I decided to buy tool cabinets for a corner of my workshop, with the largest being a Rousseau Metal 8-drawer cabinet measuring 36″ wide x 24″ deep x 60″ tall.
From various specs sheets, it seems the weight should be around 600 pounds.
How would you unload this from a pallet and move it into place?
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I still have the Pittsburgh 2-ton shop crane that Harbor Freight supplies for review – see New Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 2-Ton Shop Crane – Review.
HF says that the crane has a max height adjust of 75-3/16″ to 90-1/2″, which should be enough, although I might need to turn the cabinet sideways to fit it between the crane’s legs.
The cabinet will have a fork lift base. I don’t have a fork lift. A pallet jack, which I also don’t have, wouldn’t fit the 2-inch gap.
I’ve seen installation examples online where teams remove the drawers from a cabinet, tilt it over, and then install leveling feet.
Moving heavy equipment requires thinking things through. I’ll probably need to recruit an extra set of hands or two, but moving 600 pounds of cabinet will require careful planning regardless of how many people are involved.
How would you SAFELY and PROPERLY move this off a pallet? Once that’s done, moving it into place or for leveling feet assembly should be easy.
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In lieu of a load balancer, maybe I can build an H-shaped structure for the bottom, with eye bolts at the 4 corners for lifting straps or chains. I would then just need 4 equal lengths each maybe 6-8 feet long.
I have moved heavy equipment before, but I don’t recall moving something like this, with such a large footprint and tall height.
Maybe I should just plan to remove the drawers and gently lower the frame onto a dolly, with moving blankets to protect the finish.
But, I’m wondering if there’s a more elegant approach. I considered getting a portable gantry crane – not for this but for freight deliveries in general – but have no place to store it.
A fork lift is out of the question.
Thoughts?
MM
I’ve done this with furniture dollies. Place the dolly right next to the pallet, walk the cabinet onto them. Or lean it to the side slightly, place dollies under the high side, lean it the other way, put dollies under the second side. Now you can roll it around whereever.
That’s assuming you have to move the whole thing at once. You can probably just take out the drawers and move it piecewise.
JoelLikestools
That was my first thout too. I would remove some drawers and then duck walk or tilt it onto a furniture dolly and the use a ratchet strap to keep it on there. That is how I have done other heavy pieces in the past. (Used the same idea to move furniture, heavy office cabinetry, and restaurant equipment.)
William
I thought the same thing. Furniture dolly, remove shelves… walk it!
Bonnie
A good appliance dolly can handle that weight, but I’d want multiple people involved spotting and definitely use a high end one.
The engine hoist/shop crane would be a good choice. That’s what I’ve used in the past for cast iron shop tools like my jointer (“only” about 450lbs). Though the maximum height often doesn’t take into account any necessary space for straps/chains above the object.
Why wouldn’t a pallet jack work? That’s what we used to move gigantic Lista cabinets at the machine shop I worked in for awhile. There are low-protile models that will fit under 2″ and I expect you can probably find somewhere to rent one (though I am spoiled with an excellent local equipment rental place).
Aram
I’d get a johnson bar involved.
ross
Is the ceiling finished? If the framing is exposed I’ve used a come-a-long to lift heavy things. Now I have an electric host that rolls along unistrut on the finished ceiling to unload from my pickup. I wouldn’t trust it with a ton of weight but take it the drawers and I think it would be fine.
Phranq
Walk it to edge of pallet onto PVC pipes and roll it into place. Typically easier with a helper. Golf Balls work also, if it has a flat bottom.
Woods Powr-Grip sucker cups are awesome for these situations, allowing you a good handhold for any maneuvering. Or these days the Grabo products if you have those. Come-alongs, if you have an anchor point. Viking arm tools are also great.
Plain+Grainy
My brother likes the rolling logs technique. Uses it out doors to move heavy objects without tearing up his lawn. As logs emerge from the back, carry them to the front. The PVC Should be non- marring.
isosceles
You could try running a 15 foot lifting sling through each fork pocket in a “choker” formation. This will give you two open eyes at the top – close one shackle around the both of them to create a single lifting point (think of each eye in the “U” bow of a classic Crosby anchor shackle). Then hook into that shackle with the hook from the Pittsburgh crane.
