Moving machines

Hello all,

Is is just me, or does the metalworking industry seem deaf to hobbyists and other home-shop customers? Put another way, what is the correct approach to getting a machine off a truck in one piece. I am by no means fixed on the Enco lathe, but I asked them about shipping, and have gotten mixed signals about a lift gate. I can understand "it's too heavy for that" but it seems strange to me that companies that sell heavy items do such a poor job of giving consistent answers to customers.

I have an engine hoist and an F-150 that would be able to cope with safely getting a 1000 lb lathe down my sloping driveway, but going from flat bed to the ground is another story. Control over shipping was a big factor in choosing Rutland for my mill-drill, though I will admit the process was not free of surprises. It worked out well, but proved I was right to have respect for the weight of what was arriving.

How do YOU handle a ton or so slathered on cosmoline sitting on a truck outside your home? Do I need to buy a fork lift to be one of the guys? :) There are manual stackers that have suitable capacity, but they appear to be a lot more expensive than the 500-700 lb variety I have been considering for general use.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Schwab
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You can rent a forklift.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus22384

Here's what I do:

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(By the way the beam raises up about five feet.)

And here's what I used to do:

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Another thing you can do is to have the freight shipped to a warehouse, where you go pick it up. Don't use your F-150's bed. Pull a low trailer. That way your engine hoist will have a chance.

I picked a Bridgeport mill off a low trailer once using a cheap 2-ton engine hoist.

GWE

Reply to
Grant Erwin

It may be their trucking company of choice doesn't offer much in the way of high-cap lift gates. Check with other trucking companies in your area to see if they offer heavy lift gates and what they would charge to re-deliver to you if you have the lathe delivered to them; it might be the cheapest choice.

If this works you may also avoid some fork lift anxiety.

dennis in nca

Reply to
rigger

When I bought my Enco lathe several years ago, I paid around $50 extra (to Enco) for "lift gate service" which amounted to a regular tractor trailer delivering the lathe and a flatbed tow truck attempting to unload and slide it off. The tow truck driver (which the trucking company hired, not me) was inexperienced and had to call for a forklift from his towing company (which fortunately they had). If I had to do it again, I would have the lathe delivered to a local rigger, and have the rigger deliver and unload it at my convenience for around $500. Obviously not cheap, but the least hassle.

If you want cheap, try to find a place where you can rent a drop-deck trailer (ie. the bed can lower all the way to the ground). Then see if Enco will deliver to a local terminal. You pick up from the terminal and have them load your trailer with their forklift. Maybe even have them remove the pallet with the forklift (by lifting the lathe bed using some wood blocks, or with a sling, both of which you supply).

You can also hire a flatbed tow truck with a driver that has experience unloading machines. But expect to pay for several hours of his time while you and he wait for the tractor trailer to show up. You could also send him to the local terminal.

Reply to
Albert

Iggy and I along with a few friends used a Bobcat with forks on it to get a Bridgeport mill off of his trailer and into my garage. Now, a few of us had to sit on the end of the Bobcat as it was lifting the rear wheels off the ground. There is no easy answer. A gantry is ideal but how many of us have on in the shop? I wish I had one. An engine hoist would have bent in half if we tried that one.... The price of having cool tools I guess.... I won't move any time soon simply due to the size of some of the gear and tool boxes in my shop. To move all the shop stuff a Rigging company was 10K and that was from NC to Chicago just to drop it in place.... I guess I need a printing press for cash next! I feel your pain Bill. That's just how it is.

Respects,

Rob

Fraser Competition Engines Chicago, IL.

Reply to
RDF

You can probably unload from the flatbed to the pickup a bit more easily. I did that with a big stack washer/dryer when the box truck delivering it couldn't handle my very steep driveway. Was only a couple feet of height difference from the box truck to the pickup so that part was pretty easy.

Another thing you can do if you pre-plan is build up a ramp-pad that the flatbed can pull alongside and you can back the truck up onto so it matches the flatbed height. People do this to full dock height, but if you use the pickup the ramp only has to be a couple feet high. You can use solid concrete blocks, 6x cribbing or dirt to build the ramp.

Reply to
Pete C.

If it's a 1,000# lathe, I don't see how any trucking company would have a lift gate that it was too heavy for. I don't think I've seen a lift gate under 2,500# capacity.

Reply to
Pete C.

