Picking up a press and paper cutter etc..

I’m picking up a 26” guillotine paper cutter and 10 x 15 C & P and some other stuff. Anyone have a good suggestion where I can rent a truck with a lift gate other than Penske or Budget? There are some type cabinets that I am also getting as well- that’s why I’m thinking that a pick up with a trailer might not work. I’ve read a lot of online instructions on the best way to move them- I’m just trying to avoid spending close to $300 in just the rental alone.
thanks!
Erika

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Erika,

How far do you have to move this equipment? Several hundred miles or just from one neighboring city to the next?

Brad.

125 miles one way!

I’d be tempted to rent a trailer if you can borrow a towing vehicle. A come-along will pull the press and cutter up a ramp if they’re on skids. Tie things down securely with ratchet straps and you’re set to go. It’s even easier if you have an engine hoist, fork lift, or some other mechanism to lift everything onto the trailer. I’ve hired tow trucks on occasion for this.

Where are you? (And whereabouts is the equipment?)

Erika.
Be careful. Very careful.
That 10x15 and cutter are a lot of iron and the press is top heavy.
The rental trucks are usually not built to accept good tie downs. Think about what would happen if you had to swerve on the highway or make a panic stop. It could be very ugly if the tie downs pulled away from the light attachment points on the side of the truck. Those rental trucks are not intended for equipment moving. I would look to a four wheel equipment trailer.
Lots of stout tie downs.
Careful, very careful.
A good rigger and someone experienced with towing heavy loads would sure be nice.
Tell what side of the world you are on.
inky

I’ve had the best lift gates on Penske trucks. You really have to look out for rusty saggy lift gates. A lot of the steel ones start sagging, so when you jack up the press with a pallet jack, it could roll right off the back. I had one almost catastrophic near-miss, so I’m careful to spend more on proper equipment.

Ryder rented me one that was almost completely rusted out underneath.

The Penske trucks have very nice aluminum lift gates that stay perfectly flat as they lift up to the truck bed.

As an extra level of caution, some people have been known to drill a hole in the wooden body of the truck, and secure a 1/2” eye bolt in there, bolted from underneath, along with thick washers. Then they were known to use a hand winch, such as a MARSDAM puller, to winch the press safely on to the truck bed. Following that, said people have also been known to fill the hole with sawdust and wood putty when they were done. Of course, this should only be attempted when the press is safely lifted to bed height on the lift gate. If it were to slip, it would definitely take the cable with it.

As far as keeping the load balanced, I recommend Load Stabilizer Bars. Get a couple of these and you’ll be able to keep it more reliably in place.

http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/product/productsPerPicGroups.web?pic...

Remember, the load has to go all the way to the back of the truck!

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for the help. I’m in Philadelphia- more or less- and I’m going to Virginia- for those of you who want to know.

Inky- of course I’ll be careful! -

Madmaude- I right now have a penske 16’ w/ liftgate rented- a Uhaul 5 x 9 trailer- and a heavy duty pick-up truck.

What I’m thinking I will do is the pick up with the trailer- because the gas on the penske is over the roof. We have a pallet jack- and all the other odds and ends tools and straps. My dad- who’s going to help me move this thing has a really wide four wheel trailer (that he moves bobcats around on) and I’m wondering if we should/could use that? The only problem is that it doesn’t have sides and I was thinking it might me good to have sides on the trailer.

WHOOOO! This is a big deal- and to think if I ever move….

Erika:

Your Dad’s trailer sounds ideal as long as there are places to anchor the straps. Use plenty of straps. Tighten them down tight! If you tie down everything securely it won’t go anywhere. I used a similar trailer that had two presses, a paper cutter and a number of cabinets of type, etc. tied down on it. On my way to pick up another two presses, I put the wheels on one side into a ditch hidden by snow. Nothing moved on the trailer. A tow truck hauled me out of the ditch and we were back in business.

One word of caution: I would not roll the press up the trailer’s ramp on the pallet jack. Put the press on 4x4 skids and slide it up on them. The added friction will actually make it more stable and safer.

Forget the UHaul 5x9. Those are rated to hold 1650lbs… and a 10x15 C&P alone approaches that weight. My guess is that the trailer would be fine anyway, but you don’t want to risk it.

I would second Arie’s suggestions above—use your father’s trailer as long as it has solid anchor points. If he’s moving Bobcats then the weight of the press and cutter should be no problem. Any chance there will be a forklift when you pick up and unload the truck?

If the press is on a pallet you will also have to have a game plan for removing it from the pallet once it has ‘landed’. A rented engine hoist, strapping, and lots of care can make that easy.

Take pictures and let us know how it goes.

Best,
Brad.

There’s no doubt there will be lots of picture taking.
I’m actually going to pick up the paper cutter with the penske- the guy that’s selling it to me is adamant that I pick it up with one.
The press…we’ll see…I’ll keep you all posted
And thanks again for all the words of advice!

This is not directly related to your move…. but in my younger, less careful days I actually moved a 23” Reliance Cutter, a Kelsey Star press, and a full type cabinet in a Isuzu mini-pick-up truck.

About half way to my destination I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a dufus on skateboard who zinged out in front of me without looking. When I did, the entire load shifted foreward, smashing the cab and twisting the truck so badly that it never went straight again. For the rest of it’s working life, the poor little truck sort of crabbed sideways down the street. Needless to say, driving it after that was a great embarassment…. especially since it had the name of my printing company written on the side in big red letters!

The press and cutter didn’t recieve so much as a scratch, but it took months to un-pie all of the type. (is “un-pie” actually a word?) I’m sure there’s a moral or lesson in this story somewhere.

Your truck is like my printing a little off centered and crooked. haha

Brent W