Wheel Dollies

[schwalby]

How many of you guys have wheel dollies and how well do they work? Do you need a really level and flat floor? Does it still take a bunch of effort to push the vehicle around?

Any tips or tricks?

I am thinking of using a set for my Jeep TJ, it weighs just shy of 4,000 lbs.

 

[aka Larry]

I have a set from Summit and even to move a Miata on a flat concrete surface takes a good bit of effort IMO.

 

[Haywood]

I have a set of cheap ones, I think the name brand on them was Larin. Same **** you'd get from harbor freight.

I use them on a ~3500lb Camaro. I can move the car by myself, once the casters are all pointing in the same direction its not bad. If you want to change direction like from moving north to west, it takes some effort to get it to change. Its also harder on even a small incline, I notice a difference going from a flat part of the garage to an area pitched towards a floor drain. In those areas, its not a nice smooth push in a direction, its more like plant your feet, pull on the tire, and move it 10 inches at a time.

 

[schwalby]

Doesn't sound like much fun. So I guess next question is are they even worth it?

The area I am thinking of using them it would be a straight shot just shifting the Jeep side ways but it may also be accomplished with really careful backing and swinging the front around. Want to put the Jeep up against the wall for winter storage.

 

[58Yeoman]

I've got a cheap set, probably similar to HF, and I've got a '41 Pontiac sitting on them. My floors are level,and it moves around pretty easily, once you get the casters pointing in the same direction. It's a good idea to oil the casters once in a while.

 

[97dynaglide]

I have a set of four (Harbor Freight, but no noticeable differences compared to others that were available locally)that I used once under my 71 Cutlass.

Like the others have said, it takes quite a bit of effort to change directions.
I had to take a pry bar and twist each wheel/caster to the direction I wanted to go. Even then, the car wanted to drift if I didn't have them pointed exactly straight.

They're going up for sale or will be given away in our neighborhood spring garage sale.

 

[Eldogg]

I have a set of GoJaks and love them.

 

[Richard D]

+1, the Chinese dollies are junk. The wheels contact the steel swivel part of the caster and won't roll. May work O.K. if the casters were replaced. GoJacks are probably pretty good, haven't tried them.

 

[Strouty]

Doesn't sound like much fun. So I guess next question is are they even worth it?

The area I am thinking of using them it would be a straight shot just shifting the Jeep side ways but it may also be accomplished with really careful backing and swinging the front around. Want to put the Jeep up against the wall for winter storage.

It depends on your situation. I had a volvo cross country wagon on some of the "heavy duty" harbor freight ones. I could move it myself, but as others have stated it was tough to move until all the wheels were going the same direction. I ended up buying a set that is a lot better, but I have not used them for the intended purpose yet. My floor is not flat and has dimples and cracks in it. In my case they were invaluable due to the fact that the car I was removing parts from had no reverse. I pulled the car in, jacked it up, put the dollies under it, and turned it around. Then I pushed it over to ones side and backed another car in next to it. So if you need to be able to move the project around it is pretty nice, the extra effort to get it started could be done with a medium sized pry bar. The gojack is nice, but very expensive and they are not rated for trucks. The beauty of the gojack is you don't need to have room around the vehicle for the floor jack to get the dollies under the car. So if you had multiple cars to jam in the garage (winter storage) the gojack would be perfect.

Here is where I got mine, they are made in the USA and use super heavy duty 1/4" plate. Paint is not high quality, but I didn't really care. I bout the 16" with heavy duty castors, they are rated at 10,000 pounds total, I look forward to using them with my 8,000 pound suburban. They were about $160 shipped free.

http://www.autoanything.com/tools/74A6055A0A0.aspx

 

[jimzz2006]

I have cheapos from harbor freight. use them under my camaro and my daytona to turn the cars sideways against the wall for winter storage.

I use my garden tractor and some blocking against the dolly to get the car turned and slid against the wall.

In the summer I hook a chain to the dolly and to the garden tractor and swing it out and away from the wall....

 

[Falcon67]

I have four of the HF "1500 lb" dollies under the Falcon. That's 3000 lbs sitting on them. They work fine if you first take the casters apart (wheels off axles) and tune them up. Clean out the axle bore, grease, grease the swivel, etc. Then assemble properly so they lock and spin free unlocked. For that effort, you get some cheap dollies that will carry a good 800 maybe 900 lbs or so each. There is some effort to turn the casters when changing directions, but I can turn the car sideways pretty quick by myself. Pushing the whole car one way is the same as if it was resting on the tires - takes two, really. The black wheels will tend to mark your floor. Personally, for the price I don't care.

 

[Cryptic1911]

I bought some of the 1250lb harbor freight "gojack" style wheel dollies, and they worked pretty good. They did require some effort to get the car moving the first shot because the wheels were pointing the wrong direction, but once it's rolling, its easy. They jacked the car up with ease too.. I like the mechanism.

for $60 you can't beat them:

 

[DARK AGE 53]

If you read all the reviews for the HF 1500 lb. dollies I think those might work for you, I have an older set HF dollies with the plastic type wheels and there junk.

 

[Steevo]

I have two sets. One HF and one Northern Tool.
I currently have a 1500# tractor sitting on a set, and it rolls very well.

