Moving a 1/2 ton jointer down a 200' driveway. Would this work?

[Glen Blanchard]

I would like to buy the Grizzly G0609X 12" jointer with spiral cutterhead which has a shipping weight of 1050 lbs. My primary concern is how to get it down my 200' driveway and up the 4" lip onto the wood subfloor of my shop. The jointer would be delivered via UPS freight with curbside lift gate service.

My plan at the moment is to purchase and use this dolly....

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...9664_200419664

I hope to have the freight driver (with my help) rest the shipping pallet with the jointer on the dolly. I would use it to move the jointer down my concrete driveway. I would then use a shop crane (either purchased or rented) to lift the jointer from the pallet, up to the level of my garage shop floor, and properly position it in my shop. I don't have much concern about the use of the shop crane, but am a bit more concerned about the feasibility of rolling the pallet and jointer on this dolly. The website does not specify the dimensions of the dolly, and I wonder if it has a sufficiently large footprint to handle the pallet. Might I need two dollies? Any other concerns? Any comments? I am wanting to pull the trigger on this, but have to nail down the logistics first.

Thanks.

[Keith Hankins]

Piece of cake! I've got the G609. I paid 75 bucks for lift gate delivery. The driver rolled it off the lift with a pallet jack and rolled it into my garage. It will come bolted to a steel packing crate base with plywood cover on it. It's packed well. To get it off the steel crate I used a rented engine hoist(pic). I first moved it with an engine hoist and some 2000lb rated straps it will roll and you can easily pop it over lip. the second time I moved it, I just used two dollies from harbour freight. to lift it I used a 2 ton bottle jack and a 4x4 to lift it high enough to slide one under one end. I went to the other end and did the same thing and put a second one under that end and just rolled it to where I need it.
g609_hoist.jpg

[Mark Blatter]

The website does give the dims on the dolly....18x30 with 4" casters. I would not try doing it with just one or two people. And you may find that the UPS driver isn't willing to help. Likely it could cost him his job if he gets hurt taking it beyond the end of the truck.

How flat is the driveway? Any chance it could get away from you? I would try and get a few more guys to help out, then I think it would work.

[Ray Newman]

I 'dunno' about using that dolly to roll 1050 lbs. 200'. Just how smooth is your driveway --it may not take much to hang up the wheels with that load on them.

I would call a moving or drayage company and ask their advice.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

What kind of a drive way do you have? Is it paved and smooth or are we taking rough gravel?

I would consider renting a pallet jack to move it down the driveway.

Take some 2x6 or 2x8 s and other scraps to build a temporary ramp to accomodate that 4" lip.

We moved my MM-16 on a double pallet down a rough gravel driveway by 2 of us moving sheets of plywood while the trucker moved the pallet jack on the plywood down 100' of rough gravel driveway. Of course that's half the weight you are talking but still I believe it would have handles 1000 lbs.

[Bill LaPointe]

+1 for Ken's solution. I have moved many machines into my shop using that approach. Buy or rent a pallet jack and move it in.

[Hans Braul]

I moved the same beast into my basement this past summer - see my post:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...09X&highlight=
To move it around the shop I used some 2" aluminum tube that I had laying around. You can see the rollers in one of the pics. It worked like a charm and I can't see why you couldn't just roll it using something similar. May need to lay down plywood if your drive is uneven but otherwise it's a piece of cake.

Hans

[Erik Christensen]

every grizzly big machine I have was delivered with lift gate service - in every instance the fedex freight driver rolled the machine up my 100+' driveway through my garage and in to my shop and dropped the pallet exactly where I asked

if you have a solid surface driveway you might find the driver will deliver where you want

[Matt Meiser]

I've received lift gate deliveries 3 times now. Each time the truck was a straight truck and they backed right up to my shop for the two tools and to the garage for a clawfoot tub. That said, none were UPS Freight. I've received 2 tools from Grizzly via UPS Freight--one was light enough for me to pick it from the regular truck and one I picked up at the depot on a Friday evening because I didn't want to wait until the following week to get it.

You might check with a rental place on the price of renting a forklift. It might be well worth the cost. Have them set it on the ground and then just lift it a few inches to move it around. Another option would be to rent a truck yourself with a lift gate and a pallet jack and pick it up at the terminal.

I wouldn't trust that dolly. Maybe a few of them but definitely not 1. And you'd need a really smooth surface regardless.

[Ed Hazel]

Every machine that I have purchased from grizzly, the driver is always delivered right into my garage. If you think they may not deliver inside your garage go rent a pallet jack the day of the delivery should be all you need.

[Ron Natalie]

One thing I used last time I had something huge to move like that (it was a pipe organ console), was to rent a pair of "roll-a-lifts". These appear to be heavy duty handtrucks with a hydraulic bottle jack to lift the foot. You put one under each end, wrap the straps around the whole thing, give them a pump on each side and whatever you have will roll.

[Rick Pettit]

Home Depot rents trucks with liftgates for 20 bucks for four hours I think. Pick it up at the local trucking hub and they will load it on the truck. Or if the machine is bolted to a pallet sit it on some 4x4 skids. Lag the pallet down to the 4x4's and put a piece of 3/4 inch all thread across the ends of the skids. Hook a chain to it and your lawn mower or whatever you have with a motor and transmission and drag it slowly to your shop.

[Glen Blanchard]

Our driveway is what I believe is called 'aggregate'. That is, it is concrete with small stones on the surface, and thus is not as smooth as simple concrete. It also is on somewhat of a grade (not steep, but it is easily seen). I had the gal at Grizzly contact UPS to see if they offered a service (for a fee, of course) where the driver would move the crate into my garage. She called me back 24 hours later informing me that UPS does not offer such a service. However, I would think that there must be pallet jack on the truck to get these heavy items over to the lift gate. If so, I suppose I can ask the driver if he would let me borrow it for a few minutes in order to wheel the crate down to the garage. From there I can rent or buy a shop crane to get it into the shop.

[Chris Kennedy]

Would the UPS truck be able to go down your driveway? If the driver can make it down and back without too much trouble, he may be willing. I haven't had many UPS freight deliveries, but the drivers have always been willing to something reasonable.

Cheers,

Chris

[Lee Schierer]

I moved the same beast into my basement this past summer - see my post:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...09X&highlight=
To move it around the shop I used some 2" aluminum tube that I had laying around. You can see the rollers in one of the pics. It worked like a charm and I can't see why you couldn't just roll it using something similar. May need to lay down plywood if your drive is uneven but otherwise it's a piece of cake.

Hans

I'm with Hans, two sheets of plywood if your driveway isn't concrete and 5-6 pieces of PVC or steel pipe. Depending upon the design of the pallet you may need to set it on a couple of 2 x 4's (nailed in place) so the rollers will roll under the pallet. Unless your drive is perfectly flat have at least two helpers to help with tthe move.