kit pick up questions

[AA-ron]

Hello,
Well the day is finally here! I'm picking up my kit on 9/6 at 10:00.
I've rented a 26' Uhaul truck which I assume should be plenty of space. My question is should I have the frame/body placed on the frame dolly for transport? The dolly is the type that most have made using the plans on this forum. With the kit on the dolly, I'd lock the wheels and lash the whole thing down.
Does this make sense? Is there a better way of doing it? I know some have used the somewhat "disposable" HF dollies for transport-- I'm assuming my frame dolly is considerably more robust.
Any and all insight on kit pick up would be greatly appreciated.

And thanks in advance for the barrage of newbie questions as I start putting this thing together.

[edwardb]

I've used my frame dolly for pickups. Worked fine. If you have one, I would say a better solution than individual moving dollies. But that would work too.

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_0419.JPG?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/ab234/edwardb123/IMG_0419.JPG?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)

[narly1]

At the risk of sounding glib, I think you can do whatever you want. Once the kit leaves the factory dock and is loaded into/onto your truck/trailer it's your responsibility as to how to get it home in one piece.

That being said a cradle that support the "body on frame" assembly for the ride home to at least keep it from sliding around and damaging itself sounds like a good idea. How about setting it up for wheels beforehand and then just jack it up and bolt them on once you get home?

Earl

[Chopper]

The question I have is, a 26 foot box truck...what kind of ramps does this have? Are you going to be able to roll the dolly into/out of the truck?

[Tbev]

I used a 26 foot Uhaul as well. I do not believe that the frame dolly will make it down the ramp on those Uhauls. If you have your own ramps that might work. I just had them drop mine on padded blocks of wood and myself and three other people picked it up and walked it off the back of the truck after removing the body. Make sure your tie downs and ratchet straps work with whatever the Uhaul has for securing your load. I had an issue with this and had to get creative while loading at Factory Five.

[AA-ron]

Thanks for the insight. I too am a bit concerned as to how to get the kit into the truck. FFR knows of my plans and said they can account for most any loading situation. As far as unloading, I have 6 fairly large dudes on my end to help me walk this thing off. My understanding is that the frame/body assembly is around 500 pounds? The deck height is 35" for this truck, so some ramps might be the best solution on both ends.

[Tbev]

Thanks for the insight. I too am a bit concerned as to how to get the kit into the truck. FFR knows of my plans and said they can account for most any loading situation. As far as unloading, I have 6 fairly large dudes on my end to help me walk this thing off. My understanding is that the frame/body assembly is around 500 pounds? The deck height is 35" for this truck, so some ramps might be the best solution on both ends.

As far as getting it into the truck goes, Factory Five dropped it right in for me with their fork lift. I didn't have to do anything. 6 guys, you will have no problem walking it off. It was a bit awkward for 4 of us (one of which was my 75 year old father in law).

[rustyrim]

If your frame is powder coated bring rugs and moving blankets . I think it will be easier to unload without the dolly

[Doenut]

I rented a trailer when I picked mine up the thing to look out for here is to make sure that there are tie down points inside the truck

The trailer I rented did not have any tie down points so I brought some scrap lumber and a box of deck screws
800 miles later, no problems

Have Fun with the pick up

[Tooth]

I used the same size uhaul. They slid it in with the fork lift, we stacked boxes around it, and it was fine. Getting it out was a pita, but manageable. My plan was to back up the uhaul to the bay I have a four post lift in and walk it out, the uhaul couldn't make the tight turn to back up, so we had to take it out. It's heavy and awkward. Two guys and two 13 year olds managed though. Took the body off, but then realized the body wasn't the heavy part. Strapped wheel dollies to the frame, but it's a steep ramp, so had to lift it through a section of the unload. I think the frame dolly would have the same issue given the steep ramp.