zelatore
11-27-2009, 04:21 PM
George has been preaching about the joys of dollies for some time now. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about.
Being that:
A-I have an unstable job and can't spend any money,
B-I need to practice my welding skills anyway and,
C-I just thought it would be fun,
I decided to make my own.
The frames are 2" box, the uprights are 1.25", and the sliders that drop into them to give adjustments on the height are 1". Most of the tubing as well as the casters I picked up at a local metal yard (Alco Iron). The 2" stuff was new, the rest, including the casters, was from the scrap bins. I also got a piece of 1/4" plate from them to make the bases for the casters. Most of the angle stock and some of the other plate stock is stuff I had laying around.
The bunks are 2x6 scrap, about 15" long. I covered them with some leftover trailer bunk carpet from an old trailer project a couple years ago.
As you can see, I can still modify them somewhat to get the boat lower, and will probably do that after lunch. Lower is better!
All together, I've got about $170 in materials. Was it worth the savings to make them myself vs buying George's? Maybe, maybe not since I think George's cost about $200/ea + shipping so the savings weren't that much and his are undoubtedly nicer and probably stronger, but I enjoyed the project and as they say, I've currently got more time than money.
Seems pretty stable. Of course, there's not really much room to move it around in my little garage. (Not that I'm complaining too much - it's a big garage by most CA standards.)
The big mistake I made was pulling it off the trailer. First, I had to back it into the garage as there's a pretty good lip at the garage door that I wouldn't have been able to roll the dollies over. That's a real PITA as the trailer fenders only have about 1" clearance on either side getting through the door. And with a long wheelbase truck, it's not like I can maneuver it with pin-point accuracy. The real problem was that I should have rolled the gantry forward and used the bow eye to pick up the front of the boat and used a floor jack in the rear. That way I could have pulled the trailer out easily. But the gantry's not quite wide enough to go around the trailer fenders, so I used it in the back and alternated between a jack and jack-stands at the front as I eased it forward about 2 feet at a time to get around all the cross members. I think I'll find a way around that issue next time as that an even bigger PITA.
So George, now we'll see if it's worth it. :wink:
Of course, this assumes I have any money to actually do any projects. Maybe I'll make a Carl Cabin - that shouldn't cost much if I don't do custom carpet, and I can always add that later.
The real bummer of course is I still can't close the garage door all the way. But at least I can close it part of the way and keep the rain out.
Being that:
A-I have an unstable job and can't spend any money,
B-I need to practice my welding skills anyway and,
C-I just thought it would be fun,
I decided to make my own.
The frames are 2" box, the uprights are 1.25", and the sliders that drop into them to give adjustments on the height are 1". Most of the tubing as well as the casters I picked up at a local metal yard (Alco Iron). The 2" stuff was new, the rest, including the casters, was from the scrap bins. I also got a piece of 1/4" plate from them to make the bases for the casters. Most of the angle stock and some of the other plate stock is stuff I had laying around.
The bunks are 2x6 scrap, about 15" long. I covered them with some leftover trailer bunk carpet from an old trailer project a couple years ago.
As you can see, I can still modify them somewhat to get the boat lower, and will probably do that after lunch. Lower is better!
All together, I've got about $170 in materials. Was it worth the savings to make them myself vs buying George's? Maybe, maybe not since I think George's cost about $200/ea + shipping so the savings weren't that much and his are undoubtedly nicer and probably stronger, but I enjoyed the project and as they say, I've currently got more time than money.
Seems pretty stable. Of course, there's not really much room to move it around in my little garage. (Not that I'm complaining too much - it's a big garage by most CA standards.)
The big mistake I made was pulling it off the trailer. First, I had to back it into the garage as there's a pretty good lip at the garage door that I wouldn't have been able to roll the dollies over. That's a real PITA as the trailer fenders only have about 1" clearance on either side getting through the door. And with a long wheelbase truck, it's not like I can maneuver it with pin-point accuracy. The real problem was that I should have rolled the gantry forward and used the bow eye to pick up the front of the boat and used a floor jack in the rear. That way I could have pulled the trailer out easily. But the gantry's not quite wide enough to go around the trailer fenders, so I used it in the back and alternated between a jack and jack-stands at the front as I eased it forward about 2 feet at a time to get around all the cross members. I think I'll find a way around that issue next time as that an even bigger PITA.
So George, now we'll see if it's worth it. :wink:
Of course, this assumes I have any money to actually do any projects. Maybe I'll make a Carl Cabin - that shouldn't cost much if I don't do custom carpet, and I can always add that later.
The real bummer of course is I still can't close the garage door all the way. But at least I can close it part of the way and keep the rain out.