MOVING a vertical air compressor?

[Vegaman_Dan]

Okay, about to go out in a week and pick up a 60 gal vertical compressor from Home Depot as I really like the CH-built Husky units there. But I'm a complete newb when it comes to moving one. I've got a simple compact pickup, and a choice of either flatbed trailer or an enclosed 5x8 trailer (Too short to stand up in).

Can these oil lubricated compressors be laid safely on their sides? Any precautions with the pump afterwards? Will the oil end up leaking out of a vent someplace?

Tips on transporting the beastie?

 

[lisiecki1]

Transported mine on it's side. Didn't have a choice. We drained the oil out of the compressor first.

No problems with it since.

 

[Zeke]

It should come on a pallet. Tie it down in all directions and truck it on out of there. Or pay the reasonable fee to have them bring it to you. Once on the ground all you need is a strong hand dolly. Getting it down while vertical is the only real hassle. If you choose to lay in down, do as lisieki1 did.

 

[rlitman]

A new compressor should come without the oil installed. If so, sure you can lay it down.

If it has oil in the head, it is best to drain the oil, or else oil will run into places it shouldn't get into. If that happens, you can damage the valves when starting it up.

I was able to get an 80 gallon compressor completely inside my Subaru Legacy wagon.
In three pieces though. The motor, the pump, and the tank. Since I never tipped the pump, I never bothered to drain the oil, and doing it this way left me with three easily liftable pieces (it is almost 500lbs as one piece).

I don't think it is at all worth taking a 60 gallon compressor apart to move. You could stand it up in your pickup, if you use several carefully placed ratchet straps to tie it down. I wouldn't bother with the trailer.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I don't think it is at all worth taking a 60 gallon compressor apart to move. You could stand it up in your pickup, if you use several carefully placed ratchet straps to tie it down. I wouldn't bother with the trailer.

Alright, as I get closer to the date, this may be the way of it. I don't like really top heavy things in the back of the truck, but we'll see. Getting off the truck will be the work of an engine hoist and a friend.

 

[Higgins]

Both the 60 & 80 gal Husky @ HD come with the oil installed!

AL

 

[bighouse01]

I bought a Snap-on 60 gal vert gently used on craigslist (screaming deal ), moved it laying down on a motorcycle trailer oil and all. cleaned it up when I got home and topped off whatever oil dibbled out. No problem.

 

[JakeKohl]

They're not that bad. I stood my 80 gal up in the back of a truck for transport and strapped it down. I put some 2x8 boards as runners and walked it to the back of the bed and slid it down the runners with some help. I then walked it into the shop and into the place it's been sitting for 10 years or so. Having a second pair of hands is helpful but it's not difficult. Two reasonably fit people should be able to lift a 60 gallon compressor.

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I have laid several on the side without issue. I never bothered removing the oil but wouldn't be a bad idea. A couple guys or an engine hoist will help stand it back up.

 

[Zeke]

You'll need an extension arm for your hoist. The top of the compressor will be 7' high sitting in the truck. Better to use a chain fall or block and tackle system off a rafter.

 

[CNGsaves]

With an appliance dolly and rachet straps, I horsed mine up on utility trailer that had fold down tailgate. Trailer had steel mesh floor so I first installed plywood so I'd have firm surface to move compressor around.

Once up over the axle, I laid down the compressor onto bunch of foam and strapped it all down to trailer (head was slightly elevated).

Compressor made the 200 mile trip behind a small car with oil in compressor and had no problems. Drive was worth it at $220 to get 60 gal 6.5 HP Powermate with 140 psi capability.

For shorter trip, I'd go with pickup bed (next to cab) and crane it in & out so compressor could be kept upright (then strapped secure in every direction).

For me, driving over bumps with it laying down on trailer was a little stressful . . . but do-able!!

