How do "lift" your 1200 lbs MEP803 without a forklift??

[ArmyClint1977]

My MEP803 will arrive this week, it's going to be unloaded off the truck using a tail lift and hand dolly then placed in the driveway. It's my problem getting it where I want it, Question is.... how do you folks lift up & move your generator around the yard, to the garage..etc. It weights' 1200 lbs, living in Florida, ground soft and in a residential area, do you hire a folklift/driver to move it to where it needs to be? Need some ideas or directions to procure/hire a forklift to pick it up and place it on a heavy duty steel cart. Need fresh items???? I'm on a time schedule for sure!!

Thanks guys!

 

[Light in the Dark]

I've got a tractor with forks. Sounds like creativity is in your future. How far from the delivery point is the installation spot?

 

[Scrounger]

If you don’t have the “equipment” to move it, time to improvise. In your case a simple pallet jack and two sheets of plywood will work. It will take time moving one sheet in front of the other, but it will work.

 

[Light in the Dark]

plywood, wooden round fence posts, ATV and chain... there are a few ways to skin a cat. The distance is probaby the biggest driving factor. Are you stationary mounting this, or do you have long term plans to put it on a trailer?

 

[Light in the Dark]

And again without any info, I'm flying blind... but why not just use the lift gate of the truck, and wheel your steel cart out to the dropoff vehicle, and place it just below level, and hulk the machine onto it there?

 

[Mullaney]

Another thing that works really well is 6 inch PVC pipe. Comes generally in 8 or 10 ft sections. 4 pieces a little wider than your machine will roll them fairly well across the ground by hand. Might not need but one piece and a skill saw to cut them into manageable lengths. I have used that method to move large HVAC units before... (Picture below)



The pallet jack and plywood idea from Scrounger is a good plan for sure - but it requires a pallet jack...

 

[cbisson]

My MEP803 will arrive this week, it's going to be unloaded off the truck using a tail lift and hand dolly then placed in the driveway. It's my problem getting it where I want it, Question is.... how do you folks lift up & move your generator around the yard, to the garage..etc. It weights' 1200 lbs, living in Florida, ground soft and in a residential area, do you hire a folklift/driver to move it to where it needs to be? Need some ideas or directions to procure/hire a forklift to pick it up and place it on a heavy duty steel cart. Need fresh items???? I'm on a time schedule for sure!!

Thanks guys!

You have options:

1 Casters bolted directly to the skids

2 Build a wooden frame with casters (think big furniture dolly)

3 Roll it on pipes, need 3

You'll need a decent jack to lift one end at a time to place the suggestions above under the unit. In the case of the wooden frame with casters you have to get both ends up together. I lift one end and put jack stands under the lifting D rings and then move the jack to the other end and lift it enough to roll the frame with casters underneath.

 

[fa35jsf]

With a lot of effort! Haha

I had a neighbor that had a tractor and bucket. We used a chain that reached 3 of the 4 lift points. Super unsafe and I thought he might drop it a few times, but it worked!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr4btTahoe]

Engine hoist and a small trailer or a tree, rope, pulley...

No matter how you do it.. just be safe. 1200lbs can take a limb or life very easily.

I'll be relocating my 003a soon out of my shop. I'll pick up the genny with my engine hoist... back the trailer under it and sit it down. Move the hoist to where I'll be placing the generator.. back the trailer out to it and repeat for removal.

 

[uniquify]

Assuming you're on a relatively flat surface, I'd jack it up and put it on a couple 2x6's and some caster wheels. Just use a floor jack to pick up 1 end at a time. Make sure you support it with jack stands or cribbing. Then put the wheels under it and let it down.

Worst case, it has a skid base. You can drag it with a rope/chain and a vehicle, atv, lawn tractor, etc if needed.

Or do like others have suggested and put something long and round (pipe, post, dowel, ground rod, etc) under it and push it by hand. You can do it all with a pry bar if you get creative.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Another idea... If you require substantial pulling power due to uneven surface, bumps or incline and "If" you have enough anchor points you could use a come-along type winch with short chain tied between front tie down rings to utilize 803's skid to drag it. Perhaps even a combo method of pulling/rolling it on PVC pipe over plywood using come-along as necessary. Also, having it up on any type of rollers (PVC pipe, Fence Posts, etc.) would help with turning it as required.

