PVC floor tiles & my car dollies - problem

[DanEC]

Installed my RaceDeck flooring but have a big problem with my Cobra replica (no more than 2700 lbs) that I keep on dollies in a recessed area of my crowded garage. It just won't roll across the tiles. Consulted with a caster supply company and purchased new 4" phenolic casters to replace the original 3-1/2 inch metal wheel casters but even though bigger dia and of material as hard as heck, I think they work even worse. Also, first tried 4" polyurethane casters and they wouldn't even swivel and move - too soft. No room to go to a bigger dia. caster on the dollies Needless to say I'm sitting here with an icepack on my back after slugging down a couple ibuprofen with a car finally shoved over against the wall that I will have trouble getting back out to drive again without doing myself injury. I'm cranking down the dollies, once in position so they don't sink into the tiles any.

Only thoughts I can come up with are; #1 just remove the tiles from the area where I drive the car in and over to the wall where I push it over on dollies to park. Or #2 try laying down a few sheets of Masonite or OSB plywood or some sort of hard surface sheathing on top of it where I drive in and over to the wall and see if it will hold up and allow rolling the car over into it's space.

Any other out of the box ideas?

 

[DanEC]

Has anyone actually used GoJaks on RaceDeck type flooring to move a 3000# car around on? Too expensive to just purchase as a random test so thought I would ask.

 

[mdsn969]

Same problem with motorcycle dollies, unless the floor is smooth you cannot roll the bike around. I tried it on a buddy's diamond plate tiles.

I did find a company that makes smooth tiles for specifically this purpose...

 

[DanEC]

I've given up. I think the rumors and various posts that GoJaks will roll a car around on PVC tiles is a myth. I changed the casters from steel to polyurethane to phenolic and still no go. Wheels won't caster to align and once I fight that and knock some of them around with a mallet, then it's a battle to roll it. Bought several sheets of tempered hardboard to lay down and although hard as heck and smooth, no go on that either. Put it on concrete and a shove to get it moving and it just rolls right along. I'm going to pull up some of the tiles where I drive the car into the garage and the path over to the far wall where I have to skate the car to park it out of the way or otherwise I just have an expensive garage ornament. Guess I'll store the RaceDeck tile away for the day eventually when I downsize my car fleet.

 

[kngelv]

What style of tile did you get? Diamond? Free flow?

James

 

[DanEC]

What style of tile did you get? Diamond? Free flow?

James

The coin top - based on several advertiser's reports that small casters operated easier on them. RaceDeck said they didn't think their was any difference.

 

[kngelv]

Have you contacted RaceDeck directly? They sure love to chime in when people are happy with the product. It would be nice to see them respond as quickly to a post with concerns. That said, I don't see how you would get a smooth operation on any of these tiles. It seems you need momentum with these dollies and you are not going to get that with any tile that is not smooth.

James

 

[DanEC]

Have you contacted RaceDeck directly? They sure love to chime in when people are happy with the product. It would be nice to see them respond as quickly to a post with concerns. That said, I don't see how you would get a smooth operation on any of these tiles. It seems you need momentum with these dollies and you are not going to get that with any tile that is not smooth.

James

No, I haven't. I don't think it's a problem specific to RaceDeck. I was skeptical from the start, took the shot fully knowing it was a long one and it worked out just about as I had anticipated. Pretty sure now that caster tire dollies will not work on any PVC flooring with reasonable effort. If anyone says otherwise - I want to see the video.

I'm going to pull up a rectangular section out of the inner floor area where I pull the car in and park, and then load the car up on dollies and then roll it sideways over to the side against the wall - probably a 13' x 13' area. I'll put the tile up in the attic in anticipation of the day I get rid of a car and don't need to store one off to the side. I plan to call RaceDeck tomorrow and order a bunch of transition tile to install around the edges of the rectangle to finish it out.

 

[mntbkrguy]

When calling, see if you can get a few of the freeflow tiles to see if the car rolls better on those. I was looking at several versions of tiles to see which best suited my garage before deciding on Polyeura coating.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[DanEC]

Already called first thing this morning but from what I've read the freeflow tiles are not as caster wheel friendly as the diamond or coin top tiles. But then it's the internet so who knows.

 

[BillK]

Dan,
How wide are the casters ? Not diameter, the actual width ? I think that a wider wheel would spread the load better.

That being said, I have never thought that type of floor would really work in an area that is actually used for more than display.

 

[Brian_WK]

Pull the tiles up run them through a planner just so it shaves off the coins then reinstall.

Brian

 

[DanEC]

Dan,
How wide are the casters ? Not diameter, the actual width ? I think that a wider wheel would spread the load better.

That being said, I have never thought that type of floor would really work in an area that is actually used for more than display.

1-1/4 to 1/1/2 inch wide is pretty standard for medium to heavy duty wheels for tire dolly caster wheels. Most wheels have a bit of crown to their surface profile also so they are probably bearing on just a fraction of that. That small area with a hard wheel on a hard surface works pretty well to swivel and roll - not so well on a floor with any give. Dollies are generally designed so that a wider wheel won't fit on them. The 4 inch dia ones clear the frame on mine when swiveled in by about 1/8 inch. There are some professional shop dollies (not self-loading type however) that have 6 inch pneumatic tires and reportedly roll pretty well - but they are expensive and you really have to jack the car way up in the air to get it up on them.

Pull the tiles up run them through a planner just so it shaves off the coins then reinstall.

Brian

Good idea - but I've already ordered a bunch of transition pieces so I can pull up some of the tile where I roll the car back to the wall.

 

[DanEC]

The final solution. Took up part of tile and put in transition strips.






If you need to tire dolly a car around in your garage another flooring solution would be advised.

 

[SALIV8]

Never would have thought about this potential problem.

Thanks for posting.

 

[Gigem]

I have another solution to your problem, but it requires that the car be in my garage instead of yours!