 

[buildmyown]

Brought my 60 gallon vertical home standing up in a HF 4X8 folding trailer towed by my honda accord at the time. Had them load it on the trailer with a fork lift it was still attached to the pallet. Got some funny looks from the people at home depot. The nice thing about the trailer was the low deck height. Once home i backed into the garage and was able to walk the compressor to the end of the trailer and then carefully slide it off the edge and hold it while i had someone drive the trailer out from under it.

 

[79firebird]

When i got my 80 gal husky no oil was installed yet 3 of us lifted it into the back on a pickup. When my buddy got his 80 last week no oil was installed and we put it on its side in my vibe .

 

[Falcon67]

Stand it up against the back of the cab - bring a blanket to protect the paint. Get a couple of ratchet straps - maybe 2" by 20~25 ft. HF has some. Cross strap the compressor to hold it upright.

When you get there, walk it to the back of the truck. Careful, it's top heavy. Walk it right to the edge of the tail gate, then lay it down in the bed with the pallet sticking out. Slide the compressor out of the bed until it tilts down, then just stand it up.

You can move it elsewhere with a regular two wheeler, just tie the compressor to the two wheeler so it doesn't roll away from you.

 

[Blacklisted]

Stand it up against the back of the cab - bring a blanket to protect the paint. Get a couple of ratchet straps - maybe 2" by 20~25 ft. HF has some. Cross strap the compressor to hold it upright.

When you get there, walk it to the back of the truck. Careful, it's top heavy. Walk it right to the edge of the tail gate, then lay it down in the bed with the pallet sticking out. Slide the compressor out of the bed until it tilts down, then just stand it up.

You can move it elsewhere with a regular two wheeler, just tie the compressor to the two wheeler so it doesn't roll away from you.

This is similar to how I moved mine. I just picked up a lightly used 60 gal US General compressor. We moved it to the truck with a dolly, got it close and leaned it over on the tail gate and lifted it in the truck. (two of us) Same as above for getting it out. Walk it to the tail gate and lean it over and one guy holding the motor/pump end and the other to lower it down. Then dolly it to where you need or "walk" it. If it's a single stage it shouldn't be too bad for two guys.

 

[R6 Racer]

I took mine home in the back of my Tacoma P.U. They loaded it at the store with a forklift, it was on a pallet. I tied it down to all 4 corners of my truck & brought it home standing upright.

At home, my 2 sons used a hand truck/dolly & rolled it down a ramp. One of them could have handled it, but they were both there so...

All and all the proper & secure tie down was the biggest time eater & probebly the most important issue.

Steve

 

[ZRX61]

Bought my 60gal home with it stood up in the back of my dually, It was loaded with a forklift then me a & neighbor lifted it out of the bed manually & walked it into the garage.

 

[Nostraquedeo]

My 60 gallon Husky came on a pallet. I just stood it up in the back and tied the hell out of it. Looked like spaghetti, but it worked just fine. I always keep two or three of those cheap blue HF ropes in my truck. I just toss them when done using.

Oh, make sure it has the oil plug and muffler if you get it from Home Depot. I noticed a lot of their units were missing one or the other when I got mine. Each time I go into different Home Depots I look to see if they are missing and a lot of them are.

 

[01ssreda4]

Laid mine down in an SUV. Let it sit upright for several hours before attempting to run it for the first time. No issue.

 

[skulldrinker]

Leave it at the store just get a long hose.

 

[deter]

when I picked mine up all I had was a little S10. I had the store put it in my truck pallet and all. I stuck ratchet straps to all four corners of the bed. When I got home, I had a helper and we slid it out very carefully.

I later moved to a different house, I used a moving truck with a lift gate. I prefer that method, haha

 

[kaffine]

I moved a 60gal air compressor myself using a small pickup. Used a dolly to move it while still on the pallet to behind the truck. Then tilted the air compressor against the tailgate then lifted up on the pallet and slide it into the bed. Once it was in the bed I stood it back up and tied it down. Once I got to my destination I layed the compressor back on its side and then pulled it out until it started to tip set the pallet down on the ground and tipped it back up. If I was to do it again I probably wouldn't tip it up in the pickup that was the hardest part of moving it.