 

[saabman]

I have a have 3 sets. All similar design, all feature "tubs" for the tires and heavy duty casters. 2 are "Roll Masters" from NMW (now out of business) and 1 is from Redhawk Automotive (http://www.redhawkent.com/)

 

[Choptopjimmy]

I have 2 complete sets, one HF one Northern Tool. I use them on my Fox Body Mustangs and can move them all over the garage by myself. When I use them on my 5000lb 1959 Buick 4 door they will work but it takes 2 guys to push it around. Jim

 

[Pluribus]

Check out Merrick Machine (made in USA) dollies. I bought mine about 10 years ago, so I can't recall who I bought them from. They're stout, and I figured paying a little more for them was worth it vs. China Freight. Note that they're stamped, and they don't put any effort into cleaning up the edges. Yeah, they were that bad! I spent a bit of time deburring them to avoid slicing myself while handling them.

http://www.theautodolly.com/index.php

With the wide wheels, they don't like to roll a different direction than the casters are facing, so in moving a 3,600# car myself, I had to kick and prod the casters with 2x4's to get them facing the right direction.

 

[Strouty]

Check out Merrick Machine (made in USA) dollies. I bought mine about 10 years ago, so I can't recall who I bought them from. They're stout, and I figured paying a little more for them was worth it vs. China Freight. Note that they're stamped, and they don't put any effort into cleaning up the edges. Yeah, they were that bad! I spent a bit of time deburring them to avoid slicing myself while handling them.

http://www.theautodolly.com/index.php

With the wide wheels, they don't like to roll a different direction than the casters are facing, so in moving a 3,600# car myself, I had to kick and prod the casters with 2x4's to get them facing the right direction.

They have gotten better now, the wheels have more of a crown to them and the edges were smoother. The paint leaves room for improvement, but they are a good product for sure.

 

[flat350]

I have a set from Farm and Fleet,unknown brand,my 170 lb body can spin a 68 Camaro 360 deg with out straining in a 2 1/2 car garage

 

[svtride]

I have two sets. I won't be without them. They let me arrange my cars for higher density storage giving me more room to work on cars in the freed up space.

Get the wheels going in the right direction and moving a car is relatively easy.
I have the aluminum type. I believe they are made in Michigan.

 

[The Hot Rod Grille]

I have the 6200# set from Go-Jak and have used them to move a 1960 Olds 4-door wagon that is a heavy "beast"! Easy to position the Go-Jaks under the tires and no problem moving the car around the shop. The're not cheap, but worth every penny when you need to move a car effortlessly.

Jim

 

[fflintstone]

I had a set of "go jacks" they got burned in the second fire and I didnt replace them. for the money I think I wont be replacing them.
I am looking at buying a used rotiserie instead.

 

[OldNeons]

Don't waste your time or money on the import junk. Buy a set of Gojak 6200s and you'll never regret it. Best money spent, easily move a car or truck around shop by yourself. I made the import dolly mistake once and sold them at the next swap, they are JUNK

 

[camaro0991]

The harbor freight jacks that are similar to the go jacks work great. I've been shuffling my cars aroud in the garage for a while. Yes go jacks might roll a bit better...but I can't justify the enormus price difference between them and the harbor freights. For 60 bucks you cant go wrong. (make sure its the ratcheting style go jack look a likes your looking at that harbor freight sells. The regular ones ****...but those are pretty good.)

 

[c39er]

I have the 5000lb Go Jaks. Roll easily anywhere. I move late 40'/early 50's Chryslers with them. They are heavy cars. Horror freight stuff is just that.

 

[BlackLead]

I bought some of the 1250lb harbor freight "gojack" style wheel dollies, and they worked pretty good. They did require some effort to get the car moving the first shot because the wheels were pointing the wrong direction, but once it's rolling, its easy. They jacked the car up with ease too.. I like the mechanism.

for $60 you can't beat them:

These are the same ones I have, and unless the quality has plummeted, this is a great deal. I bought some years back, and I don't have any issues with them.

 

[DIC]

GoJak 6200
[URL="http://[URL="http://http://www.zendextool.com/gojak/

 

[J66442]

I have three different styles of wheel dollies, two of them came from harbor freight, the third set is an unknown brand from a car show. They are difficult to use at best. I believe what makes them difficult to use is the small surface area under the wheels vs. weight of the car. I have found the easiest way to use them is to put them under the rear end of the car ( the light end) and use the front of the car rolling on its tires. I use the steering of the car to direct it the way I want to go and push the rear end. Using just two dollies I can push the car anywhere I want to, but with four dollies it barely moves.

 

[ChevyCam]

I just bought these from harbor freight:

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-1500-lb-capacity-vehicle-dollies-67338.html

But you need to spend the time taking apart the casters and greasing where the wheel rolls on its inner sleeve.

I also did my best to pack some grease into the ball bearings that the casters swivel on. I found some grease in a spray can from NAPA that worked well on the bottom set of bearings.

After all that effort, the dollies moved my 68 Camaro across the garage with not too much effort. I pointed the wheels in the right direction first, but I don't think that's even necessary if you grease it up.

For the price and a little bit of effort it's worth it.

 

[Pcoghlan]

I bought a set at the Hershey fall event. They were made locally here in the US. I know I paid (a lot) more than what you get them for from HF et al but they are amazing. My wife can push the Model A or MGA with one hand. I barely need both hands to push the 55 Buick which probably weighs twice as much.

I do have a fresh, smooth concrete pad which helps.

Without stating the obvious (which I will now do) the better the quality the easier they will likely be to move. I know I opted for better bearings for an extra $50. Super smooth...

Wouldn't be without them.

 

[saabman]

The tub style have great utility. Sure, I use them to move cars but also routiinely move machine tools. I even offloaded my chassis dyno on 3 of them and moved it in to the garage. For non-car use, I place a 2x6 long ways across the flats at each of the dolly. Doing so provides a smooth, broad, and level surface for whatever is being moved.

 

[lilscorpion]

I'd never get them to roll over the crack in my floor between slabs. Worked well otherwise.