Car (wheel) dolly's

[Kube]

Guys, I'd like some opinions on what you believe to be a good set of wheel dolly's. I want to purchase a set that can be pushed in and pumped up with a foot lever.
Quality matters.

thanks!

[mfagan]

I've got a set of Harbor Freight dollies that my moves my 34
5 window quite easily.

[V8COOPMAN]

Here's something to consider if $$$ is not a deal-breaker...click the link! DD

http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...t&autoview=SKU

[tubman]

I don't know what the weight difference is between a '34 Ford and a '68 Corvette (maybe 500 pounds?), but I have a set of Harbor freight units under my Corvette, and it takes 2 men and a boy to move it around. Make sure you have ball bearings on the casters AND swivels. The only way I can make it change direction is to use a large set of channellocks to turn the casters in the direction I want to go. I would agree that quality is important and spending a bit more may be a good idea.

[V8COOPMAN]

Here's a bunch of 'em to choose from...click link! DD

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nk...DOLLYS+DOLLIES

[deuce_roadster]

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I have 4 sets of wheel dollies. 2 non HF sets and 2 HF sets. At first the HF sets seemed to require more force to make them work. It turns out the Chinamen who put them together do not put any grease on the axles. I took both sets of HF dollies apart, put grease on all the axles and bores where the axles go through the wheels. Now it takes VERY little force to move a 40 Ford or a 65 chevelle SS convert that are on the HF dollies.
I know--you need to use a floor jack to get the car on the dollies. I have never seen or used ones that have a jack built in. Up-scale Mike! Very up-scale!!

[Mart]

The smoothness and levelness of your floor makes the biggest difference. My experience was not good, but my floor is poor.

Mart.

[rotorwrench]

I recently had to search for casters that would work on my cherry picker shop crane due to axle breakage on the old ones and replacements being non existant. I found that most casters available are not rated for the weight requirements and the ones that are are usually too big. What I thought would be a 5 minute job ended up taking the better part of a day just to find units that would work well and I had to modify them to work correctly with metal rollers.

For the 4-caster dollies the weight distribution is a lot better so most 250 pound casters should work OK but for a shop crane that has a capacity of a thousand pounds or better, they are just barely adequate between only four casters.

[jaysberman]

Greg Smith has units that are not very expensive and work well

[tubman]

Originally Posted by Mart

The smoothness and levelness of your floor makes the biggest difference. My experience was not good, but my floor is poor.

Mart.

My floor is nice and smooth; I guess I better grease 'em up! Thanks for the tip.

[VeryTangled]

Hi Kube, I'm reading along. Please let us know what you choose, thanks.

[funrunr]

I will try the grease on my HF ones, in the meantime it takes 3 people to move a mustang conv. around. I wouldn't recommend these.

[cmbrucew]

Kirby
McMaster carr is a good source for casters.
Bruce

[Kube]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Here's something to consider if $$$ is not a deal-breaker...click the link! DD

http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...t&autoview=SKU

I was considering these. Thank you.
This is most certainly the style I want. I have some cheap ones similar to Harbor Freight. They are okay for shoving a car in the corner for Winter storage. I would not consider them for moving a car around the shop on a (near) daily basis.

[wga]

Kube - my son uses the GoJaks on GMC / Chevy and other vehicles. No problems with them. With the quality of work you do, these are made for you.
HF had a change in the style they sell - check for bearings in the wheels, and on the
caster pin. I have the HF type that requires lifting the car. These work OK, when the
casters are turned to the direction you want to go. They're off to the next swap meet for a bargain hunter.

[HCO41]

Kube, Here's another option. I have these under a '50 coupe on a cement floor and they roll easily. In fact if I get them going too fast I've almost run the car into a wall. OTC has always been known as a quality tool company but I believe they have also caved in to offshore sourcing.
One caution, some of the ads for these show a load rating of 6200# which is the rating for 4 units, not a single unit.
I've also found Zoro to be an excellent source for tools with good prices on name brands and expedient delivery.

http://www.zoro.com/g/Easy%20Roller%20Dollies/00172185/

Howard

[TStiles]

Or, if you did buy a cheap set and want to replace the casters, consider this:
https://www.tireskate.com/castersforchinese.php

[wga]

Ref HCO41, post 16, those dollies are the same as HF. ZORO is a 'low cost' light industrial / consumer division of Grainger.

