Wheels on machinery movers

In the army I was stationed at White Sand Missile Range in New Mexico. Most of the time it is a very dry desert. One day we had to go up-range to launch a missile and it started raining. By the time we got to the launch sight the top two feet of the desert had turned to mud. What fun, slipping and sliding our duce-and-a-halfs and 5-ton trucks in a big muddy playpen almost as much fun as being a kid playing the dirt pile. (I wonder how many modern mothers let there kids turn a corner of the back yard into a dirt pile, we always were trying to dig a hole to china, never did make it.) Anyway back to the desert. The launch got scrubbed. A couple of weeks later we went back to inspect the site for the next try. What a mess! Our nice flat launch site was dry again and all those 2-foot deep ruts were hard as cement. We had to have the engineers go in and bulldoze the sight to get it flat. It was weird, what a couple of hours of rain and the desert was a swamp. A week latter it was all dry except in the low spots. For several months we had lakes in the middle of the desert. The other amazing thing was a lot of the desert turned green, plants sprung up every where.

Scp

Reply to
Stephen
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A possible solution: Many years ago I had seen some machinery moved using compressed air to lift the equipment off the ground. It probably didn't lift up an inch but once lifted the equipment could be moved with ease. Similar to the idea of a hover craft. Each lifting pad had a skirt that trapped the air between the floor and the pad.

I did a Google on: air, lift, move, machinery

Check this web site. I don't know if it's the same ones I had seen but it should give you an idea of how they work.

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The design seems to be more oriented to use on flat hard surface floors but it sure seems like something that could work over dirt. When I think of a hovercraft I picture them able to move over almost anything. Over a hard smooth surface there would be less air used, over dirt probably more.

This company has a little more info on their site:

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4800 lb load using 30scfm. @ 15 PSI. Also note that they make a point about smooth sealed concrete. I wonder if you could just roll out a sheet of plastic and move over it or maybe it could work over dirt but using more air.

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Scp

Reply to
Stephen

That's a tough one knowing you and your site. You want it all , but you need bigger diameter and width wheels. I make up what I need to do the job with dolley/wheel barrel wheels on the outside with minimal turning. Have you thought about making the wheels on the hand truck bigger Dia.? You should be able to find something to make say 3" W X

5"D. wheels from and make put together dolly axles. Crushed slate wouldn't hurt , think they call it Chat around here.
Reply to
Sunworshiper

Potentially a great solution. However the area has to be very level as air pallets run downhill. They are now using this where I used to work, but the floor cost a lot more than plain concrete after they had it ground flat. Being flat is probably not a big problem with the light weights Gunner is moving.

Dan

Reply to
Dan Caster

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