Moving/transporting a 15" planer

[John Pariseau]

Is $179 the 2 ton or the 1 ton?
I’ve never seen an aluminum version. The hoist is heavy itself by the way.

179 for the 2-ton.

[Jim Andrew]

A piece of plywood to cover the ramp, a pry bar to get it over the edges, and some straps is how I would handle it. I have moved heavier machines on my tilt bed trailer. Strap it well and you need not lay it down.

[John Pariseau]

So, here are my options:

• Have a moving company move it at $98/hr, 3.5h
• $150 or $108 to load it onto my trailer for me (two different quotes)
• $179 2-ton hoist, plus two lifting straps at $10/ea
• $38 overnight rental, plus two lifting straps at $10/ea

I'm leaning towards renting since the lift I can rent comes apart into individual pieces. I don't want to deal with the hassle of selling the unit after I'm done with it, and for the time being I have no space for a lift. By renting the lift, I can then move it on and off the trailer with "ease".

This means I'll have to disassemble the unit, however. I'm a little concerned about how much effort that will take. From looking at the unit and assembly diagrams:

Remove pulley cover
Remove belt
Remove louvered plate from front of base
Unbolt four bolts from machine corners

How likely is it that the four bolts will come off easily?

[John Pariseau]

A piece of plywood to cover the ramp, a pry bar to get it over the edges, and some straps is how I would handle it. I have moved heavier machines on my tilt bed trailer. Strap it well and you need not lay it down.

I'm assuming the casters would have to go? How would you get it off the caster base?

[Chris Hachet]

I would echo the earlier sentiment of disassembling the unit. Bring a strong friend or two. When I move things I like to make sure they are strapped firmly in place and I often use blankets to keep things from clanging around and rubbing against each other.

My preference is to move things inside of vehicles rather than in the open if possible as it cuts down on theft, vandalism, and damage from weather.

I moved a 700 pound lathe this way with the help of my 21 year old daughter, no problems at all.

[Matt Day]

The 4 bolts should come off pretty easily - that’s not a spot prone to corrosion or anything, of which there appears to be none on the machine anyway.

Removing the parts you mentioned is an easy task, don’t let it intimidate you. Unless you have no mechanical skills at all, and if that’s the case you may want to pay someone to do it for you.

[John Pariseau]

The 4 bolts should come off pretty easily - that’s not a spot prone to corrosion or anything, of which there appears to be none on the machine anyway.

Removing the parts you mentioned is an easy task, don’t let it intimidate you. Unless you have no mechanical skills at all, and if that’s the case you may want to pay someone to do it for you.

The machine is in pretty good shape, but the 4 upright screw threads need some grease/lubrication. Most of what's on it is dust/dirt.

I wanted to load it into my Element, but I don't really have anyone who can help me, hence a crane/etc...

I'm pretty mechanical - my only intimidation is having to take it apart in someone else's barn, an hour away from home, and I worry about not bringing enough/the right tools. But, the guy seems to be a nice fellow, I just don't want to hassle him.

[David Tiell]

I agree with the suggestions to separate the top from the base. I moved a 16" Jet planer from Ohio to Maryland in the back of a Saturn SUV that way. It will also make it a little less awkward to handle. And I think renting the engine lift sounds like the right way to go for your circumstance.

Dave

[Jim Andrew]

If you leave the planer on the dolly, put a piece of ply on your ramp, roll the planer up to the ramp. Use a flat pry bar to get the dolly started onto the ramp. Once it has started up the ramp, push it up until the second set of wheels touches the ramp. Use pry bar to get the second set onto the ramp. After the whole dolly is onto the ramp, push the planer up to the floor of the trailer. If it will roll onto the floor, push into the center of the trailer. If not, use pry bar to get it onto the floor. After the planer is in the center of the trailer, raise the ramp, and strap the planer down tightly in both directions. Wrap your straps around the stand of the planer so they can not slide. Use at least 4 straps. You should be able to drive away with the machine on the trailer. Check the straps after you go a short distance, to make sure nothing has come loose. Depending on distance, check straps after you go a mile or 2.

