Anyone have a loading dock?

[rcleaver]

I plan on building my garage first, to use as a staging area for materials to build a house. I was thinking it might make things easier if I had a loading dock, maybe outside along the long dimension of the garage, covered by a roof extension.

Anyone else done it? How did it work out? It might be a waste because it wouldn't be used much after the house is built. So I also thought of making a portable collapseable loading dock that could be rolled up to the overhead door.

Any other ideas?

 

[rsanter]

not sure I think that will help much
personally I think you need to look at how building materials are delivered.
If there is a reason you may need this I would think the investment into a fork lift would be a better choice

bob

 

[rcleaver]

not sure I think that will help much
personally I think you need to look at how building materials are delivered.
If there is a reason you may need this I would think the investment into a fork lift would be a better choice

bob

That's a good idea. Instant portable loading dock (in effect). And of course it's better for moving things around. But those suckers don't come cheap, and I think a rolling platform that would collapse might be fairly cheap. But then there's the issue of what to use to unload from a truck and move things. An engine lift or a rolling crane maybe?

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

Many times the delivery truck will have a lift on the back of it,if not you could rent a forklift for a hour or two.You'll just have to make sure you know when the truck is coming

 

[rcleaver]

Many times the delivery truck will have a lift on the back of it,if not you could rent a forklift for a hour or two.You'll just have to make sure you know when the truck is coming

More than once I've had a problem with delivery. When my CNC machine was delivered, fortunately I had a friendly truck driver who was willing to remove the boxes from the pallet and put them in my garage. I can't count on that.

 

[PAToyota]

If there is a reason you may need this I would think the investment into a fork lift would be a better choice

I have a set of pallet forks for my Bobcat and they do come in handy. But I've had a few things delivered by van trucks that ended up being a problem because they were too far inside the truck. Got pretty good at dragging pallets to the back of the truck with a chain so that I could lift them down, but that can be tricky with higher centers of gravity. If I had been able to get into the truck with the Bobcat it would have been no problem to lift and take out.

Building materials are more often than not delivered on flatbeds, so you can come in from the side to get them down. The Bobcat is pretty good, but doesn't come near to an actual forklift if you're talking real serious weight. I've seen used forklifts go for $1500 or less around here. Then again, construction and uneven terrain isn't quite a forklift's forte either.

Depending on how much land you have, a ramped area up to a retaining wall to act as a loading ramp could be an idea.

 

[FunfDreisig]

I'm building a low loading dock into the apron of my new garage. It will be the height of the back of my utility trailer. This will allow me to load/unload the trailer directly at the level of the garage slab. This will be most useful for items that roll -- e.g. chipper/shreder etc. - or things that can be easily loaded/unloaded with a dolly.

OTH it will be of almost no use when unloading materials from a lumber truck, etc. during construction of the garage or the main house. I'm not even going to build the retaining walls for the loading dock until the garage is nearly complete. Then I'll use it to unload my truck/trailer as I transfer stuff from 3 10x20 storage units.

FWIW Construction materials delivery trucks (e.g. lumber trucks, etc.) are usually unloaded from the SIDE because the materials are frequently much longer than they are wide. A loading dock doesn't help much. Almost all of my construction materials suppliers now have "piggy back" fork lifts on their delivery trucks. If something shows up without a piggy back I'll unload it with the fork lift on my Kubota.

Funf Dreisig

 

[jake00]

make freinds with a local biz (with a dock) and get stuff shipped there, you'll save on the resedential charges too

 

[Brad54]

i've thought of this too. I don't know what kind of stuff you do for a hobby, but there have been MANY times when unloading an engine, rear end or other heavy objects from the bed of my pick-up would have been much easier with a loading dock.
A lot of old farm barns have loading docks built into them, and with good reason.
I've also seen a lot of farms with a dirt mound and a retaining wall built as a loading dock, to at least get things off a truck and onto the ground.

A loading dock sure would make getting a big air compressor into your shop a lot easier. Or any other power tools as well. The big problem with moving very heavy things often isn't moving it around once it's on the ground, the big problem is usually getting it ON the ground. Once there, furniture dollies, hand trucks, etc can move it just fine.

I think it's a good idea, and will probably have something on my next shop. Actually, my current shop is set up for it, I just need to build the deck along the back wall, thanks to the grade of my lot.

-Brad

 

[BigChevy80]

I actually have 80 loading docks... at work. I drive a truck.

 

[Vinko]

I have a loading dock. Also a loading ramp (for sale in the classifieds) for someone who has no dock but wants to unload container trucks and the like.

Liftgate charges usually cost the shipper between $50-$250 in my experience. That's lift-gate, pallet jack, and residential delivery.

 

[rcleaver]

I have a set of pallet forks for my Bobcat and they do come in handy. But I've had a few things delivered by van trucks that ended up being a problem because they were too far inside the truck. Got pretty good at dragging pallets to the back of the truck with a chain so that I could lift them down, but that can be tricky with higher centers of gravity. If I had been able to get into the truck with the Bobcat it would have been no problem to lift and take out.

