Would it be bad/dangerous to move a machine like this?

[YaBoyNolan]

I have like 4 or 5 people including myself and the machine is about 700 pounds.

the plan is to tip it onto the bed of my pick up truck and push it in. Pretty much exactly like this: http://nyp.st/2FOedK8

[lacanteen]

As long as you don't plug it in after you stand it back up AND assuming the machine is empty. Allow at least 48 hours for the refrigeration oil to settle back down. 

[YaBoyNolan]

2 hours ago, lacanteen said:

As long as you don't plug it in after you stand it back up AND assuming the machine is empty. Allow at least 48 hours for the refrigeration oil to settle back down. 

Okay, so you don't think it'll be too hard or dangerous? Because I'm pretty crunched for time and can only find one expensive mover.

[AngryChris]

How much is the mover?

[YaBoyNolan]

40 minutes ago, AngryChris said:

How much is the mover?

It’s 200$. It only needs to go like 20 miles so it’s kinda expensive. And I need it done tomorrow because the seller needs it gone

[orsd]

I really don't like tipping a machine like that. It's pretty dangerous, plus I have call in a bunch of favors.

What you can do is rent a Penske, Ryder, Budget, or silimar with a liftgate. Or a lift deck trailer from Sunbelt rentals, Herc, Or United Rentals. Both allow for ground level loading, that, used with a pallet jack or piano dollies, can be done with 2 guys at most.

[darkinthepark]

7 hours ago, YaBoyNolan said:

I have like 4 or 5 people including myself and the machine is about 700 pounds.

the plan is to tip it onto the bed of my pick up truck and push it in. Pretty much exactly like this: http://nyp.st/2FOedK8

If you do go this route...be sure to slide it in on the machine's back rather than the front like those thieves.  Also, you could pull out the cooling deck before putting the machine on its back...then you don't have to wait 48 hours for the oil to settle.

[AngryChris]

4 hours ago, YaBoyNolan said:

It’s 200$. It only needs to go like 20 miles so it’s kinda expensive. And I need it done tomorrow because the seller needs it gone

I don't think $200 is expensive.  My mover charges about $200 minimum, but that covers the first few hours.

[Southeast Treats]

Developing an affordable moving system for machines is important for a vendor.  $200 is not too bad for a moving service but you just can't afford to pay that much on every move and be limited to their schedule.   Plus, all movers will say they can do the job but not all are going to give you a quality job for the money.  Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and hire the work done.  I just had to hire a new moving service for an upstairs install I could not do my usual way and they were not very good. 

[AngryChris]

I'll kind of take back what I said and clarify things.  For one machine, $200 is high, but I don't know too many movers that do any work unless they meet their minimum.  So yeah, you don't have enough work to make it worth a mover's time unless you're willing to pay the $200.  $200 per machine is high but that's all you have so..

Just consider that, even though 700 pounds isn't so bad when it's divided between at least 4 people, it's still very heavy.  That's 175 pounds per person and the weight will shift around as people lift and maneuver it around.  It can slide on you and get someone hurt.  So.. for $200, you won't get hurt or break something and to me that's worth it.  Keep in mind too that if it's not worth the $200 to install the machine at the location, then the location must not be worth having anyway.  I have slow accounts that, when a compressor goes out on a soda machine, I cancel the account and pick everything up.  I'll still pay to fix the compressor if the machine is good but I won't pay to keep it at a dud account.  I'm dealing with that now with an account that used to do about $2800/year and now does maybe $500 and has a bad compressor.

[TKK]

I used to do it like that back in the day. Ill probably pay for it in a few years when im in a wheelchair. 5 guys should be super easy 2 of us would lift them like this on a lifted tundra. Dangerous af too.

[AZVendor]

I am amazed how many of you can't seem to find any repairmen or machine movers where you live.  Having to lay machines down or pay through the nose to do simple stuff that people with the right equipment can do is so common in many places like Phoenix.  A few years ago here you could find about 10 people who could move a machine for you and at least 6 people who would repair a machine for between $50 and $85 for a service call.  Now with the demise of mainstream vending that number has drastically dropped but I still could refer multiple people to vendors.  Phoenix isn't the most populated place in the US and still vendors in high population areas have trouble find affordable service people.  I have come to the conclusion that the majority of vendors on this forum live in rural areas or small towns.  That is the only explanation I can come to for the dearth of help available to you all.  Either that or you just aren't looking hard enough.  Stranger still is that none of you go into the repair or moving business yourself.  Spend the money to move your own machines the professional way and then you can earn money doing it for others.  Just goes to show how cheap vendors really are I guess.

[TKK]

I was actually thinking of advertising moves for machines. 16ft npr w modded liftgate i can do like 8 machines super quick and safely. With what ppl are paying here i think i should.

