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Securing a lathe on a trailer
QUESTION:More thoughts on DIY moving of heavy machinery: car trailers are
designed for about 4000lbs, but that weight is exerted over 4 points
rather far apart, and, especially, loacated near the side rails.
Machine tools place the load on a much smaller footprint located near
the center of the platform. Car trailers are a bit weak here, usually
the cross members are about 3" angle. I bent two cross members of a
friends trailer while moving my Cincinatti mill: just a railroad
crossing at 45mph, but there was enough of a bump to do the job.
Just a note on using pickups: I prefer using trailers: most pickups
do not have adequate tie downs. Do not rely on points that have been
secured to the side of the bed with sheet metal screws - no strength
there. My pipe rack is secured to the bed with 4 ea 3/8" bolts
through sheet metal. Not much strength there either. Perhaps someone
who has factory installed points low inside the bed will comment upon
his impression of their suitability for securing heavy loads.
ANSWER: My pickup is a "camper special" with outboard brackets bolted to the front
of the bed with grade 5 bolts. We've used that as a front tie-down for 3/4"
rope, and the bumper and hitch at the rear. Twice now I've moved my lathe,
which weighs 2500 lbs and stands pretty tall. Used a bunch of 2x6 blocks to
prevent the base from moving, and four ropes to tie around the headstock and
around the bed support at the tailstock end. Each rope was tied using
compound leverage and with two people pulling on it, and then tightened at
the last minute before hitting the road. Did something similar moving a
friend's surface grinder that weighs somewhat less but is even more
top-heavy.
On a related note, I have an ancient Bobcat skid steer for which I recently
welded up a mounting adapter for a set of 4' lift forks. It's only good for
lifting about 800 lbs, but it was incredibly handy for moving my entire
woodshop, including benches and cabinets, where everything weighs under 500
lbs. The exciting part is that an ordinary forklift doesn't have a "dump"
pedal. The Bobcat doesn't have a straight vertical lift, the arms just
pivot at the rear, so the bucket pedal must be used in tandem with the lift
pedal to keep the forks level. As I said, exciting but no accidents yet.
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