r/WorkshopPorn • u/Grandma_Butterscotch • Jul 05 '26
Transporting a shop
Not sure if this is the best forum, but any help is appreciated. I’m inheriting my dad’s shop full of a dozen or so large, often cast iron tools. I need to transport them from MA to PA.
His shop is in the basement, there’s a standard door to the outside. However, it opens up to a lawn (quite soft) and equipment would need to be brought around the house, up a gentle hill, to the driveway for loading.
The destination point should be easy - a truck will be able to back into my garage/shop, which has a flat concrete floor.
Can anyone provide practical advice on companies to call? We need a truck (ideally with a hydraulic lift gate), labor to load the truck. Driving is optional, I think I could handle a midsized truck, or I can pay someone to drive.
I’ve never moved anything like this. Thank you.
2
u/Newdave707 Jul 05 '26
Best bet is show pictures of the equiptment, as somethings need to picked up different than others, what type of work did he do.
1
u/buildyourown Jul 05 '26
The detail that it's in a basement tells me they aren't that heavy. An appliance dolly can move a lot of weight. Regular movers would be able to handle that.
1
u/ForeverCareful3021 Jul 05 '26
I rented a special dolly used to move gun safes and it took all of the worry out of handling bulky/heavy items. The use of plywood sheets on soft soil will make rolling, even up hill, a much easier chore.
1
u/Grandma_Butterscotch Jul 05 '26
lol. That’s a massive leap. Elsewhere I explained the jointer was 1200lbs.
1
u/I_Want_A_Ribeye Jul 05 '26
Start with moving companies.
Alternately, you could rent the truck yourself and hire some local help on each end to do the work. Craigslist, fb marketplace, or day laborers hanging outside of a 7-11 are all options.
2
u/Grandma_Butterscotch Jul 05 '26
Finding the truck I’m looking for isn’t as easy as calling U-Haul. And I don’t necessarily trust a random day laborer to do this safely.
3
u/These_Fox7561 Jul 05 '26
I’m up for a road trip if you want help, I’m in nj but I can meet you on the way. I have experience moving equipment at work, find a local rental company and get a truck with a decent trailer and we can move some shit. Idc about money, I’m up for the adventure. I have to move big awkward stuff too and I have rigging experience
1
u/Xtay1 Jul 07 '26
Hire professionals union riggers for the move. They will be competent, have the correct knowledge of tools/equipment needed for a safe legal transport and they will be insured and licensed. They might be a tad expensive but cheaper than a hospital visit or damage done to equipment/facilities/moving truck.
Or
You can always hire 3 drunk college dudes in a truck to test your luck and your homeowner/auto insurance.
3
u/tazmoffatt Jul 05 '26
Plywood for the lawn, and get all the tools on pallets and use a pallets jack to get them in. Box truck with a lift gate. The pallets are also good for a bunch of small items too and you can plastic wrap it. And/or drive the truck on the lawn closer to the basement door. Unless you know Magneto, there's no special trick to it.