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Moving pallet rack

Kaszub

Hot Rolled
Joined
Dec 1, 2014
Can it be moved SAFELY without disassembly.
Planning to move one rack 12 feet tall 9 feeet wide 42" deep mostly empty just some boxes mostly empty.
Forklift or 2 pallet jacks anyone done it?
 
Easy enough to knock down and reassemble, if it is all bolted together a forklift might work, maybe... or 2 pallet jacks if it is just assembled with tabs, again, maybe.... ask yourself again, can this be done safely?
 
How smooth is the floor, how steady are the racks (shake and rattle when pushed sideways, or little relative movement), how careful are the guys who'll be doing the work? If I was doing this, and I had good floors (I do), I'd go ahead with the pallet jacks as long as the remaining items were light (combined less than one ton) and relatively low on the rack.

Rough floors would make this sort of move treacherous, I would disassemble and put it back together (shimming/leveling) in that case.
 
I have a section of pallet racking about that size. I just emptied the heavy stuff, then lifted the bottom level with a forklift and just scooted it down the shop about 1/4" off the ground driving as carefully as possible.

Not sure if I recommend do that though. It did seem unsafe at the time.
 
It did seem unsafe at the time.

It was.

Far too shallow in the smallest dimension for its height. Mass being distributed to a high CG is the kicker. Safer, actually, if the bottom-most tier was LOADED, not empty, nought but air on the tiers above it.

Otherwise, it wants at least modest overhead rigging traveling with it to catch it if it snags and wants to tip.

You were careful enough to get lucky.

Trust those those gut feelings. Lotta generations of survival back of 'em.
 
It was.

Far too shallow in the smallest dimension for its height. Mass being distributed to a high CG is the kicker. Safer, actually, if the bottom-most tier was LOADED, not empty, nought but air on the tiers above it.

Otherwise, it wants at least modest overhead rigging traveling with it to catch it if it snags and wants to tip.

You were careful enough to get lucky.

That's what I did. The stuff i left was on the bottom level.

Ive only got three levels, one at the very bottom like 6" off the ground, one about 5' off the ground and one at about 10'.

I grabed it at the middle level, 5' off the ground, not the bottom like I posted before.

I also had a spotter helping me.
 
That's what I did. The stuff i left was on the bottom level.

Ive only got three levels, one at the very bottom like 6" off the ground, one about 5' off the ground and one at about 10'.

I grabed it at the middle level, 5' off the ground, not the bottom like I posted before.

I also had a spotter helping me.

So long as the unit's design is such that the joinings don't come apart, that higher-up grasp, ballast below, was crucial to success.

Kinda figured you'd have been thorough.

You may have been born at night. But it surely wasn't LAST night!

:D
 
Some have holes for adding bolts at joints so check and add if there.

Get some wire and make an "X" across the front to reduce sideways shifting.

If forklift available lift be center point as high as possible after adding bolts to either normal spots or next up holes with large washers or blocks to block horizontal rails from lifting.

If no forklift it can be dragged by attaching a strap at the floor or as low as possible and pull with wench or something slow.

Speed kills so slide I'd slowly and it should be fine.

Do have a spotter and spotter keeps everyone clear of "fall zone"

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
Ok thanks for the tips everyone, I got excellent floors, got a forklift.
For sure will go very slow. It is a weekend project.
 
Since you live in an earthquake zone...

Seems we ALL may do.

I've dealt with special bolting, Telco racks, KDD, Tokyo, got my real "education", Loma Prieta quake and telco restoral afterwards.

Smugly retired in Virginia, among the more geological stable of plates, globally?

And we've had two, here, one of them needing repairs, albeit minor-minor by world standards - to the house.

Good to err on the side of caution. How'd that old soldier's drinking song go?

You'll get no promotions, this side of the oceans, so cheer up me lads, bolt 'em all!
Bolt 'em all, bolt 'em all, the long and the short and the tall.....

:)
 
Who needs a forklift for one section that small ?

Slide it along the "smooth floor"

I buy used "Ridg-u-rack" only (it's made in the same county)

The superior racking rigidity over the common "Tear drop" style
let's me slide them around with confidence.

I use a section of it for scaffolding.
 
New York is an "Earthquake Zone" ?....:skep:

Not so a Japanese (8,000 /yr noticeable without instruments) would notice, but sorta:

The Largest Earthquakes in New York, United States

USA? Just under 21,000 measured, past 365 days.

Today's Earthquakes in United States

Near me?

Today's Earthquakes in Potomac Shenandoah

Y'know "Lybarger's Corollary" to Sod's Law? doncha?

"All else being equal YOU LOSE!"

If only ONE rackup topples, worldwide, "guess who" it will fall on?

"Cheer up, me lads, BOLT 'em all"

:)
 
New York is an "Earthquake Zone" ?....:skep:

Except for southernmost Florida and maybe Texas any where in North America is in a earthquake zone. And those two areas are in huricane zones where things should be bolted down so if a window or door caves in they do not take down your racking and crush you or more importantly, for many, their tools.
As for the gulf of Mexico watch out for meteorites like the one that caused it.
 
As for the gulf of Mexico watch out for meteorites like the one that caused it.

Or the three that gave us Hudson's Bay ++ provided the Copper that kick-started the Bronze age and the Nickel etc, etc that begat Inco, etc.

Not that we have all that great a chance at predicting WHERE they will hit, nor when, nor... well..

Some days you eat the Bear... some days Lybarger's Corollary applies.

Feel right stupid missing an Extinction Level Event that wipes out all life on-planet for having had an ignorant steel rack kill yah the week before, so..

"Cheer up, me lads, bolt 'em all!"
 
I moved about 20 individual sets of these a whole ago. I got some 6" channel and welded plates to the end so I could put 3 bolts per end plate into the verticals. I did this on each side to reinforce it and it worked easily. We removed the heavy items before moving though.

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 
Except for southernmost Florida and maybe Texas any where in North America is in a earthquake zone. And those two areas are in huricane zones where things should be bolted down so if a window or door caves in they do not take down your racking and crush you or more importantly, for many, their tools.
As for the gulf of Mexico watch out for meteorites like the one that caused it.

Uhm yeah.....It's so bad here in the NW corner of Pennsylvania....I got rid
of my "Magic fingers" bed.....the tremors lull me to sleep each and every night.....:nutter:

It's also a good thing that the lake is 150' below the land around here, 'Cause those tsunami's are really wicked dude.

Good for surfing, not so good for ice fishing.
 
It would have been safer by taking this fricking thing down and reassembling, but we got it done.
Forklift and some 1/2-13 allen cap screws. Picked it up by second level from top.

15243692233831732018405.jpg
 
I have moved them assembled, but mostly unloaded. Pushing very low on the uprights -- 1" above floor -- with a forklift slowly and gently over a smooth concrete floor, one end at a time. No sudden movements, and all went fine. Keeping the push low to the ground reduces the tipping motion, and the transfer of weight to the far leg, which can tend to dig in.
 








 
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