 4 wheel dollys.. They are like $20.00 at Home depot...

[Richard Rumancik]

Welcome Ron. Is there any reason you think that they would not be willing to back up to the garage? I assume you are able to contact the shipping/delivery company . . . if they bring a truck with a tailgate lift (maybe that is already planned) then I don't see why they couldn't back up to the garage and set the pallet down right in front of the garage. You have to let them know that you don't have a forklift - whever you need, they will likely have, and it would be cheaper to pay them to bring what is needed than for you to buy/rent equipment on your own for one-time use.

[Michele Welch]

I would suggest contacting the shipping company ASAP. We had a pool delivered on a pallet in several boxes and even though we have a long, straight driveway that the truck could easily back into, their company policy was that the truck not put even a tire on our property. They did have a lift gate and he had a pallet jack and they brought it up to a garage, but if I hadn't arranged it in advance they wouldn't have put it on that specific truck. Better to bug them and be sure than for them to get there and not be able to do what you need done. Good luck.

[Mike Troncalli]

Hi Michele :-)

[Bill George]

I have been lurking for while on several forums and I finally took the plunge and bought a low priced chinese laser from Ebay:

/itm/351346333192

I am pretty sure this is the redsail x700 because it looks just like a clone of it. It is on the truck on its way to me and then a huge problem struck me today. What if the truck will not unload it to my garage and only leave it at the end of the driveway (which is short) or worse in the street at the curb.

Have any of you had this problem? I am thinking about renting a pallet jack but I am not sure even how to get the pallet jack to my house. I do have a large pickup truck but lifting the pallet jack out of it when I get it to my house might be an issue.

I just wondered what anyone else's experience might have been. Did the drive help you take it into your garage? Did you have to do this yourself?

I am also planning on taking it through a doorway to get it inside. So I will need to take the upper part off of the mobile base and turn it on its side. Has anyone done that as well?

Thanks for any insight. I appreciate it.

-Ron

Unless you paid extra for lift gate service usually at least a $100 more, (and assuming it would fit on the lift gate) your going to need a fork lift to get it off the truck. I have a small 6 x 8 flatbed trailer I use for picking up things at the Freight Terminal. Yes, just call down and have them hold at the Terminal.

Another problem, at the Terminal they use fork trucks to load on your whatever. Sometimes they don't have a Ramp so the fork truck can't come down to load in your pickup or trailer. So you need to have a way to get it down 6 feet or so into your truck or on your trailer. So a good tie down strap, those big yellow ones rated for 3,000 lbs or more, or a chain is needed to lower it down to your vehicle.

Your better off with a low to the ground trailer, so when you get it home it will be much easier to unload. The box is BIG.

Done this so many times.... lift gates only work if you have moving dollies. Don't know where your at but Menards in the Midwest carries some nice ones.

[Ross Moshinsky]

I'd make a skid/pallet with a couple of carpet dollies underneath. Getting the laser on the skid/pallet is not rocket science. Have the truck driver use his liftgate to bring the laser down to the same level as your pallet. Then simply push it right onto the skid/pallet. Most truck drivers have a pallet jack in their truck, especially when doing mixed loads, so if on the off chance the laser isn't on wheels, they will be able to easily move it over to your skid/pallet. Once the laser is on the skid/pallet and strapped down properly, it should be relatively easy to move it wherever you need.

With all that said, you're probably best off having $$$$ in your pocket. $$$ turns a no into a yes pretty quickly.

[Bill George]

And PS Save the plywood makes great practice boards and look out for bugs crawling out. I had some in the little Tupperware like tool kit.

[Ron Robbins]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I like the carpet dolly idea. I did not think of the driver lowering it onto that. If he is able to that seems like a good idea and will get up (yes it is slightly uphill) my driveway. If the box is too big for the lift gate I am screwed. I will need to have him take it back to the terminal where I will have to pick it up in a moving truck.

I will certainly have tip money enough to negotiate some extra services.

I am really hoping the truck is 24ft or smaller. Then there should be no problem back into the drive. I have never received something by freight before though so I am not sure what to expect. I am calling the shipping company tomorrow to prepare and get more information.

Thanks again!

[Michele Welch]

Hi Michele :-)

Hi Mike I'm assuming no news is good news? Everything going ok? Here's a link to our new toy! https://youtu.be/9mRUxKwHb0s

[Julian Ashcroft]

When my laser was delivered, the driver backed up onto my drive and he used a pallet truck to move the laser box onto the door lift, lowered it to the ground and then used the pallet truck to move it into my garage, all done in about five minutes with no fuss. Just talk to your shipper I'm sure they will put your mind at rest.

[Dan Hintz]

Hi Mike I'm assuming no news is good news? Everything going ok? Here's a link to our new toy! https://youtu.be/9mRUxKwHb0s

I don't want to sidetrack (too much), but I'd love to know why the machine takes so long to start a cut... is it constantly checking it's height?

[Mike Lassiter]

here is a picture of mine after we started taking the crate apart. I didn't take a before picture. I had to load it on a trailer as it was too big for my 3/4 ton truck bed.

100_0514.jpg 100_0515.jpg Me in the gray tee shirt (2008) and the guy bent over is the dealer we bought from. That's the install team - he and I. The door you see behind the laser in the first picture was what we had to carry it through to get into the building. We had to take the machine apart to get it through the door opening then put it back together. More (and younger) help would have been great.....

We where told our machine weight over 400 lbs, and total shipping weight over 800 lbs. Crate made from 2x lumber, plywood and 4x4's. It was very heavy made, but I don't think it weighted 400 lbs. You should be prepared for something like this if you are getting a large machine. Our laser has a 24" x48" table and is almost 69" wide 44" deep and almost 44" tall. Of course - the crate will be a good deal larger.

[Kev Williams]

Although the job is done, I do know (imo) the best way to move heavy stuff around on the ground-

Spend some money on a 2' x 8' x 1/8" thick sheet of HDPE...
Cut a 12" long hand-hold hole on one end, and drill a couple of holes on the sides of that hole to add a rope harness.

You now have a teflon sled that will move 1500 pounds of stuff across concrete, gravel or lawn almost effortlessly, and will store on the garage wall...

[Bill George]

Mike lucked out he already had the wheels installed, once he got the crate off that is. I take that back, looks like just leveling feet. Forget saving the plywood for practice piece, looks like enough material to add on to the garage!