Moving a C&P 10x15

This is, roughly, a half-ton of fairly top-heavy cast iron. How much experience do you have moving similar items? How do you plan on getting the press up into the truck? What moving equipment or tools do you have?

While it is certainly possible to move a 10x15 C&P without a liftgate, a liftgate or similar can sure help! Bolting the press to a sturdy pallet or four crossed 4x4s will give you a much more stable footprint and is highly recommended. Where are you located? How far does the press have to be moved?

Dave

Rent a U-haul trailer instead. There’s no really good place to anchor a come-along on the inside of a rental truck. There’re lots of places on a trailer. And you don’t need to lift it so high as a truck.

Assuming you can get it out of wherever it is with out disassembly:

Put the press on 4x4 skids if it isn’t already. Some sort of jack, the heftier, the better, is needed to lift the press up enough to get the skids underneath. An engine hoist will work even better if you have access to a big one. Put 1” rollers (cut up cast iron pipe works well) under the skids and push the press into place at the base of the trailer ramp. Attach the come-along a bit low through the frame and ease it up the ramp. Put the rollers under the press again on the trailer and push it into place, take the rollers out and strap everything down securely. Drive home and reverse the process to take it off the trailer and put it into the desired place.

Bring a tarp or plastic sheet to cover the press in case it gets wet on your drive.

I have hired tow trucks to lift presses in and out of the bed of my half-ton pickup truck. They usually charge $40 for the service. Another time, three or four of us got one an 8 X 12 C & P in and out with some oak planks, rollers made of water pipe, and a cable-type come-along from Home Depot. Just remember that these presses are top-heavy, and if one tips over or drops, it will likely be ruined and anyne near it could be seriously hurt. Professional help is advised if you don’t know what you are doing, especially if you are going up or down steps. By all means lag-bolt the legs to some 4 X 4s. It sure makes the move go easier

Updated. Dave, Arie and Kevin,
I want to thank you so much for your assistance and suggestions. Sorry for not getting back to this sooner I have spent the last week frantically trying to get the move sorted.
We are moving three presses 2 C&P 10x15 and 1 C&P 8x12 about 2000 miles. We are going with a tow truck to winch it up onto a flatbed and then bring the flatbed level with the moving truck and then slide the presses from the flatbed to the moving truck on a pallet jack. Then we will secure it to the side of the moving truck with some rigging straps. I plan to do two in a criss-cross and one straight down the middle. I think this is best for securing the top portion as it is really where all the weight is. Thank you so much for all your suggestions. Let me know if you see any problems with they way we are planning to move these. Thanks again for your suggestions.

If the truck you are using to go cross-country with is just an aluminum box with small railings on the inside, then these are not too strong. I’ve popped a few rivets trying to securely tie down printing equipment to them. Don’t tighten too much or you will hear the sound of rivets giving way. They’ll probably hold for ordinary driving but may give way under abrupt maneuvers.

Otherwise your plans sound good. That pretty much how I moved a rather large Vandercook, but then went to a trailer rather than an enclosed truck as the final step.