It’s not perfect but it would only take a minute to try out. And if you can tell it isn’t lifting the cabinet in a stable/solid way, I think it’ll give you a good sense of what you need to adjust.
Josh
I’ve used a Milwaukee packout dolly to move a 800lbs water heater. That’s how I’d do it
zchris87v
I had to do this with my Garant cabinets. The ace crew unloading them tried to roll their pallet jack through a muddy grass yard. They just left them in front of my garage on pallets. They were in cardboard boxes, so I slid them off the pallets and slowly but surely got them into the garage by myself, before wiggling them off the cardboard bases and into place.
MC703
As much as I love DIYing and having an excuse to buy a tool or equipment for a one-off task, I now just pay a pro to move heavy or oversized things. Learned my lesson the hard way trying to move an antique, 10×8 ft Korean oak china (not the country) cabinet up a flight of stairs.
Yadda
buy one of those thick plastic pieces used for sliding heavy furniture, then use a come-a-long to pull it into place. Another option is many many pieces of cast iron pipe. A final option is to use skatewheel conveyor. Turn it upside down so the wheels are on the ground then put your tool box on top and roll it to where you want it. A short six or 4 foot piece of skate wheel is preferred. This option might be iffy considering the weight.
Andy
Taking the drawers out is the easiest way to make the weight far more manageable.
From there, either use a hand truck, dolly, or the Hf hoist (listed in order of my preference) to move the cabinet carcass off the pallet.
Strap the carcass down securely to whatever you use to move it.
Then get into place, level it, check for square / plumb, and install the drawers.
Alex Peel
I have actually bought two of these cabinets recently and moved them myself. You just need to take out the drawers and then move the case. You can move the case with one person with a regular dolly, or just slide it if the floor is smooth. Then put the drawers back in. Depending on how its setup, if its a “only one drawer open at a time” style cabinet you will need to flip the retainer bar at the back of the cabinet everytime you put a new drawer in. You can do this easily with your hand.
Tony
Here’s an idea using furniture moving pads from home center or office supply store. Remove all drawers. Assuming the pallet is about 6″ tall, screw two 2x4x30″ together. Make two of these. Set one pair of 2x4s against the pallet and the second pair about 50″ away from the pallet. Put cardboard/moving blanket/old towels over 2x4s. Get a helper and tilt the cabinet onto the 2x4s.
Remove pallet and stand the cabinet up. Helper will be ready to catch it as it passes the balancing point. Tilt cabinet to insert slippery plastic furniture moving pads under each corner. Now you can push the cabinet around to its home. Remove the moving pads and walk it into the corner.
Al-another-Al
We paid an extra 800 bucks for white glove delivery. They had an electric pallet jack. I went to the bathroom. Came back, and it was upside down on a pile of moving blankets. Went to lunch. Came back and it was upright, leveled, and they were waiting for me to sign off on the delivery.
So, basically, get a Coke and a burger. It practically installs itself.
Mark M.
Don’t over think it. Two extra guys, a good dolly, take it slow. I moved a gun safe off a pallet that was bigger and heavier than that and it wasn’t bad at all. A piece of carpet works great if the bottom is smooth and the dolly can’t get in a corner or something. Have also used pipes, tennis balls, and plastic sliders. But if you can remove some drawers you’ll be golden.
Irving
Is this a once-in-a-lifetime event or are you going to have a need to move stuff like this again? Whichever it is will affect the level of commitment to being able to move it (time, dollars, procurement of equipment and tools / hiring someone to move stuff like this).
Step 1: Remove all the drawers; don’t try to move weight you don’t have to.
