Replacement casters for a 'cherry picker'?

[MushCreek]

I've had the same engine hoist (cherry picker) for about 30 years. I've done a ton of work with it (oddly enough, only one engine, though), such as moving heavy machinery. And that's where the problem lies. Sure, it will pick up a 2000 lb. machine, but good luck moving it! The casters are cheap ****. They won't swivel under a load, and won't roll well, either.

I decided to put better casters under it, but can't seem to find 1000 lb. or better casters that are low enough. If I put 4" casters on it, I'll run into clearance problems at times. I've had that problem even with the lower casters it now has. Any suggestions? Do they make a really low caster that can handle that kind of load? The problem is that when you pick something up, about 90% of the load is on the front two casters.

 

[cvairwerks]

I made some pallets that have 6" under them and just use a pallet jack to move things. Swing it off the hoist, run a pallet under it and set it down and unhook and move.

 

[dewalt378g]

At 30 years old I'm going to guess your hoist is mounted on top of of the casters. That said, I think you will be hard pressed to find small casters at your 1k lb requirement. The smallest I've seen are about 3" and the lowest overall height (swivel frame + wheel) at that would probably be vending machine casters.

Outside of that it looks like you would have to do some welding mods to your hoist to get the legs/frame of it to sit lower or as low as the overall height of the caster top plate. Quick google picture search of hoists and you'll see what I'm talking about. Some designs incorporate a single wheel into the steel tube of the front legs. the caveat is that these do not swivel.

 

[The Cobbler]

weld a drop plate to the base & install taller casters rated for heavier load

 

[MushCreek]

weld a drop plate to the base & install taller casters rated for heavier load

That's a good idea! I would only have to do the two on the front, as that's where all of the load is. I could adjust the drops to match the rear wheels. I was dreading having to pony up for 6 expensive casters.

I love this thing, other than the wheels. I bought it brand new for $125 at a flea market. Not sure of the COO, as it's too old to be Chinese. I've gone through three hydraulic cylinders over the years. I especially like that it breaks down to take up little floor space when not in use.

 

[matt_i]

My suggestion would be to make the front wheels fixed axles instead of swivel casters. It limits the sideways mobility a bit but nothing worse than a pallet jack.

My hoist has somewhere around 6" dia wheels on the front and it rolls reasonably well over most small irregularities in the concrete.

However consider how low profile the front wheels on a pallet jack are and they roll reasonably well with much greater loads than an engine hoist would typically handle.

 

[ClappedOutBport]

My suggestion would be to make the front wheels fixed axles instead of swivel casters. It limits the sideways mobility a bit but nothing worse than a pallet jack.

My hoist has somewhere around 6" dia wheels on the front and it rolls reasonably well over most small irregularities in the concrete.

However consider how low profile the front wheels on a pallet jack are and they roll reasonably well with much greater loads than an engine hoist would typically handle.

This. Dad has a 4 ton engine hoist with 4 very high quality needle-bearing swivel casters. All of his floors are sloped. That thing will run away from you.