[Matt Day]

You really don’t even need a trailer if you have something like an Element, except I guess you’ll need to haul an engine hoist! The engine hoist should be able to slide under the car and drop the main part of the machine into the car. I’d place a piece of 3/4 ply in there to distribute the weight and protect the car. Strap it down in the car so it doesn’t slide.

If it were me I’d bring the following:
Ratchet/socket set (both metric and standard)
Wrenches
Adjustable wrenches
Channel locks
Screwdrivers
Drill/impact driver
Straps
Gloves


Here’s another idea for loading into your car with some Egyptian/OWWM style moving.

Insert (2) 2x4’s in end into the planer and lower the head into it to tighten them down. Stack some 4x4’s in your car as donnage, and put a pipe on top. The top of pipe should be the same height as the distance between bottom of 2x4 to bottom of main casting. Back your car up to the planer, unbolt the head, pick it up using the 2x4 and push/roll it into the car.

[John Pariseau]

Ok, thank you all for the suggestions. Pickup is Friday late afternoon.

Since I don't have a lot of experience moving heavy equipment on dolly's, I'm a bit concerned about tilting it at any angle to get it up into the trailer.

I'm kind of nervous about this going right, so here is where I'm at:

1) After posting this morning, I got exact cost estimates - they became $220-250 to load it onto my trailer once I gave an address.

2) I went to harbor freight and bought the 2T engine hoist, two lifting straps, four 2" ratchet straps (to augment my smaller 1" straps), and a ratcheted winch. My hope, is that I can return the winch and ratcheting straps, but I might keep the straps since they were cheap and I don't have any that size.

3) I'm going to make a trip to the rental place tomorrow - if the engine hoist looks useable, I will rent it instead and return the harbor freight version. They sent me pictures, and the thing looks like it was left in a bombing range, but the benefit is it is a bit more portable. It is a 1.5T unit, with no specifications about lifting height, hence my "site visit".

I will assemble the winch tomorrow when I get home from work. I looked at the unit at HF, looks like my dolly will be able to get behind it so I can move it on/off the trailer - I'll remove the outriggers and boom extension to reduce the weight.

What did I get myself into???

[Chris Fournier]

A piece of plywood to cover the ramp, a pry bar to get it over the edges, and some straps is how I would handle it. I have moved heavier machines on my tilt bed trailer. Strap it well and you need not lay it down.

This. Make a longer dolly with decent 3" or larger casters and get it done. No big deal just have a plan, have the pieces and do it.

[Mike Spector]

A heavy duty swing set and a chain hoist would make it a 1-man job.

[John Pariseau]

You really don’t even need a trailer if you have something like an Element, except I guess you’ll need to haul an engine hoist! The engine hoist should be able to slide under the car and drop the main part of the machine into the car. I’d place a piece of 3/4 ply in there to distribute the weight and protect the car. Strap it down in the car so it doesn’t slide.

I like this idea - was what I originally wanted to do. It would make getting it into the car really easy, easier than my trailer to be honest. I'm pretty sure the cabinet would fit in the car too, but I'd be fine strapping that to the front corner of the trailer too.

If it were me I’d bring the following:
Ratchet/socket set (both metric and standard)
Wrenches
Adjustable wrenches
Channel locks
Screwdrivers
Drill/impact driver
Straps
Gloves

Thanks! I wasn't going to bring Channel locks or my impact drill, but will now. I like your pipe rolling suggestion, but I would want to experiment first at home before going that route. Since I have the engine hoist (or will rent one), I think this will work.

[Peter Froh]

I put 2 - 2x4 on edge through the bed, raised the bed so that the 2x4s were trapped then had friends help me lift it off my trailer and into my shop. Very slick and lots board to hold for lifting/moving. You might be able to use the 2x4 trick with your engine hoist?