Lift (scissor) delivery tools/techniques

[Tremelune]

I live in a tight residential hood and have a normal two-car garage door and a tiny driveway with a slight slope. I'm planning to buy a BendPak MD-6XP scissor lift. There won't be any way for a large box truck to unload a half-ton pallet into my garage, so I'm trying to figure out how to get this thing out of the street when they dump it.

I know there are delivery services that can get it into position in my garage, but I'm wondering if I can put that cost into a useful tool instead. I don't want to get too Rube-Goldberg with it, but perhaps some kind of engine hoist or cherry picker that I drag up my slight slope with a come-along or something...I guess I could drag the pallet to some degree...

Maybe I can drive my van or a trailer into the garage, lift it up with an engine hoist, and drive out...?

While I'm aware that this is good justification for a personal forklift, I'm curious to know what other techniques people have employed...

 

[RacerX]

What about something like the tire skates from harbor freight? Those with the vee shaped diamond plate with 4 casters?

Or a couple of the furniture dollies. They have held up well for my chores.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[619DioFan]

Pallet jack would be easiest. probably find one used on cl for very little money. then resell it after you are done.

 

[Git]

Well, judging from the screen grab of this video, it looks like a pallet jack is going to be your best bet. Whoever is delivering it is going to have a pallet jacket to get it to the end of the truck and drop it in the street. The majority of the times that I have had a large/heavy object like this delivered, we wheeled it up the slight incline to my garage without any problems. Remember - with the pallet jacket it is rolling weight not dead weight. If your concerned, get a cheap winch (they have ones that are even powered by a cordless drill) set up an anchor point in your garage and winch it in with their pallet jack

 

[txvwnut]

I used my engine hoist and a couple of straps. Lifted it out of the delivery truck and set it across the legs of the hoist and rolled it into the shop. To get it off the hoist legs I hooked the pump up raised the lift and rolled the hoist away.

 

[benny27]

how tight are the streets in your neighborhood will a semi truck be able to get to your hose and back out? no low trees or tight turns to make.
Then how steep is your drive way?
make shear you get liftgate delivery when you make your order it will be a extra charge. Then as long as there is no curbs or other ruff stuff to go over you and the delivery driver can roll it into your garage with his pallet jack.

 

[Tremelune]

Well. I picked the lift up from the freight terminal with a trailer, backed it into my garage, tethered the lift to my deck, winched some, and then drove away...It went mostly according to plan, all told, but I did lose a pair of jack stands in the process...

Shoulda bought a shop crane, but time was of the essence. I'll let the photos tell the tale...This was hours of conscientious rednecism...

 

[ChrisLS8]

We rolled my friends In on a few PVC pipe

 

[Alexander]

Those pictures tell quite a tale.

I suppose I've never seen a smart car towing a trailer before.

Overall, well done. Looks like a success to me.

 

[milwaukeephil]

You have a nice epoxy floor -- can you put something under the lift so the weight and movement doesn't ruin it?

If it makes you feel better, here's how my 4-post Atlas came... I believe it was something like 14 feet long and 1700 pounds if I remember right. Came right off the back of the semi into my shop, but I have a forklift.

 

[Tremelune]

You have a nice epoxy floor -- can you put something under the lift so the weight and movement doesn't ruin it?

Yessir, and it's a good idea—I have two 18" steel "runners" under the wheels. They're not quite long enough for full extension, but they're long enough to easily reach the highest safety detent. I once had a particularly unbalanced car on it with the heavy side by the wheels, and it wound up dragging the non-wheel side instead of rolling when it caught a divot in the concrete...