Building materials are more often than not delivered on flatbeds, so you can come in from the side to get them down. The Bobcat is pretty good, but doesn't come near to an actual forklift if you're talking real serious weight. I've seen used forklifts go for $1500 or less around here. Then again, construction and uneven terrain isn't quite a forklift's forte either.

Depending on how much land you have, a ramped area up to a retaining wall to act as a loading ramp could be an idea.

Exactly my thoughts about unloading from inside the truck.

I agree that a forklift alone doesn't solve the problem. But I don't really want to worry about renting a forklift in the midst of all the activity and issues of home building. That's why I want to have a comprehensive solution.

I don't have a problem with enough land - my property is about 14 acres (northeastern PA). I guess I need both a dock and a forklift of some sort. I'll have to bite the bullet I guess which may mean waiting a little longer to start building.

 

[rcleaver]

I'm building a low loading dock into the apron of my new garage. It will be the height of the back of my utility trailer. This will allow me to load/unload the trailer directly at the level of the garage slab. This will be most useful for items that roll -- e.g. chipper/shreder etc. - or things that can be easily loaded/unloaded with a dolly.

OTH it will be of almost no use when unloading materials from a lumber truck, etc. during construction of the garage or the main house. I'm not even going to build the retaining walls for the loading dock until the garage is nearly complete. Then I'll use it to unload my truck/trailer as I transfer stuff from 3 10x20 storage units.

FWIW Construction materials delivery trucks (e.g. lumber trucks, etc.) are usually unloaded from the SIDE because the materials are frequently much longer than they are wide. A loading dock doesn't help much. Almost all of my construction materials suppliers now have "piggy back" fork lifts on their delivery trucks. If something shows up without a piggy back I'll unload it with the fork lift on my Kubota.

Funf Dreisig

I need to find out about how the suppliers work where the house will be built. I now live about 300 miles to the south so I don't know the area well, except for the geography.

So far I guess no one likes the idea of a portable loading dock with a ramp for a forklift. Seems like the most flexible solution to me.

 

[rcleaver]

I have a loading dock. Also a loading ramp (for sale in the classifieds) for someone who has no dock but wants to unload container trucks and the like.

Liftgate charges usually cost the shipper between $50-$250 in my experience. That's lift-gate, pallet jack, and residential delivery.

The ramp sounds interesting. Do you have a picture of it?

I agree about the shipper charges. After a few deliveries, you've spent enough extra to buy a forklift at least.

 

[PAToyota]

Unless you're going to be unloading Bridgeport mills and fullsize lathes on a regular basis, I'd consider looking at a Bobcat. A forklift doesn't exactly do well with uneven terrain. And if you're going to talk all-terrain forklift you're also talking something much larger and more costly.

The Bobcat is going to have a lower capacity, but you can still get something in the ton to one and a half ton range without much trouble. And when you aren't moving things around with the pallet forks you can use it for landscaping, snow removal, and quite a bit else. With fourteen acres, I'll guarantee that you'll find enough uses for it to make it worthwhile for you.

My plan was to buy the Bobcat, use it to build the shop, and then sell it again. Although I figured I could easily sell it for what I paid for it, even if I sold it for 50% to 75% of what I paid I'd still be ahead of renting one a couple times a month. But over ten years later and I still have the Bobcat because it has been so useful I couldn't bring myself to sell it.

 

[FunfDreisig]

I need to find out about how the suppliers work where the house will be built. I now live about 300 miles to the south so I don't know the area well, except for the geography.

When I built the cabin my main lumber supplier used trucks with tilt beds. They basically tilted the bed until the lumber slid off the back of the truck with a big crash After dealing with the resulting messy lumber piles and some split/mangled lumber at the bottom of the stacks I swore I'd never have lumber delivered that way again. So after the heavy duty foundation lumber and 2x6 framing lumber was delivered, I switched to suppliers that would come with a piggy back fork lift Deliveries got a lot less stressful. And I didn't have to haul the materials from the edge of the drive to the backside of the cabin by hand anymore.

BTW The deck on the front of the cabin is 36x6' and 4 ft off the ground. Once this was in place we used it as a long loading dock that allowed us to hand unload long lumber etc. (e.g. the 4-24' & 4-36' long Doug fir GLULAMs and 2x8x20' long rafters) off the SIDE of lumber trucks. The decks of lumber trucks are about 4' off the ground; so the deck and the truck bed were about level.

You really need to think through exactly what you plan on unloading using a loading dock. For example, how big, how heavy and what shape will the stuff be? And more importantly, will your stuff be on the truck where it can be reached from your loading dock? And easily moved into your garage.

So far I guess no one likes the idea of a portable loading dock with a ramp for a forklift. Seems like the most flexible solution to me.

The building materials that you'll be unloading are likely to be very heavy (measured in tons per bundle/pallet, etc). So any portable loading dock would have to very stout to handle just the weight of the building materials, let alone the fork lift. etc. For example I just got a delivery of 60 - 80# bags of concrete on two pallets. 40 of them were on one pallet and 20 on the other. 40x80 => 3,200lbs/2,000lbs => 1.6 tons It takes a pretty heavy tractor / bobcat to lift 1.6 tons (without tipping over). The delivery truck used the piggy back to put them down right where i wanted them.