I forgot to mention if you are concerned about scratching the paint bring a blanket or a towel to wrap around the tank.

 

[Northstar]

I moved mine about a year ago..... 9 blocks from one house to another. Mine sits on the ground on rubber pads and it was going into a big U-haul moving truck. I tilted it and slid a 4x4 chunk under the 2 legs, then tilted the other way and put 2-4x4s stacked under that leg. Next I tilted it back and had a buddy slide a car dolly with a square of 3/4 plywood underneath the free 2 legs. We pivoted it into place so it was centered and rolled it up the ramps. Reverse the procedure down. If it's already on a pallet, it should be that much easier, you might even be able to strap it to an appliance dolly?

 

[NHBandit]

It should come on a pallet. Tie it down in all directions and truck it on out of there. Or pay the reasonable fee to have them bring it to you. Once on the ground all you need is a strong hand dolly. Getting it down while vertical is the only real hassle. If you choose to lay in down, do as lisieki1 did.

^^^^^ This is how I moved mine. I bought a 60 gallon Campbell Hausfeld from Tractor Supply and it did come with oil in it. They loaded it in my S10 with a forklift and I used 4 tie downs from the corners of the bed and had the compressor in the center. When I got it home I layed it down just for a minute so I could slide it out of the truck and into place. Lost no oil in the process and the sight guage still shows the same level as before. I'm sure it won't hurt anything to do it that way.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I've got a 2003 Chevy S10. But I also have a crossbed tool box so i can't put the tank up against the back of the bed. I do have a welded up headache rack that I use to hold the lightbar and other emergency lighting. I suppose I could fabricate a saddle mount to hold it upright while strapped in. That might be fun to make. Totally impractical, but fun.

Otherwise, sitting upright in the bed and fully strapped shouldn't be that much trouble. I had a chance to rock the sample model back and forth and it's not nearly as heavy or awkward as I had suspected. I keep forgetting the tank is just empty air.

 

[NHBandit]

I've got a 2003 Chevy S10. But I also have a crossbed tool box so i can't put the tank up against the back of the bed. I do have a welded up headache rack that I use to hold the lightbar and other emergency lighting. I suppose I could fabricate a saddle mount to hold it upright while strapped in. That might be fun to make. Totally impractical, but fun.

Otherwise, sitting upright in the bed and fully strapped shouldn't be that much trouble. I had a chance to rock the sample model back and forth and it's not nearly as heavy or awkward as I had suspected. I keep forgetting the tank is just empty air.

Sounds like you're complicating it WAY too much. Set the compressor in the center of the bed and run 4 tie down straps from the bracket the motor & pump sit on to the 4 corners of the truck bed. Or in your case 2 to the headache bar & 2 to the rear tie down hooks. I have the same truck and that's how I moved mine.

 

[TheClaw]

Mine came bolted to a pallet. Like the other I layed it done on a motorcycle trailer and took it home. I left the pallet on, trimmed it down a bit and used it for a stand. Put caster underneath so I can roll it around and move it for some reason. Comes in handy now that I'm in a house and I have it sitting on a piece of plywood that covers the sump pump.

Jeff

 

[ToddG]

I have a lifted truck and an 80 compressor. Not a good combination for moving it by yourself! Here's what I did...

I had an engine hoist that I put in the bed of the truck pointing backwards. I actually hung the front wheels over the tailgate by a foot. Then I took ratchet straps and anchored the hoist the the bed hooks in the front of the bed so it wouldn't tip the hoist. Now I simply lowered the ram down enough to lift the compressor. After it was in the bed I strapped it down securely. I reversed the procedure to get it back on the ground. It was actaully easier than I thought it would be!

 

[mrpizza]

I just moved my 60 gallon to storage. Me and a friend heave ho'd it up into the back of a truck. (One stabilizing up top and one lifting from the bottom) moved it out of the garage to the truck on a hand truck.