[HCO41]

Wga, I just checked out the HF foot operated dollies and found that they are ratchet actuated:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1250-lb...lly-61917.html

The OTC 1580 units I purchased from Zoro are hydraulic. Maybe I missed something, never the less, they work great.
Howard

[PeteVS]

Originally Posted by tubman

I don't know what the weight difference is between a '34 Ford and a '68 Corvette (maybe 500 pounds?), but I have a set of Harbor freight units under my Corvette, and it takes 2 men and a boy to move it around. Make sure you have ball bearings on the casters AND swivels. The only way I can make it change direction is to use a large set of channellocks to turn the casters in the direction I want to go. I would agree that quality is important and spending a bit more may be a good idea.

My brother bought a set at a swap meet a few years ago. We brought them back, put them together and it was just like you said- you had to steer the casters and then push the car. We were disappointed to say the least. Then, we took a look at them. We had assembled them with the caster bolts going in from the top with the nuts on the bottom. When the dollies were loaded, the bottom ends of the bolts were binding on the tops of the casters so that they couldn't swivel on their own. We took them apart and reversed the bolts- in from the bottom with the nuts on top. Worked fine after that.

[Mike B]

I have a set of the HF ones, since the mid 90's, and used a ton..I sprayed some stuff my dad had back in the day, into the rollers.

Now mine are not the lifting style, just the dolley...but I can easily move them around when loaded...now, my heaviest load as I think back, would have been a '59 Chevy PU...so not a 6Klb Escalade, etc...now mine only saw 4 or 5 moves a week when I used them, not 5 or 6 times a day...but think if lubed well...would have been just fine.

[felix37]

Kube, I we have a set of the pump up dollies that work real well at HCG. I will check tomorrow morning and let you know what kind they are.

[Bill Underwood]

I have found all the negatives above to be true
Also even on a good floor, the slightest object on the floor (bb size or less) will lock them down. Keep the floor operating room clean and they work minimally well
IMHO

[Bertha]

Originally Posted by Mart

The smoothness and levelness of your floor makes the biggest difference. My experience was not good, but my floor is poor.

Mart.

^
X2

Dual axle 20' boat trailer, very hard to maneuver un-hitched ...on a smooth surface the dolly's work great, but even the seams on the concrete pad make it difficult. The bigger the caster wheels the better they will work.

Got good quality from Northern Tool, they are a bit on the heavy side.

Bob

[Kube]

Guys, I am very thankful for all the thoughtful responses. I have had a chance to study a bit more and it is appearing the style below (Thanks Coopman) will most likely be the choice.
http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...t&autoview=SKU

[The Hot Rod Grille]

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I have a set of the dollies made by GoJacks and have been very pleased with them. I've moved a buddy's '60 Olds wagon (must weigh at least 6K pounds .... it's hugh) with one hand. Not cheap, but definitely great quality. Reminds me of the old saying "If you want good quality, dry oats then expect to pay a fair price. If you will settle for the oats after they have gone through the mule, then they are cheaper".

[Kerk]

I would suggest to get ones with steel wheels and ball bearing on wheels and swivals. Look at the weight rating when buying casters and go for ones with a weight capacity rating ABOVE what you are moving. jmho. kerk

[cmbrucew]

Kerk
Steel wheels make a mess of painted floors.
Just a thought.
Bruce

[rotorwrench]

Very few casters of smaller diameter have ball bearing wheels/axles. The bearing type axles are generally much larger diameter than the ones they use on the car dollies I've seen. We used large diameter casters with polyurethane wheels on our helicopter float and they lasted about 5-years before they all disintegrated. Cast iron or cast steel will outlast the caster swivels but they don't roll near as easy as the ones with hard rubber, plastic, or pneumatic wheels. Any casters with plastic wheels should be made of nylon or delron so they can take the load and last a while.

I can about guarantee than most casters aren't made to last a lifetime anymore. There is always a weak link somewhere.

[HCO41]

There may some difference I didn't notice but, the dollies sold by Summit look a lot like the ones Harbor Freight sells. Both are ratchet activated and I believe both have 4" phenolic casters. There's a significant difference in price so I must have missed something.
I did, The Summit units will support a 13" wide tire, the HF units are limited to 9", (should be wide enough for most of our applications). The Summit dollies are also rated to support more weight 1550# ea., the HF units, 1250# ea.
Howard

[Graeme / New Zealand]

I bought a set of theses boys. they do the trick but jacking the car up is the biggest pain.

GB

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-...-816218401.htm

[dave m]

my HF ones work great & i got 20% off with a coupon from street rodder mag also have no problem moving my 35 coupe around by my self ''good level floor helps''

[billh49ford]

I have the Go Jacks. They are more expensive than the HB ones, but sometimes you get what you pay for. I can move my 3000LB 50 Ford Convertible easily, by myself. Don't need manual move the casters to get the car to turn.