FWIW the standard delivery charge w/ piggy back is $35 from a lumber yard about 30 miles from here. The highest I've paid is $50 from a yard about twice as far away. The cost with out the piggy back is the same.

Funf Dreisig

 

[FunfDreisig]

Unless you're going to be unloading Bridgeport mills and fullsize lathes on a regular basis, I'd consider looking at a Bobcat. A forklift doesn't exactly do well with uneven terrain. And if you're going to talk all-terrain forklift you're also talking something much larger and more costly.

The Bobcat is going to have a lower capacity, but you can still get something in the ton to one and a half ton range without much trouble. And when you aren't moving things around with the pallet forks you can use it for landscaping, snow removal, and quite a bit else. With fourteen acres, I'll guarantee that you'll find enough uses for it to make it worthwhile for you.....

I agree. A normal fork lift is only useful on flat hard surfaces (AKA concrete or taramc). Those tiny wheels and no suspension are a recipe for disaster on uneven terrain.

BTW You can offset a lot of the cost of a skid loader or tractor by doing your own site prep for the garage / house. One you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it My garage will have 9 ft high doors so I can drive the Kubota into it without lowering the sun shade. The pallet forks are simply too handy to only use outside.

Funf Dreisig

 

[kbs2244]

A loading dock with a hard paved surface would let you use a hand pallet jack get stuff off a box truck.
New, they go for about $300.00. On creigs list for $50.00
But it only makes sense for palletized stuff.
Would you use it after your done building?
If you have the room and money, your idea is a good on.
Do you have a slope to use?
If you have to dig a ramp onto a hole you may have drainage problems and need a sump pump.

 

[PAToyota]

BTW You can offset a lot of the cost of a skid loader or tractor by doing your own site prep for the garage / house. One you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it My garage will have 9 ft high doors so I can drive the Kubota into it without lowering the sun shade. The pallet forks are simply too handy to only use outside.

Funf Dreisig

Assuredly so! My decision to purchase came when I went over 50% of the cost just adding up rental hours I'd need it - and I was nowhere near finished adding up hours and I probably used the Bobcat twice as much than I had planned on since I had it sitting there. Even came in handy a number of times as mobile scaffolding with me standing on top of the ROPS.

As for making it earn its keep, don't forget clearing snow or landscaping work for your neighbors:

And it does come in handy moving things around in the shop:

Here I'm putting the truck cab back onto the frame. Also note the block sitting on the pallet under the front of the frame for storage.

 

[1320stang]

Here in Oklahoma we call loading docks, ditches.

 

[BrianAltenhofel]

Here in Oklahoma we call loading docks, ditches.

I couldn't tell you how much I've unloaded using the ditches by my house. We've got one that is perfect for a tractor-trailer if we can convince the driver to block the intersection for a while.

 

[FunfDreisig]

Here in Oklahoma we call loading docks, ditches.

Now all I have to do is talk the lumber truck to drive into my "loading dock"

Funf Dreisig

 

[rcleaver]

I agree. A normal fork lift is only useful on flat hard surfaces (AKA concrete or taramc). Those tiny wheels and no suspension are a recipe for disaster on uneven terrain.

BTW You can offset a lot of the cost of a skid loader or tractor by doing your own site prep for the garage / house. One you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it My garage will have 9 ft high doors so I can drive the Kubota into it without lowering the sun shade. The pallet forks are simply too handy to only use outside.

Funf Dreisig

I like the idea of a tractor better, since I can also use it to cut the grass.


BTW, I assume your name is not 35. Is that your age of number of cars in your garage?

 

[logical]

I contracted my own house build and never once wished I had a loading dock. Framing lumber was tilted off, everything else was the supplier's responsibility to unload by hand or with something they brought along....they do it all the time. 99% of their residential sites won't have a dock.

I bought a used industrial tractor with front end loader (1968 Ford Industrial 4400) and rear blade and used it hundreds of times for lifting, clean-up, moving dirt/gravel/sand, leveling temp driveway, moving dumpsters around, etc. The bucket had detachable forks and a hook for chain attachment. I unloaded a big back-up standby generator with it but that's about the only thing I used it for that saved me a liftgate charge. After a year I sold it for what I paid for it.

 

[FunfDreisig]

I like the idea of a tractor better, since I can also use it to cut the grass.


BTW, I assume your name is not 35. Is that your age of number of cars in your garage?

Funf Dreisig -- as in the BMW 530i I picked up at the factory in the late 70's and drove all over Europe for 3 months and is now completely disassembled in a 10x20 storage bin patiently awaiting the completion of it's new home and resumption of it's full restoration

The first thing I did when starting to build the garage was to purchase a Kubota tractor with a 3/4 ton QA FEL, HD bucket & pallet forks; a backhoe, and box blade. I've excavated over 150 tons of limestone slope (to place the rain water collection tanks), leveled the pad for the garage, rebuilt 1,000' of construction driveway (using a lot of the spoils from the excavation) and moved assorted tools & building materials. I literally don't know how I would have done this without my own tractor. Even the wife tells our friends it is one of the best things I've done

Funf Dreisig i