[AngryChris]

2 hours ago, AZVendor said:

I am amazed how many of you can't seem to find any repairmen or machine movers where you live.  Having to lay machines down or pay through the nose to do simple stuff that people with the right equipment can do is so common in many places like Phoenix.  A few years ago here you could find about 10 people who could move a machine for you and at least 6 people who would repair a machine for between $50 and $85 for a service call.  Now with the demise of mainstream vending that number has drastically dropped but I still could refer multiple people to vendors.  Phoenix isn't the most populated place in the US and still vendors in high population areas have trouble find affordable service people.  I have come to the conclusion that the majority of vendors on this forum live in rural areas or small towns.  That is the only explanation I can come to for the dearth of help available to you all.  Either that or you just aren't looking hard enough.  Stranger still is that none of you go into the repair or moving business yourself.  Spend the money to move your own machines the professional way and then you can earn money doing it for others.  Just goes to show how cheap vendors really are I guess.

I think a lot of towns, such as Dayton, fall into a gray area where we are both oversaturated and undersaturated at the same time.  On one hand, there are so many various businesses out here that you can find quite a few places for any service if you look hard enough.  On the other hand,probably due to decades of economic stagnation, you see the majority of cheap contractors working under the table while the rest are mega companies that charge outrageous fees.  You check the phonebook or google and those companies charge mega prices.  You ask around and you find some shady characters.  There are those that operate properly (and legally) that don't charge crazy high rates but they often simply turn work down unless you're willing to pay a premium for their time.  It's a difficult situation, just like vending, when the undocumented "companies" can underbid everyone and the big legal companies make you pay huge rates.  So if you don't have a known brand, people won't pay you decent rates.

If that isn't bad enough, i constantly hear virtually every growing business say the same thing: we can't find decent employees.

Many of my fellow millenials are too prestigious to dare work anything blue collar.  I think these issues are the problem.  Oh, and shady customers who won't pay.

[AngryChris]

4 minutes ago, TKK said:

I was actually thinking of advertising moves for machines. 16ft npr w modded liftgate i can do like 8 machines super quick and safely. With what ppl are paying here i think i should.

My mover charges almost $100/hour and lives in a lower income area and he isn't doing great.  I don't know the details but he says insurance rates are crazy high.

[Anacapa Vending]

To be fair there really isnt that many vendors on this forum. Also vending is very much a business in decline. I live just north of Las Angeles and when I started about 7 years ago there was no vending movers that would drive here or mechanics. So I found a guy with a flatbed/lift gate and we learned to do our moves together. Fast forward to today we have every piece of moving equipment money can buy and our own moving truck. It takes a LONG time to grow organically. Especially in an area where shop rent is damn close to $1/sq. Ft.  A home is $3,000 a month minimum and labor is very expensive. 

 

As to mechanics most guys have moved on, retired or try and charge hundreds of dollars to drive out to our area. We found a great mechanic a few years ago but he's getting long in the tooth which worries me. His kids are my age...  we are lucky to have this site with a nice mix of savvy vending veterans to guide us. Everyone be sure to donate to keep this site up!

[ABCVending]

On 12/6/2018 at 8:46 PM, AZVendor said:

I am amazed how many of you can't seem to find any repairmen or machine movers where you live.  Having to lay machines down or pay through the nose to do simple stuff that people with the right equipment can do is so common in many places like Phoenix.  A few years ago here you could find about 10 people who could move a machine for you and at least 6 people who would repair a machine for between $50 and $85 for a service call.  Now with the demise of mainstream vending that number has drastically dropped but I still could refer multiple people to vendors.  Phoenix isn't the most populated place in the US and still vendors in high population areas have trouble find affordable service people.  I have come to the conclusion that the majority of vendors on this forum live in rural areas or small towns.  That is the only explanation I can come to for the dearth of help available to you all.  Either that or you just aren't looking hard enough.  Stranger still is that none of you go into the repair or moving business yourself.  Spend the money to move your own machines the professional way and then you can earn money doing it for others.  Just goes to show how cheap vendors really are I guess.

Seattle is not a big city by NY or LA standards but certainly not rural - good luck finding machine movers up here.  Been running vending up here for last 10 years and not once been able to find a for hire mover when I needed one.  Sometimes people will pop up on Craigslist claiming expertise and ability to move vending machines, always keep the contact info, but when the time comes - they are out of business or have transitioned to running their own vending operation and have not time for moving machines.

Got to where we won't accept any accounts with stairs or otherwise difficult machine access.

The advice on here is solid - got to be able to move your own equipment - the Penske places up here have 16' box trucks with rail lifts - those are the bomb, with a mini pallet jack, a couple of crate movers and one of those trucks, have moved a lot of machines on my own.  (that said, I did buy a Hyster forklift last year to make loading/unloading from my shop easier - best investment ever)

Same with service techs - not many around, been times I had to just buy new refer decks because couldn't find anyone willing to repair existing decks.

ABC