Car Tire Dollies

[OldracerJones]

Eastwood sells some good ones.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I bought a set (4) of those BABCO RCD1500 hydraulic wheel lifts used for positioning a vehicle is small shop spaces. I have trouble overcoming the resistance put up by these wheel lifts and moving my 1940 Ford without assistance from another person. The knowledgeable female person who sold the lifts to me was understanding and did offer to make it right. At just under $1000 I was hoping for easier rolling. I am keeping the lifts because I need them and I have help.
My solution was to degrease the swivels on the castors and run them dry so I cam blow the dust out. Getting the castors to turn in the intended direction was the problem I was having.
My friend bought one of their two post lifts and he said the company could not have been more helpful. I may buy a four post from BABCO.

 

[Strouty]

The less wheels to swivel the better off you are. I also have the merrick auto dollys and they are a bear to get going the direction you want, but once they are going in the right direction, they work fine. I have the 10k pound set (2500 pound per dolly) and was moving 8000 pounds of suburban.

 

[D45]

$1,000 for four?????!!!!!!!!

Noway.........not gonna happen

I actually picked up a set of 4 used ones, rated at 2,000 pound each.........total price was $100

Now, I need to find a car to put on them

 

[vettex2]

I'd make them before I bought a set.

 

[jayoldschool]

The Babco ones look the exact same as my Canadian Tire ones.

 

[isb cornbinder]

I bought a set (4) of those BABCO RCD1500 hydraulic wheel lifts used for positioning a vehicle is small shop spaces. I have trouble overcoming the resistance put up by these wheel lifts and moving my 1940 Ford without assistance from another person. The knowledgeable female person who sold the lifts to me was understanding and did offer to make it right. At just under $1000 I was hoping for easier rolling. I am keeping the lifts because I need them and I have help.
My solution was to degrease the swivels on the castors and run them dry so I cam blow the dust out. Getting the castors to turn in the intended direction was the problem I was having.
My friend bought one of their two post lifts and he said the company could not have been more helpful. I may buy a four post from BABCO.

I watched and commented on a video on You Tube about these vehicle dollies. In a few hours someone from the company replied with a phone number and an offer to help. I called and spoke to a person trained to deal with customer complaints and make the customer feel better while not doing anything to make their product work better.
How do I feel about this situation? I feel a little ripped off. I was not shy about spending a few bucks to buy what I thought was the best and what I bought was something that does not work as well as I had hoped for.
I have not been able to get out to the shop because of a trip to the hospital and many trips the back specialists for the damage I caused to my back by straining to move my car on these jacks. I hold myself responsible for my back issues, but...........

 

[RobSmith]

I have a set of the elcheapo units and here's what I have found . The cheap one's have no bearings in the wheel . The better units will have wheel bearings and it makes all the differance in the world.
Mine cost me $130.00 for 4 , the better sets cost over $200. For a set.

Ha ha ha you're laughing..here it cost at least $299.00 for a pair.

 

[D45]

Does HF sell ratcheting or piston style dollies?

I found a pair of go-jacks for $80 but still need two more

 

[D45]

After reading reviews and watching some videos, it looks like the ratcheting style at HF use 'sleeved' castors.........some say hard to move and some don't

Seems like the consensus is to find ball bearing wheels and not just sleeved

 

[racestatus]

I got the cheap HF ones for 100 bucks a couple years ago to roll around my mustang. I have 0 problems with them they work fine for me

 

[Eslader]

My dad has the cheap Harbor Freight ones and it's really had to get them rolling.

I have the same ones. The casters need to be greased well, otherwise they're hard to move. I can easily move my car in any direction with them, but that's because I packed them with grease first. For some reason, the manufacturer didn't see the need.

If I were moving it routinely I'd upgrade, but as it is they only get used during the winter when the car is crammed against a wall and only occasionally needs to be moved.

 

[PoorOwner]

Have used the black HF dollies, yes they don't have bearings but neither does the go jack knock off. The casters are same as what you would find on a cherry picker.
For a race or project type car that don't weight much, they work fine, they could scratching floor coatings a little.

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

I got the Eastwood $169/set of 4 dollys and applied wheel bearing grease to the axles and the ball bearings while assembling them. I am easily able to move around my '36 pickup on them.

 

[58Yeoman]

I just sold my four dollies for $55...figure I don't need them anymore. The guy got a good deal.

