How to unload a bridgeport.

[GSSFC]

This is a follow-up to the 600+ lb compressor thread last week.

I have a 3400 +/- pound Van Norman milling machine coming this weekend. I will be bringing it in on my car hauler. How the heck do I unload it? It will be on a pallet and the trailer is a lowbed about 12" off the ground. I have a tractor but it will only lift about 1500 pounds.

Any suggestion on how to get this off the trailer and in the shop? Once on the ground I can move with my pallet jack, but the jack won't lift high enough to pick it off the trailer.

Thanks in advance!

Tim

 

[Slippery]

A bunch of friends and a few pipes to roll it on? ... Thats how they moved in 5 of our 20000 lb CNC machines at work. I am not sure whether you can get a ramp sturdy enough though.

J

 

[MrPeek]

You really need a forklift. I have used one and know what you are talking about. I know it might cost a few bucks by why not just get a wrecker to come out and pick it up and off. ?

 

[GSSFC]

Ha! Sold my forklift, thought that tractor would handle everything I needed. How would a wrecker lift it and set it inside my shop door?

I am thinking the pipe idea would work. I could pull the pallet to the very tail of the trailer. And then jack the front of the trailer up making a ramp. Then with some pipes underneath and the tractor pulling I could pull it down. The tractor weighs enough to steady the milling machine from toppling over.

I'm thinking this is the ticket!

Tim

 

[Slippery]

Tim,

like I said a few pipes. Also from watching the rigging companies unload CNCs, they use a HUGE forklift to get it off the 18 wheeler, then pipes to roll in in place. Also they have some metal planks in order to better distribute the load/avoid getting hunged up on expansion joints etc.

Just make sure you have quite a few friends !! 3400lbs has a lot of potential energy

J

 

[toadjammer]

You could do as you suggest and work with the trailer. Jack up front but leave it attached to the tow vehicle. Attach a comealong or winch to the lower column so that the descent of the machine toward the end of the trailer can be controlled. Get the machine on 3/4 or 1" pipes and roll it off onto the pallet jack (this way you don't have to jack the front of the trailer too much putting stress the wrong way on the hitch) From here you should be able to move it around accordingly.

 

[rsanter]

I have a Bport mill and a large lathe I have moved several times using a few different methods. here are a couple of things I have done that can work for you.

use a wrecker/ boom truck /small crane type of setup that has the capacity to dead lift the weight you are working with. position the trailer where the mill will come off at a location you can roll it away from there. have the truck lift the thing and pull the trailer out from under it and set the thing down. once on the ground you can use your pallet jack. last time I did this it cost $20 or $25 and about 15 min of the guys time. this is how I did it the first couple of times.

rent a forklift
they dropped it off at the end of the day and picked it up the next morning. I think they wanted about $300 for the rental and after explaining what I was going to do and that I would only need the thing for about 10 min, we negocinted to $100 and the deal was done. this was what I needed at the time as I needed it off the trailer and had to get it up a driveway that was steeper than we ever had a hope or rolling the thing up without killing ourselves. it was worth the $100.

getting it off the trailer when we were on a flat area. ditching the back of the trailer into the driveway is a great way to ease loading and unloading of stuff from the trailer.
when we had to unload a large lathe that was about 5000#.
backed the trailer up to the shop door and using 2 lacks we lifted the back of the trailer a pit and then using another jack we lifted the real trailer axle enough to remove the wheel/tire and let the axle down.
once both rear wheels were removed we let the back of the trailer down all the way to the ground. using wood blocks we created a make shift ramp for the about 8" thickness of the trailer to the ground. we rolled the lathe off using 3 floor jacks and a come along to controll the rate of travel.
you can do nearly the same thing with you pallet jack of pipes

where do you live
if you are close enough I can come over and help

bob

 

[GSSFC]

Thanks for the offer, I am in New Hampshire. If you leave now you might just make it!

All great info, I am sure this is doable. I'll feel a lot better once it is inside the door. A call to a wrecker tomorrow might be worth my time.

Tim

 

[back2class]

I have moved a bridgeport before. I would tilt the trailer by backing the back tires of the truck onto ramps. That will bring the tounge low on the trailer and keep the back of the truck from coming up. If you have a loader then use it as a overhead brace to keep the mill from tipping over and maybe taking up some of the weight. Get it up on skids to slide it down off the trailer then once on concrete use 1"-2" pipe to roll it. You should use 3 pieces of pipe as you go along. Another option is get a backhoe to do it or call a heavy duty wrecker service with a crane truck. Still another option is to find a stout tree branch "very stout" and use a chain hoist to lift it off the trailer then down onto a skid and pull that with the tractor to the shop. That is how I got my 2,000lb mill off my truck and on the ground. Not ideal but it did work.