Can you get the shipping company to load the lathe on your pickup at their terminal?

It might be quite a bit cheaper and easier.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

"RDF" wrote: (clip) I guess I need a printing press for cash next! (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ They are heavy too.

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

So, Bill, is it a 1000 lbs or a ton?

That was a scary moment.

There is no easy answer, but, 1,000 lbs is not that much either. So a clarification is in order, what is the weight of the lathe.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus22384

I agree that a rollback wrecker with an experienced driver is about the best way to move a piece of heavy machinery into (or out of) a ground level garage. Unless the freight terminal is far away, sending the rollback to the terminal is probably the best option.

Here's my buddy "Animal" moving a large furnace shell out of my shop. (Animal has the pony tail, I have the shiny spot where the pony tail used to be.) I wouldn't want him dating my daughter, but he's never made me nervous moving anything, and I don't recall ever paying more than $150 for a half-day job.

Reply to
Ned Simmons

I had the front end of a tilt bed tow truck 3'+ off the ground when unloading a large generator. The look on the driver's face was priceless. We gently removed the load from the back with a pair of big jacks and lowered the front of the truck back to the ground.

Nope, 1,000# is pretty manageable. When it gets over 2,000# then you start to tax "normal" home shop rigging supplies.

Reply to
Pete C.

Try watching this:

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Yep, I consider 1,000 lbs to be a more or less a DIY job

i
Reply to
Ignoramus22384

and the link...

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Reply to
Ned Simmons

I just moved my entire shop about 200 miles. The biggest item is a Bridgeport, but I have a few other good-sized machines (10" lathe, surface grinder, 7x12 horizontal band saw, etc.). I used a 16 ft. flatbed truck, a gantry crane I built, a HF 2ton shop crane, three furniture dollys and 3 extra people.

Lower the mill table completely and run it all the way back against the base and then turn the head upside down. The shop crane will lift the mill, but don't try to move it. You'll wreck the casters and gouge the floor. Pick it up and set it on the dollys and then carefully roll the whole mess (keep the crane attached and just snug so that if the machine starts to go, the crane will support it...). I then wheeled it out to the truck, picked it up with the gantry (2 ton chain hoist) and backed the truck under it.

After loading the big machines, I disassembled the gantry and loaded it on the truck and, of course, strapped everything down.

At the new place, I didn't know much of anyone, so I hired a couple local college students to provide some much-needed extra muscle. They were good workers who did as they were told and we got the machines off the truck and into the shop with no damage either to the machines or the people.

My total cost of the move was lunch for the friends who helped load, gas for the truck and fifteen bucks an hour for three hours each for the two kids...

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Foster

Well here goes

I picked up a 2800 pound mill (Index model 45) in new jersey.

the seller had a boom truck and he boomed it into the rental F250 i was using for the pickup.

When i got home i called my local towing company (ON the next block form my house) and explained the situation and asked them to show up with a boom truck rather than a tilt and load

the boom truck lifted the mill 1" and i drove out from under it then we lowered the mill onto the hydraulic ram of the truck and backed it down onto a pallet at the end of my driveway

WHEN i got my shipping container i moved it using a combination of inexpensive chain hoists a cheap 2 ton shop crane LOTS of web slings and 4 inch solid concrete blocks to make platforms or supports for the crane wheels as needed

ANY liftgate should be rated for at least 1000 Lbs

the little gates on the MAC and SNAP on tool trucks have to carry 1000 pound toolboxes so thats kinda bs that a shipping company lacks something appropriate

Reply to
Brent

This is what I was going to recommend -- once you're shipping stuff that's bigger than what UPS is willing to carry you have to deal with trucking companies, and their coverage is regional, not national.

I'm lucky in that I have relatives who own a shop that regularly ships by truck, so I can just have stuff shipped there. They put it in my pickup, then I take it here, scratch my head, and ask "how in heck am I going to get this out without breaking it???"

Reply to
Tim Wescott

Have a slant bed towing truck there at the same time. Have the semi hand fork it over to the waiting truck. Then the wrecker truck ties it down and moves to the place where it tilts and lowers it down with the winch.

Martin

Mart> Hello all,

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

The problem with the lift gates are insurance. Few have them anymore.

Penske is the only rental with them. They are what the local semi truck people use when they need to deliver to a non-dock. At a charge...

Mart> Hello all,

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

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