The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Tire Skates

I need to move an inop vehicle around in my shop. It weighs ~5000lbs. I have smooth concrete floors. What brand or model of tire skates/dollies have you had success with?? I looked at HF but I'm always a little queasy with their quality. Thanks for any info you can throw my way.

SimS

I have 4 of these (two sets). They're fairly robust, I haven't had my 3600 on them which I believe is in the 5k range, but they worked very well under the Duster (about 3,200 lbs.). I wouldn't hesitate to use them on a 5k vehicle. Moving a vehicle around is a breeze with a set wheel dollies and the first time I used them, I kicked myself for not buying a set much earlier. Sure beat tugging and pushing a rig on two floor jacks.

The key to usable skates is the quality of wheels. I bought a second hand set which originally came from HF and the axles were not centered in the cast wheels, and the swivels where unresponsive when a completed vehicle was used.
I don't know anything about what HF is selling today. Maybe they are better than what I had from several years ago.

My first pair of HF dollies has cast wheels, the second pair have rubber. If I had known they were rubber while still in the store I wouldn't have gotten them, but they do work.

Mike B

I have 4 of these. https://www.otctools.com/products/1500-lb-easy-roller%E2%84%A2 It is quite often that I have to move my projects to make room for my line haul trucks. I have had them for several years and figure they were worth every penny I paid for them.

3 pieces of water pipe work well for me.

Ed

I have four of these and like them very much. They do double duty for me. One is to move vehicles around. The other is to remove/install the wheels when doing a brake job or rotating tires. Pump the pedal, line up the studs, then slide the wheel on to the drum or rotor. Sure saves the back, particularly with big truck wheels.

www.harborfreight.com/1250-lb-Capacity-Vehicle-Positioning-Wheel-Dolly-61917.html

I recently had a '57 GMC one ton panel in the garage. These dollies made it easy to move around by myself.

If you buy them, HF has more than one model number, just as they do with many items. Different model numbers means different manufacturers. There are small differences. Try to find four with the same numbers to get a matching set.

Matt

I have a couple sets of the HF furniture dolly's ($9.99 on sale). They work, but not very well. It takes way too much effort.

John

I just bought a pair from HF. They seem well made for what they are. I don’t see any difference in quality than the Big Red or OTC that you would buy at the other big box stores.

I’ll tell you how well they work when I clean the shop out. LOL.

I do like the idea of the hydraulic lift ones. You can lift, move, set back down. The price seems a little prohibitive.

What are you moving that’s 5000 lbs?

I'm moving a Toyota Land Cruiser FJ60 to make room to work on my Chevy C60. They both need a new clutch and the C60 goes first.
Given the sketchy reviews on the HF units and the $$$$ for the GoJacks I'm almost tempted to make a set with known quality casters. In the meantime I'm scouring the local CL for any deals that may pop up.

SimS

You said skates, then yesterday I saw this ad. https://www.awdirect.com/tire-skates/?hcs=skates

The local home improvement stores sell steel and urethane casters. They are a little pricey and I'm not any more confident in them than the HF units.

If you're looking on CL, I've seen scaffold casters used to to move vehicles around before.