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Pallet Rack help

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zcinpa

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Nov 22, 2009
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114
Location
South West PA
the horizontal bars on the uprights are usually much thinner than the upright channels - generally an angle stock or a c channel - that style of racking gets most of it's strength from being assembled. I've seen plenty take damage from forklifts etc - so to answer your question - yep - cut them where you like and stick in another piece of angle. how much weight are you looking at using them for, just a general home garage?
 
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Hades12

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Jan 13, 2006
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211
Location
Union Mills NC
would be using them in my business and fun shop. business would be one shelf as a table then one or two above for random stuff and some wood boxes, 500 pounds or less. at the fun shop one shelf would be table and then some of my scrap stuff up high out of the way. but still 500 pounds or less.


He wants 15 each on the beams which seems to be fair, but 100 on the uprights which looks to be a bit high. was thinking I would cut them to 8ft, but still a bit to expensive.
 
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Steevo

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Out here in Calif., 42" uprights that height go for about $45-$65 used. 8-footers come up fairly often, since they are now commonly used in storage units and containers.

If there is not a horizontal you can cut just above, you'll need to add one after cutting. They keep the legs from pulling together or spreading apart, and the diagonals keep them from racking.
 

Ign

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Jul 7, 2006
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Butte Peak ND
Yeah, pallet racking is modified all the time like that. Cut it where you need it. If you're lucky, the cut will be near a horizontal bar (strikes me as 1/2" pipe sch 40 but I've not measured it). If you wind up above a diagonal cross brace you'll need to add a horizontal above to complete the triangulation.

I just scored 42" wide x 10' high Ridgid Rack uprights for $25 ea and 9' cross beams for $10 ea. At a material handling reseller in Denver I've paid $60 ea for 14' uprights. Either way $100 seems high. If anything your teardrop racking should be cheaper as it's far more common than Ridgid Rack.

If you can get those wire steel "baskets" which go across the cross beams, consider it. Hard to come by around here.
 

Cryptic1911

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May 24, 2008
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Willimantic, CT
^ yup, ours were 18 feet tall when we bought them. Used a portable bandsaw to cut them to 11ft, and then stacked it all in the rack truck
 
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Ign

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Jul 7, 2006
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Butte Peak ND
Also if you're cutting out horizontal bars forget about re-using them. You won't be able to get into the channel of the main uprights, so just leave the stub in there and flush cut with the inside of the channel. Pick up some 1/2" pipe to cut to proper length and add back yourself. OR if you've also cut diagonals out those will of course be much longer and you can shorten them to be re-used as horizontals.
 
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Hades12

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Jan 13, 2006
Messages
211
Location
Union Mills NC
Finally found some real close by. 300 for 4 uprights and 12 beams plus wire deck for the beams. uprights were only 7ft, shorter then I wanted but will work.


downsized_0501121232.jpg
 
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darkk

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Dec 24, 2009
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3,361
Location
Willimantic, Ct.
Our deal was 12 3ft deep 18ft uprights, 40 7ft cross bars and 40 3 1/2ft floors/hd screens. Paid $450 for all of it. enough to go 84 ft. x 18ft high. As cryptic said, we cut them to 11 ft to get them in the truck. The pieces standing up are the cutoffs. The deals are out there.:beer:
 

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ilovevocs

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Jun 26, 2009
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Toledo, Ohio
I have a bunch of these that i got for free from a local automotive supplier. They were super tall and then a fork truck driver hits them they scrap them and buy new. I gut the bottom of the legs off and welded a new "foot" on after shortening them and they were good to go. I store my snowmoblies on them in the summer time. Drive them onto a sheet metal pallet and just set them down with the fork truck. I did not have the wire mesh that spans the horizontal sections so I used tongue and groove 2x6. A quick cote of paint and they look brand new.
 

IndyGarage

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Apr 29, 2010
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Indy
The only critical dimension on teardrop rack is the alignment of the holes from leg to leg - don't make a mistake and cut them at the bottom. And make sure the crossties are intact in the uprights. Oh, and take the time to drill and bolt them to the floor properly.

I needed some a couple years ago - saw a few pieces sitting behind the local Ace hardware store and asked them if I could buy it. I knew they'd been sitting in the same spot for a long time.

When we looked they realized the base had rusted out on a couple of them, and that's why they were sitting outside. I said I'd still take them, and he sold them for me for $25. That's 3 12foot uprights and 12 crossbeams. I nearly froze to death putting them in the back of my pickup, because it was only about 5 degrees outside and I had to chip the snow off of them, but I didn't want to give him a chance to change his mind.

I just welded some 3/16ths plate onto the bottom of the rusty sections up to good metal, and they are solid as a rock.

I got a couple of wire shelf sections with mine and a few sheetmetal 2x4 type crossbeams. I like the wire shelves, but they want like $25 apiece for them used, so I ended up buying 12 foot 2x10's and cutting them into three pieces and they drop right in. I think I probably have 4-5 tons of stuff up in the air on them right now. I could use some more sections.
 

some zilch

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Oct 22, 2008
Messages
318
i traded a non-running old snowmobile for (3) 42"x18" uprights, and 16 horizontal beams that make the shelves. i LOVE them. i cut 4 ft off each upright, so i could stand them in my tall bay. i store an atv on one of the shelves, and have several heavy welders and engines on others.

i re-used the 4ft cut-offs outside, and found 4 horizontal beams elsewhere; i put the horizontal beams at the highest points on the 4ft cutoffs, making a 16ft long "shelf" 4 ft in the air. i put some of the tractor's attachments on the shelf, keeping it off the ground, and in some sort of order. some of the other tractor attachements go underneath.
 
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