Moving a ton of pellets delivered on a pallet

[MCPO]

Having moved 2 ton of pellets by hand from the front of the house to the rear garage caused me to rethink how it could be done easier. The delivery truck is too large to get through to the rear garage.
Since blacktop is rather soft especially when warm , smaller caster wheels on a 4' square dolly(platform) is out of the question .
My next thought is to lay (2) 4' long planks or a 4' square plywood across (3) 2" X4' long pieces of PVC conduit (pipe)and rolling it along the driveway and into the rear garage which is nearly straight and level except for the slight incline of the garage approach.
Obviously this or something similar has been done before and some folks might have better ideas.
Comments or other ideas welcome?
John

 

[Eric Johnson]

The plank and pipe idea is a good one. An alternative would be to borrow or rent a pallet jack (probably $30 at Taylor Rental, etc.) and use that to move the whole pallet as-is. You could lay narrow strips of plywood or particleboard (probably even cardboard) on the pavement if you think the pallet jack wheels might make grooves. Or wait for a cool day.

 

[Wet1]

How far do you have to go? The plywood/pipe idea sounds like it would work fine, but it also sounds like a PITA.

Surely you have, or know someone who has, a pick-up truck. Have them place the pallet in the back of the truck and drive the smaller truck to the final destination.

You could also build a cart (like you were initial thinking), but place more than 4 wheels on it to distribute the load... as long as you don't leave it sitting on the warm blacktop for a period of time, it won't sink in. Obviously the larger the wheels, and the more of them you use, the better your results would likely be. Such a cart could certainly be saved and reused for future use.

 

[newpelletstove]

John,

I have used my Toyota Corolla to move a half ton at a time. And that's a small car. With 10 bags in the trunk, 10 in the back seat/floorboards, and 5 in the passenger seat/floorboard, I found that my Corolla could easily move a half ton conveniently (even for miles if needed). You could consider taking your vehicle (whatever it is), parking near your pallets in front of the house, loading it, driving to your rear garage (maybe even partly into it) and unloading. That's what I would have done had I not been able to get mine delivered where I needed them.

Good luck !!

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I move 2-3 tons of pellets approx every other day by hand. It only takes a few minutes and the more people helping the better you are. People pay big $$$ to go to gyms and get that kind of exercise. Considering you do it once or twice a year it should not be that big of a deal. If you have health issue, recruit teenagers in your area. Kids work for money.

Eric

 

[smirnov3]

I moved 5 tons of pellets into my basement through a bulkhead door (and down 6 steps)

it was a pain, but I did 1 ton a night. took about a hour each ton

what I did was simple:

I had an old baby carriage in the basement, and I wore a back brace (from Home Depot), to ease the work.

Pick up the bag.

stagger down the stair

drop into the carriage. avoid bending over as much as possible to reduce strain on back & knees.

Repeat to load second bag.

wheel over to the pallet in my basement

pick up & toss onto the pallet. again, use your arms and knees, not your back.

 

[MCPO]

Hey great ! Lots of good ideas / suggestions to go with. I had another ton delivered today and the 4' square platform on 2" PVC tubing worked real good. I could push the ton of pellets easily while my wife kept feeding a roller in front as it came off the rear. I`ll be using it again next year.
Thanks,
John

 

[MCPO]

I move 2-3 tons of pellets approx every other day by hand. It only takes a few minutes and the more people helping the better you are. People pay big $$$ to go to gyms and get that kind of exercise. Considering you do it once or twice a year it should not be that big of a deal. If you have health issue, recruit teenagers in your area. Kids work for money.

Eric

Hi Eric,
I agree with the excercise but having had back surgery twice and two total knee replacements I want to go easy on what`s left .
I was always one of the strongest guys around back in my youth but at 66 I`ve learned to work smarter and think about the consequences of overdoing it just to prove I still have it. These days what I have is questionable.
John

 

[buildingmaint]

I moved 2 tons with my Dodge Neon ,25 bags at a time. She rode low in the water.

 

[Kenpobldr]

Try buying a pallet jack insted of renting one. You can purchase one at Northern Tool for as little as $170.00 and you will always have it when you need it.