Option 1: Duck-walk off the pallet onto a *high quality* flat dolly (a cheap dolly whose casters are “swivel stiff” and stiff to roll is not the answer; years ago I built a pair of my own 32″ square flat dollies with 2 layers of 3/4 plywood Gorilla-glued together and 5 very high quality (and expensive) 5 inch swivel casters under each (the 5th one is in the center). More than once I’ve screwed a larger piece of 3/4 ply to the top of one for something larger than 32X32 or to join both dollies together for something really large. 3/8″ soft hemp rope on the floor will prevent the dollies for rolling out from under as you wrestle the load onto them (I’ve used extension cords in a pinch).
More than once I’ve unbolted the casters from one to make a “use one time” custom-sized dolly.
And, I’ve used 6 pieces of 36″ long 3/4″ cold rolled rod to move 1800 lbs 40 feet across a concrete floor.
Option 2: Call a rigging company. Those guys spend their days moving stuff no one else can move; it’ll be overkill for 600 lbs, but watching them closely will teach you how to do it yourself the next time.
Option 3: Call a safe-and-lock company; they move 800-3,000 pound objects all the time and will probably be cheaper than riggers.
Option 4: I once used a pair of high-lift off road jacks and two 3 inch wide straps to lift something heavy; rock it to get the straps under, lift just high enough to slide the pallet out, set it down, rock it to get the straps out. It was a 4-person job (but only for 10 minutes) – one on each jack and even with a pair of straps you will need two people to steady the cabinet for safety; once weight starts to move there’s often no way to stop it short of the floor. (Amazon has several versions of 2-person “shoulder lifting straps;” Joe and Fred moving a 150 lb refrigerator is one thing, 400+ lbs, nope. Buit it did give me the idea for the “2 jacks/2 straps” thing).
Option 5: Use air bags to raise it far enough to get something wheeled under it, air bags to get it off the wheeled gizmo, raise each side one 3/4″ thick piece of lumber at a time to get it on the dolly, reverse to get it on the floor.
Random thought: Once you get the cabinet to its location, are you ever going to want to move it again? Build a custom dolly for it, put smaller high quality casters under the dolly (larger wheels roll over floor imperfections more easily, but if permanent may add too much overall height to the cabinet). Did the manufacturer build-in threaded bosses for caster installation, or is the bottom smooth? If you buld a custom dolly for it, find a way to anchor it to the dolly; I’ve seen disasters caused by getting a dolly in motion, something on the floor stops the dolly and the load keeps moving and slides off the dolly, or slides far enough to imbalance the dolly and then the problem becomes how to get the load re-centered on the dolly. People tend to not fully understand the forces involved when a large mass is in motion.
CA
Two guys and a hand truck.
Frank D.
You don’t have to lift it. Tilting and shoring works. Remove the drawers. If need be disassemble the pallet in place. Sturdy hand truck with a strap or two wrapping around the cabinet to the dolly ( think moving a fridge solo ). Could use two to four flat dollies, but they tend to want to scoot from under things and end up being a pain at the end location. Tons of stuff I have simply slid on cardboard, blankets, carpet, plywood. Depending on the surface and situation. You could make two wooden skis that hug the narrow edges and slide it. I have also moved stuff on pipes and fence posts. Second person needed … maybe. But hoisting, lifting, etc is going to be more complicated and likely marking / damaging than taking the drawers out and going from there.
ElectroMike
I bought a thing from Home Depot called a Rhino Cart. It’s an all-terrain moving dolly with two rectangular pads that carry the load on straight rows of 4 inline skate wheels. It’s rated for 2000 lbs. The two wheeled sections are connected by a pair of arms that are adjustable like painters poles so you can adjust the width of the dolly. I used it to move a Craftsman 52″ bottom tool chest new in box, from my driveway around my house on the grass to my hatchway, by myself and it rolled, turned smoothly over grass dirt roots, no issue. I couldn’t believe how easily it moved that box. I’ve used it a lot on concrete floors for tall metal 2 door cabinets and book shelves, and it rolls very nicely, turns easily and doesn’t shift out from under the load. With smaller items the extra length of poles sticks out, but this hasn’t been an issue.
Stuart
Thanks! I’ve seen that before. I think the biggest challenge would still be getting the cabinet off the pallet and onto the dolly.