 

[kool55]

When I moved my bridgeport I used my service truck with crane. Transfered it to the trailer for the trip south and then off loaded with the shop jib crane.You can see some pics. at kool [email protected] mentioned a backhoe or forklift would be the safe way of getting it to the pallet jack.These things are big time top heavy.

 

[kool55]

Have to type in site to see it. Don't know how that happened.

 

[gorilla]

In the area where I live one of the rental companies has a rental trailer called a safe mover, it is set up so that the bed can be lowered to the ground and the load rolled off a short ramp. I've used it to move lathe's, mills, etc many times with good results. When I move a B'port I rotate the head 180 and support the head with the table. If you use a come a long to help make sure that you pull on the base of the mill. many of the auto mechanics use this trailer to move tool box's when they change job's If you know someone in that trade they may know where you can find on to rent. Cost was about $50.00 a day. Good luck.

 

[sirswank]

i used the aforementioned boom truck for mine, but my other option was a flatbed and was going to winch it off using the pallette as a skid.

 

[OldCarGuy]

Tilting the trailer and rolling it off is doable; but can be very precarious. Care must be taken to block the trailer well for and aft. As the machine is rolled down, the trailer could move from underneath. Also use a winch that is mounted in the nose of the trailer. To inch the machine off. I mounted a 4,000 pound capacity winch on my tilt-bed trailer for pulling machinery and dead cars on and off.

Lighter equipment I just use a hand pallet jack and roll it off.

I have since added a 4,000 pound winch in the front end of my trailer. Also mounted a spare tire and aluminum tool box.

A safer way would be making a gantry crane of sorts. Like an old reinforced swing set. Have it span the trailer, hoist up off the bed of the trailer. Move the trailer out, and lower the machine to the ground. And roll it into place.

This is how I moved my new (old) Gould & Eberhardt 16” Metal Shaper that weigh about 5,000 pounds. Backed trailer into my garage. Lifted off my tilt-bed trailer with my overhead bridge crane. Then moved into place and lowered.

 

[GSSFC]

Oh gosh I didn't think to use my crane in the shop!

Hehe, I am jealous as can be of that setup. Of course if I had that I wouldn't have to ask.

I just need a safe way to do this and I think I have it figured out with a combo of suggestions.

We'll see how it plays out.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Tim

 

[rsanter]

Thanks for the offer, I am in New Hampshire. If you leave now you might just make it!

All great info, I am sure this is doable. I'll feel a lot better once it is inside the door. A call to a wrecker tomorrow might be worth my time.

Tim

if you would like I am still willing to come over to help.
I will need to get you to supply the plane ticked (round trip prefered) as I really dont want to put the added miles on my truck

let us know how it turns out and take some PIX while doing it

bob

 

[dropride]

Where abouts are you in NH?

 

[Torque1st]

If you do not have an overhead crane in your shop consider getting an A-frame hoist for use in your shop after you finish unloading. Sounds like you will need it. Any "excuse" to get a new tool or piece of equipment is good!

 

[toadjammer]

Also remember that you can always leave some air out of the tires to leave the back of the trailer down some too.

 

[KMR Construction]

helped a friend move his mustang dyno, we put 6x6 accross the trailer and set it on that. Moved the trailer into the neew shop and used bottle jacks to lift i then lowered in on pipes and rolled it. Wan't that bad

 

[RPH]

Consider breaking it down to pieces more managable. I was able to move my bridgeport by removing table, head from base. Base weighed in about 1000 # lifted off trailer with cherry picker. Head and table same method. Place and reassemble.

 

[kvom]

A Bridgeport weighs 1800-2200 pounds, quite a bit less than this mill.

I called a local wrecker service to unload my 2800 pound lathe. It cost $125. Once it was in the air, they backed into my garage door entrance to set it down on the pallet jack. Note that if they set it down on the pallet jack in the driveway getting it to roll over the concrete entrance lip could be a problem.

Most wrecker services use rollback trucks, so those with the boom lift are generally the big ones that haul semis.

 

[jhchoppers]

We used a local wrecker service also. The larger services also have forklifts available, used to the unload cargo and clean up the roads after a reck.

This small Bridgeport VMC was 5800 lbs, no problem for a BIG wrecker truck.

 

[toadjammer]

jhchoppers, What size machining envelope does that machine have? How well did your trailer handle that load? It looks like the back axle is bent in that picture?

 

[jhchoppers]

jhchoppers, What size machining envelope does that machine have? How well did your trailer handle that load? It looks like the back axle is bent in that picture?

The machine is old Bridgeport Interact 412 (1987) that I am currently rebuilding and updating. The new machine envelope will be 19 on the X and somewhere between 12 and 14 on the Y (not sure, as I need to replace the Y Ball Screw and Nut)

The trailer did good, the axels are rated for 3200lbs each. However, they didn't like it much when I backed up on tight radius as shown in the picture above. I did move the machine over 270 miles on this trailer. Nerve racking to say the least...