Question About Moving Mahcines

[Noob Vendo 721]

What are the necessary equipment you must have to successfully move machines? My first step is saving up to get a fairly cheap pickup truck.

[orsd]

Vehicle: can be rental or owned. Renting is probably better for those just starting out. Good choices, from best to good: box truck with rail style lift gate, pickup and lift bed trailer, box truck with tuck under style lift gate, pickup with Tommy lift lift gate.

Tools: Dutro dolly, preferably with a top hook strap. Pallet jack, both short and narrow and full size. Piano dollies for tight doorways. If I could only have 1 the Dutro would be my pick, followed by a short and narrow pallet jack. Don’t use regular appliance dollies, they suck and you will drop a machine and or hurt someone.

[ABCVending]

Starting out I'd go with a mini pallet jack & rent drop deck/platform lift trailers.

 

[Noob Vendo 721]

Appreciate the gems 😃

[Noob Vendo 721]

Do I place the machine vertically or horizontally on the drop deck? Also, is there any equipment to keep the machine secured while its in motion?

[Riverwood]

I'd recommend keeping the unit upright. Laying it down on its back/side can cause a whole host of issues with cooling/compressor components, especially if it's an older machine. Ratchet straps work well to secure it to sides of trailer along with padding.

[Vendo Mike]

If you move it laying down, make sure to allow it to stand up for at least 24 hours to let the oil in the compressor go back where it needs to be.  I don't move anything in the back of a truck without ratchet straps secured tightly.  Also, make sure to say "that ain't going nowhere".  That seals the deal.

[orsd]

Standing up, always.

If you use a pallet Jack to move soda machines bring along 2 pieces of 4x4 lumber cut to 32-36” long. Tip the machine to 1 side with a helper just enough to slide the 4x4 under the edge. Repeat on the other side so that it’s sitting on 4x4s. Then you can slide the pallet jack under the machine from the front. 
 

Always use ratchet straps to secure your load. I prefer using straps that have the ratchet handle to crank it down, not just the cheap type that you pull on. At least 1000 lbs working load limit (not breaking strength), and at least 1.5 in wide strapping (preferable 2 in) Always use at least 2 straps over the top at the very minimum, preferably a third wrapped around it, and use a piece or cardboard where the strap touches the machine to protect the strap and the paint. Also, always stop after a few miles to check and tighten. Those drop deck trailers do ride very rough. And make sure to cinch things down tight.

[ABCVending]

The beauty of the drop deck/platform lift trailers is that they drop all they way down flush to the ground (no axle) so you can roll the machines right on and strap them down - leave the pallet jack right in them and then lift the trailer back up to ride height.

We tried the tilt trailers - nope.  The tuck under lift gates work but are sketchy and really need to make sure you aren't herky-jerky raising up/down or you can pitch a machine off.

Rail lift tailgates are the best - and the unicorn is the rental 16' box truck with rail...but those are few and far between - Penske has two in the entire Seattle metro area.

Rental trucks are expensive - mileage is a killer and a lot of times the only thing they have is a 24 footer and those suck.

Can usually rent a trailer for a long weekend for around $100 and there are no mileage charges....I am on the hunt for one of the old manual bil jax escalate trailers - no hydraulics, perfect for what we use em for but really hard to find.

 

[ABCVending]

Also - have never laid a beverage machine down to transport but no problem with snack - we just flop those over on their back into the bed of a pickup truck - snacks are easy to move.