It’s looking like removing the drawers might be the way to go.
I like that the Rhino Cart can be separated. Once off the pallet, this would allow me to lift one side, lift the other, align, and then attach with the connecting poles.
I would still need the cabinet tilted or lifted in order to attach leveling casters.
MM
Tilting the cabinet is easy. Tilt it by hand, kick a wedge or a block underneath the high side to maintain the gap. Now get in there with a construction jack or insert cribbing, lean it the other way and repeat.
Now that I think about it, another possibility could be :
-walk the cabinet a little off the edge of the pallet
-support with cribbing or a construction jack if necessary
-install one pair of casters on the offhanging edge
-block the casters, lean the cabinet onto them, drag the pallet out of the way
-install the other two casters
-roll it to its final position.
Also, do you have a riding mower or “yard tractor”? If it’s a somewhat serious one one you can use it to drag or push the pallet around like a skid.
Stuart
The cabinets won’t be on casters, only leveling feet or maybe just on the preinstalled fork lift base.
I’ll pick up some fresh foam board insulation sheets too. I’ve used those to slide the Milwaukee cabinets through the house so I could get them into the basement. Could work here too if I need to tilt-lower the cabinets to the floor. Maybe the engine hoist can be used to raise the cabinet back from the floor, rather than lift it straight up. That’s the hardest part with tall cabinets, getting them up to at least 45° back to vertical.
MM
I was replying to the last sentence in your post:
“I would still need the cabinet tilted or lifted in order to attach leveling casters.”
Perhaps “caster” was a typo and we’re talking about feet?
MM
I see suggestions for using the Harbor Freight Shop Crane. I don’t think that will work well. I owned one of those cranes for years, I know it very well. It has more than enough power to lift the weight of the cabinet, but the SIZE will be a problem for multiple reasons:
1) The legs aren’t wide enough to straddle the pallet. You’ll have to put it next to the pallet, where it isn’t much help for unloading.
2) Height. Lift height. Or more specifically the distance between the top of the legs and under the hook. I don’t think the crane is tall enough to lift the cabinet unless you extended the arm all the way out and tried to lift the cabinet over the “front” so to speak. But now you have a counter-balance problem, the crane will want to tip forward. You can solve this by having a helper stand on the crane near the hydraulic ram, or by stacking a bunch of heavy objects there, but in this configuration the crane is very difficult to move around because you have so much weight balancing on the just the front two casters, which are kinda crappy and don’t like to roll on anything but very smooth surfaces. I would often use my crane to lift things like this, but only to put some kind of roller or dolly under under it. Trying to move the crane around while there is significant weight hanging off the front is very unstable.
3) It’s tedious. You’re going to have to fiddle around with getting straps or ropes under the cabinet, properly tied and secured, you might have to buy extra hardware if you don’t have it already.
One thing you could do: Take the lift arm off the shop crane and use it like one big 4-wheel dolly. You ought to be able to duck-walk the cabinet onto it off the pallet. With the weight spread over 4 wheels it’s much easier to move around compared to adding extra mass from the counterweight and then putting all that on just two casters.
Stuart
Depending on the height of everything, I have been able to rock heavy items off of pallets and onto platforms placed over the crane’s legs.
I think the lift height would the biggest concern for the 60″ cabinet. The higher the crane is raised, the closer the lifting point moves towards the inside of the legs.
I unloaded a bunch of Milwaukee side lockers https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-rolling-tool-cabinet-48-22-8586p-review/ off pallets before, and tilted them over to install casters. It measures 27″ x 22″ x 63″ (with casters).
The Rousseau is larger and heavier.
It’s looking like removing the drawers to lighten the load and then rocking the cabinets into place – or onto a dolly – will be the way to go. That might also lessen the load to jack up the sides, place the cabinet on 2×4 blocks, and install the leveling feet.
Dan Z
I have 8 Vidmar cabinets similar to these, except mine have 11 drawers and a top shelf cabinet, making them 7 feet tall. I moved ever single one of them solo, using a dolly and with the drawers out.