 

[D45]

Maybe the trick is packing some grease into the sleeves so they roll easier.....I might cheap out and get some from HF or CL

 

[D45]

I've got a set of ~ 15 year old aluminum dollies that are really nice, and a set of the HF grey diamond plate units that don't roll as well, but cost significantly less.

If I ever get another set, it'l be the gray HF because they are a better value.

If money was no object, I'd get the jacking dollies.

Unfortunately, for me, money is a limiter as to what I need vs what I want, and the HF dollies are adequate, if not outstanding. Grease helps.

Also, I store the cars on the dollies, so once they are under the wheels they stay there. The jacking dollies take alot of room if removed from the car.

I have noticed this.....the jacking dollies take up room also when mounted under the car and cant be tucked up tight against a wall

The HF ratcheting pieces, 4" casters are on closeout right now for $69 a piece

https://www.harborfreight.com/1250-...iNjkuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiMTA3NDgifQ==

Diamond tread, 3" casters, are $50 for 2

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-1500-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-67338.html

These claim to have ball bearing caster for $50 each, but much less weight capacity:

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-2-pc-61283.html

 

[JoeBarns]

SEGA tools sells two different types of dollies. One is the Ranger Go-Cart hydraulic rolling cart dollies and the other is Ranger RCD-1TD Low Profile Automotive Carts. Hopefully this help you out, at least another option to look at.

https://sega-equipment.com/product-category/miscellaneous-equipment/

 

[Jazz1]

I made mine using wheels salvaged from damaged shopping carts. These are 20 years old and no issue.

 

[orangeblood]

nice work and nice car....i have a 69 under restoration

 

[ScottsGT]

I had the cheap ones and my garage floor is smooth as glass. It still sucked trying to move my '66 Mustang around on it. One of my biggest regrets of the restoration was cheaping out on these.

 

[D45]

I finally bought a car...........1970 Plymouth Duster with the 440 V8

I am not sure I will spend money on any tire/wheel dolly

The car does not move or drive under its own power, but I have enough room around the entire car, to justify not buying anything and putting the money into the car

Hope to have it up and running by Spring or Summer

 

[6768rogues]

I had a couple of 6" swivel wheels so I welded up some brackets that bolted to my front bumper bracket holes, with a leg and a wheel at the bottom of each one. Then I could roll my car around after I removed the front suspension.

 

[RStewart]

We used HF small movers dollies to move a mustang shell. Worked/s great. Also have the HF tire dollies. They too work well.

 

[HoosierMark]

Curious as to why no one mentions buying a good set of casters and installing them on the cheap harbor freight dollies when the wheels fail. It seems to me the casters are the week link in the equation.

 

[Slednut]

I had a couple of 6" swivel wheels so I welded up some brackets that bolted to my front bumper bracket holes, with a leg and a wheel at the bottom of each one. Then I could roll my car around after I removed the front suspension.

Kind of did the same thing. I'm working on a uni-bodied car, bolted them to the frame. I can put a jack under them to raise the car up and put jack stands under them.

The jack stands can be at their lowest height and still have the car high enough to do body panel work.

 

[D45]

Curious as to why no one mentions buying a good set of casters and installing them on the cheap harbor freight dollies when the wheels fail. It seems to me the casters are the week link in the equation.

Good casters aren't cheap......especially of them

 

[PoorOwner]

Curious as to why no one mentions buying a good set of casters and installing them on the cheap harbor freight dollies when the wheels fail. It seems to me the casters are the week link in the equation.

ball bearing casters could be like $25 each. I guess $400 is a worth while upgrade if you need it. It could also be hard to stop once you get it moving.

it looks like most of the newer one have a single stud caster, I think on my older HF dollies has 4 bolt pattern and makes it harder to find upgraded casters.

 

[bulletpruf]

I'm just stopping in to give you a thumbs up for the car. I own two 67 Fairlanes myself.

Ditto. My favorite cars. I have a 66 GT convt., 428, 4 sp. Black exterior, black top, red interior. Redlines on Magnum 500's. All stock except for the motor.

 

[saabman]

NMW made really nice dollies but they have been out of business for quite a while. But you can occasionally find a set on EBAY.

 

[86turbodsl]

Ditto. My favorite cars. I have a 66 GT convt., 428, 4 sp. Black exterior, black top, red interior. Redlines on Magnum 500's. All stock except for the motor.

Super sweet. Always wanted an Fe. My 1st one was 289 c4, put a 351w toploader combo in it. Want to build a stroked 400 someday for it. The 67 vert is getting a 5.0 aod cruiser engine when I build it.

Sent from my LG-TP450 using The Garage Journal mobile app