Or...just do it "Egyptian Style" and tell your friends your having an "Egyptian pyramid building reenactment party" (costumes optional) and hand em a rope when they get there and tell them "start pulling"! Then Beer & Burgers on you later.

 

[simp5782]

Sounds like a reason to buy more green iron and invest in a 5 ton wrecker. Seems convincing enough

 

[chucky]

Buy a 500 dollar single axle trailer on cragslist and if the freight company has a liftgate call and request delivery be made by liftgate lower it down to level of trailer if u dont have any help take a 2inch ratchet strap and suck the generator onto the trailer and dont forget to put a little more than half the weight past the axle toward the tounge so it wont tip when u drop the trailer. If freight company doent have a liftgate tell them to hold at their local dock and you go pick it up there and they can load onto your trailer with forklift they will have a ramp to get off dock to ground level

 

[Scoobyshep]

ok ive done the pipe roller thing and the last one i did we ernted a small back hoe and drug it on some wood planks. both work well

 

[ArmyClint1977]

And again without any info, I'm flying blind... but why not just use the lift gate of the truck, and wheel your steel cart out to the dropoff vehicle, and place it just below level, and hulk the machine onto it there?

This is my first plan to get the generator on the steel cart. .... lowering the liftgate to the same equal level as the steel cart, have the floor dolly move it on to the cart perfertly, first the 10kw needs to be unloaded off the shipping pallet while on the truck, I'm wondering if the floor dolly will fit through the forklift slots to pick up the generator to move it around, I'm almost sure it will, thats how we moved them in the maintenance shops in Germany. I'm picturing some oversized forks with big rolling wheels on this civilian floor dolly, throwing the whole plan out the window. This should work..... hopefully.

 

[glcaines]

Just make sure you roll your cart on plywood sheets as others suggested. Otherwise, those small wheels will sink immediately in the soft ground you mentioned.

 

[gatorbob]

In Florida as well...

Had wheels bolted on in advance.

Pallet jack from Home Depot on 3/4" plywood worked for me. Overlap each piece several inches.

But, that would not get it on the concrete pad because it could not move it up and then forward while the pallet jack bottom remains stationary. Had to rent a dingo with forks:

Dingo Mini Skid Steer and Track Loader | Toro | Toro

Toro Dingo compact skid steer and track loaders help landscape professionals complete work more productively. Our loaders are designed to be easy to operate and maneuver.

www.toro.com

 

[Chainbreaker]

This is my first plan to get the generator on the steel cart. .... lowering the liftgate to the same equal level as the steel cart, have the floor dolly move it on to the cart...

Not sure lowering the liftgate same level as cart will work...

I just had a liftgate delivery and driver had to lift my 6'x4'x4' 500 lb palletized load with "pallet jack off the liftgate" by positioning his pallet jack at ground level and then inserting his forks & raising pallet up off liftgate and then backing his pallet jack out so I could then pick up load with my tractor forks. He wouldn't even allow me to snag it off his liftgate with tractor forks as he said he was contracted to safely set it on ground. Procedures & methods may vary from shipper-to-shipper though.

 

[csheath]

Those side slots are not likely to work with a pallet jack. The guy that loaded mine into my truck picked it up from the end with a forklift but it had very long forks that could get well under the unit. I don't think a typical pallet jack will work very well unless you had one on each end.

I like the PVC pipe idea but I would be afraid of them breaking under the weight. Personally I would go buy at least 4 nice round fence posts or something else that is round and solid.

I winched mine out of the truck onto a utility trailer using aluminum trailer ramps. Those skids didn't slide worth a flip on the ramps. I had to put tension on the winch cable and walk from side to side of the generator prying up to get it to move a few inches, tighten cable, and repeat until it was off. It came off the wood bed trailer much easier than it slid on the ramps.



The last time I moved mine I used clamp on bucket forks on my tractor. I clamped the forks on wide enough to use the lift rings on the generator without bending the sides. I only picked it up a couple of inches and moved very slow with it. You can't see it in the photo but I had a 1200 pound ballast on the three point of the tractor.

 

[Scoobyshep]

You would be amazed at the strength of 2 inch schedule 40 or 80.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk