[redssrloaded]

I don't know if you guys remember or not that I banged up my SSR to my garage door the first week I got it. I was trying to see if both my cars would fit on my side. The fact is that I have room in the garage for 2 cars but I can't maneuver the SSR to the corner to fit the second one. We have 2 doors for a very wide garage. Dumb design by the previous owner. I was about to build another garage ($20K) at the back of the lot but I just saw these auto dollies in a car magazine.

They advertise that you can put your car on it and push it in a corner.
Is that possible? Has anyone here done it?

Is it OK to leave it on these dollies all winter?

Does it damage the dollies?

How easy is it to push the car?

How do we get the car on them? just drive it over them?

What size do I need?

The screws from the casters seem to put unwanted pressure (puncture?) on the tires. Is this a problem?

This would solve my problem with $200 if the claim is accurate. Please help if you have any experience with these.

 

[BlastfromPast]

Redssr, we have used a product called "Gojaks" for many years in the shop. They are a little pricey but significantly less then the new garage! It is very easy for one person to move the vehicle around on a smooth surface.

Hope this helps,
Blast

 

[beer100]

Neat, I don't need these my self, but I have a relevant question. Wouldn't it be best if the jacks were let down after moving the vehicle. So the small wheels won't flat from leaving weight on them.

 

[ricardo]

RedSSR,

It has always been my experience that if you want to fit a car into a tight space you could try backing it in. you always can get closer to the wall that way and if you use those little round reflector mirrors on your side mirror you can get within inches.....

rick

 

[BlastfromPast]

Neat, I don't need these my self, but I have a relevant question. Wouldn't it be best if the jacks were let down after moving the vehicle. So the small wheels won't flat from leaving weight on them.

Good question that reminds me of an important point! The wheels on the Gojaks are very hard rubber and I haven't had a problem with "flatspotting" BUT, if you don't let down at least 1 front jack and 1 rear jack, all it takes is someone leaning on the vehicle and WHAM! into the wall (or whatever) it goes!

 

[jwthomp]

Gojacks

Dollies work well when you need to move cars around easily. When I was in high school I worked at a body shop in a seedier part of town, and we had to pack every car we were working on in the smallish-sized shop every evening for security. every nook and cranny was filled with a car. The dollies worked great because not all of the cars were operable due to damage or disassembly. We used floor jacks and homemade wheel dollies to cram all the cars inside. we would jack the front of the car up and install the dollies on each wheel, then do the same for the rear of the car.

Things are simpler these days - you can get dollies that do the lifting for you. Here's a link to some from Griot's, although I'm sure you can find them cheaper elsewhere.

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3030&SKU=77732

Just make sure you let the car off of the jacks as Blast recommended. Sure, someone may lean against the car, however most garage floors have a slight pitch for water drainage - this will cause a rollaway as well. You can always raise it back up and maneuver it to a door when you need to.

In the years since I worked there, the owner of the shop was successful enough to buy two of the slum houses behind the shop and raize them. he now has a huge shop built in it's place. Ironically, he's still using the dollies on occasion - business is good.

 

[redssrloaded]

Weird, I posted something buy it disappeared....Here it is again

I was kind of looking at the cheaper dollies. Anyone has experience with those?
These:

1-dollie

2-dollie 2

3-dollie 3

4-dollie 4

 

[jwthomp]

Dolly 1 is very much like what we had at the body shop. dollies 2 thru 4 should work just as well. All you need is a floor jack to get them under the wheels.

 

[beer100]

I'm sure any of them will "Do the job." At 20% the cost of the self jacking design, I can't fault the choice. The savings will buy more than one floor jack.

It's strictly a matter of how frenquently the truck has to be moved vs the amount of futzing one will put up with. That I can't advise on.

I'll close by asking if any one has used a floor jack under the car center to dolly with?
I seem to recall that the SSR has centerline jack points under the diff and somewhere in the front. That may be all you really need.

Are floor jacks made with dolly wheels? I can't remember seeing such.

ADDED: You know, a good floor jack is nice to have any way. Why not start there. Try moving your SSR with that. Then, if desired, buy dollies.

 

[redssrloaded]

how are you going to move a 6000lb car with a floor jack? Don't you need at least 2?

 

[beer100]

I seem to remember seeing the guys on "American Hot Rod" moving stuff around using a floor jack centered under one end.

I'm thinking park the truck on the diagonal with the front near the wall. Then jack the diff and push sideways.

 

[jwthomp]

We'd use floor jacks to move cars as well, just as you described. Keep in mind they weren't light duty floor jacks - they were heavy duty professional floor jacks. Depending on how badly the car was wrecked, sometimes that was the only way to move a car.