Need moving advice,

[bll230]

I am moving from Las Vegas to SoCal. Now I need to move my machines. My heaviest is a Monarch 10EE. Any suggestions on moving them. Obviously the best way would be to pay a professional machine mover, but the fee would probably be more than the machines are worth. Also, I am paranoid about a flatbed because I don’t want them sandblasted by the desert dust driving through the desert.

John

 

[crossthread]

You can heat shrink plastic film to your machines or just use tarps. I don't really think that getting sand blasted would be an issue. If you don't have any experience in moving heavy machinery, then it might be better to call in a professional. Things can go wrong very quickly and do some severe damage. I have seen more then one top heavy lathe turn turtle. It is not pretty.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

Why are you moving to SoCal? Have you given it a lot of thought?

 

[michiganbuck]

A closed truck may hold 2 or 3 machines, likely you can pinch bar them when in the truck.
Not that easy to strap them in a closed truck.
A lift can go completely crazy/out of control going down when near the weight limit.
I80 can be a little tricky.

 

[DDoug]

Don't xport them where you need to rig them on & off.
Get some 4x6 timbers and make proper skids, with 3/4" all thread up thru the bottom,
thru the mounting holes on the machines. Additional bracing as needed to skid.

Make sure the skid is wider & longer than the ends of the machines, so no rigger rash from
table handles hanging out.

6 mil poly, and then saran wrap good, to hold the 6 mil in place.

Everything from that point on involves a simple forklift, no rigging from slings etc.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

Sell your machines in Vegas and buy replacements in California, or buy/rent a heavy duty 2 axle trailer and move them yourself. Between high fuel prices and truckers inflated sense of self worth, getting anything moved right now costs more than its worth. Vegas to So Cal is what, 4 hours?

 

[bll230]

All good ideas, thanks. I’ll look into the shrink wrap. Yeah, I know that nowadays saying you’re from California isn’t exactly something to be admired, but I hang glide there, Lake Arrowhead is beautiful, most of California, like New York, is actually pretty normal, and I can be based at LAX rather than LAS. And my wife loves it up there where I hangglide. Now I just need to get the machines moved. If I can protect properly from the sand blasting, the two axle trailer sounds pretty good. I can arrange a fork lift at both ends.

Yes 4 hours.

 

[kustomizer]

Not knowing how many machines we are talking about, those hydraulic drop deck trailers are pretty sweet. They set right down on the ground, load it then raise it and go.

 

[DDoug]

but I hang glide there,


where I hangglide.

You'll fit right in....
klinger on hang glider at DuckDuckGo

 

[CITIZEN F16]

All good ideas, thanks. I’ll look into the shrink wrap. Yeah, I know that nowadays saying you’re from California isn’t exactly something to be admired, but I hang glide there, Lake Arrowhead is beautiful, most of California, like New York, is actually pretty normal, and I can be based at LAX rather than LAS. And my wife loves it up there where I hangglide. Now I just need to get the machines moved. If I can protect properly from the sand blasting, the two axle trailer sounds pretty good. I can arrange a fork lift at both ends.

Yes 4 hours.

Didn't a lot of Lake Arrowhead burn a while back? LAX, I suppose you are fond of traffic? I was in that area a couple times on a west coast vacation decades ago. It has to easily be in the top 10 of congested areas in the USA. The only place I have seen worse traffic is NYC and DC. If you use a tarp get a thick one and tie it down good, I have seen many of them get shredded by freeway speeds due to poor tie down jobs.

 

[DDoug]

If you use a tarp get a thick one and tie it down good, I have seen many of them get shredded by freeway speeds due to poor tie down jobs.

I've hauled a bunch of machines home from HGR in all kinds of weather.
6 mill poly won't shred if it flaps.

But you can't tie it down like you can a tarp with eyelets.

So you use the 6 mil first, then use saran wrap to hold it all together.

if your still concerned, put the tarp over all of that to help hold things down.

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

I sent you a PM.

 

[Laverda]

My Bridgeport and lathe were moved across Southern California in heavy rain for two hours on a flat bed trailer. The were wrapped in the stretch film and arrived completely dry and clean.

You are definitely gonna want to move them yourself. Prices these days for machinery moving has gotten ridiculous. Often times the cost exceeds the value of the the machine.

Are you moving to the town of Lake Arrowhead or somewhere else in SoCal? As I look out the back window of my shop I can see the rock formation on the side of the San Bernardino mountains where Lake Arrowhead gets it's name. It kind of looks like an arrowhead after a few beers.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

My Bridgeport and lathe were moved across Southern California in heavy rain for two hours on a flat bed trailer. The were wrapped in the stretch film and arrived completely dry and clean.

You are definitely gonna want to move them yourself. Prices these days for machinery moving has gotten ridiculous. Often times the cost exceeds the value of the the machine.

Are you moving to the town of Lake Arrowhead or somewhere else in SoCal? As I look out the back window of my shop I can see the rock formation on the side of the San Bernardino mountains where Lake Arrowhead gets it's name. It kind of looks like an arrowhead after a few beers.

Looks like an arrow to me and all I have had is coffee and diet Pepsi. I just read up on it I can't believe that isn't man made.

 

[matt_isserstedt]

Depending on how many machines there are to be moved in total, I would take a look at fabricating some fully enclosed plywood crates that bolt together with hex heads (etc) and some tapped-hole angle brackets.

If you go back and forth simply keep unloading and reloading the crates, obviously you have to drag the empty ones back across but ~4hrs drive isn't that bad imo.

Where this can really help is when you have other heavy stuff like vises, chucks, rotab, surface plates, dividing heads, etc, you can add that to the crate or just fill a crate with only the heavy metal accessories. Armed with the forklifts it makes this task so much easier than trying to use cardboard or other means.

 

[bll230]

Laverda, yep up top, Lake Arrowhead. You can’t be too far from 18. We’ll have to meet up after I am over there. Wanna help out?!!!!!

 

[dana gear]

Why are you moving to SoCal? Have you given it a lot of thought?

Ya, I live here and can't imagine why anyone would want under there own free will to move to California. This states gone to the dogs.

 

[jccaclimber]

Ya, I live here and can't imagine why anyone would want under there own free will to move to California. This states gone to the dogs.

I can't speak to socal, but tech companies like to pay enough to make it worth it in some parts, even for things that are only peripherally related.
The politicians can't ruin the coastal weather either, if you happen to like it.
Crazy a$$holes everywhere, just a matter of which ones you're able to ignore and put up with.
I lived in Texas previously. The weather is better here, I don't get radical religious fliers shoved under my door anymore, and my post-tax savings are larger for all that I think the tax rate is unreasonable. Oddly even though I see a lot more homeless people, they harass me substantially less than the ones in Texas did.

 

[Antarctica]

You're swimming against the stream dude...

 

[michiganbuck]

Also, consider the simple rule of a proper PM thread title.

Need moving advice, The proper answer may be Take an X-lax