Wheel dollies - advice first!

[drjim]

Chaps

I need to compact my stuff into a corner of the workshop, specifically getting 4 cars in whilst still being able to work - the guys are going to start charging extra for the vehicles I have scattered around

Anyway in order to get them as compactly parked as possible I intend to make some wheel dollies. I have ordered some casters from flea bay, and now need some steel to make them.

From the size of my largest car tyres (or largest I'll want to move), I reckon I'll need about 50cm long and 25cm gap between them. Simple oblong frame. My plan is to locate some box, chop and weld it square - too much hassle to mitre it, and load shouldn't be an issue.

Question is, what size/thickness box to go for?? I was thinking 30x30 with about 2mm wall, but what would YOU do???


Jim

 

[Archie]

Personally I'd have gone with something more like 50x50x3 but then I have been known to over-engineer things....

 

[fingers99]

Not sure, to tell the truth! Machine Mart do them, so you might pop in with the odd concealed measuring instrument...............

 

[Woody.v8]

Personally I'd have gone with something more like 50x50x3 but then I have been known to over-engineer things....

I'm firmly with Archie on the material size.

 

[drjim]

OK I need bigger stuff - that's not a hardship bigger chunkier stuff = more welding

 

[Jake]

here we go

i was thinking of making some of there's befor i made my http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=8456 but i think this would work well and be very cheap to.

hope this helps dude

 

[drjim]

That's much what I was thinking of doing, except using box for all 4 sides.

Just need to find somewhere to get the steel now. Went to the place Brucey mentioned in the steel suppliers thread, met the boss (presumably) who was intrigued to hear his troops had been selling stuff.

 

[Jake]

angle

i would go for the angle on the sides where the wheels are going to sit because there wont be a shape corner on the tyre like with box. also no posh cuts will have to be made on the steel.

 

[steeo]

I made a set recently and have moved everything from a mini to a transit with them and they were made with 40mm x 40mm x 5mm box and 40mm x 40mm x 5mm angle only because that is what I had to hand.

 

[andypocock]

I wasn't thinking of making a set but I am now!

Thanks for the drawings Jake. Just too tempting not to knock some up. I'm forever opening up the garage and letting all the heat out because I need to more the car over.

Andy

 

[Hitch]

If its box all round, 40x4x3 would be plenty, the load is pretty well spread on the front and back bars. and its only 500kg even for a substantial vehicle.
How about the castor mounting, ideall you could use something that just big enough for them to mount onto without messing about?

The 500mm spacings though, not sure what sort of things your be moving...a 13" rim with a 65% tyre, would sit very deep in there, probably upto the lip of the rim at least...

 

[chrisg3103]

i tryed this once, went quite well till i put weight on the castors and they exploded and it was only a mini

 

[drjim]

The 500mm spacings though, not sure what sort of things your be moving...a 13" rim with a 65% tyre, would sit very deep in there, probably upto the lip of the rim at least...

Hitch

I came up with 50cm based on the 15" wheels on my 635CSI. The castors have 100mm wheels plus the metal gubbins, so that should give sufficient clearance. For smaller wheels I was thinking of another piece of box section bolted on to shorten the slot. Sit it on top and only use a small bolt so the hole doesn't weaken anything, or maybe just weld some stops on the top to hold it. Won't work with angle though.

I think 50cm length of the sides is where I am heading, obviously the end pieces will then shorten the slot anyway

Jim

 

[knoba]

chrisg3103

went quite well till i put weight on the castors and they exploded

I've been using these people; www.castors-online.co.uk, for castors. They list all dimensions and more importantly; the load ratings. I asked them for some custom 304L ones - no problem!

To work out castor load (as a minimum); Total weight <divide by> 3 = load rating for each of the required 4 castors.

* They recently sent an email giving me 5% off:.

"very own personal discount code is

winteroffer"

...yeah right. It looks really personal.



HTH

 

[cantfindausername]

ooo liking these... think they're gonna have to go on the "to-do" list!

 

[michael1703]

not as cheap as the ones on ebay, you can get 4 for anywhere between £6-£14

you want a castor of 115 - 125 kg load capacity each as doing it marginally is fine, but pusdhing the vehicle will collapse the bearing rings

 

[drjim]

I got 16x 125Kg/wheel castors off ebay for £39.99 inc shipping. I then realised that I need some other mobility products - I have a bare shell that needs moving around regularly, so I'm going to screw the castors under a couple of pallets to do that. Machine mart has supplied some dollies to move the other cars - needed them quicker than getting the steel and making them.

 

[chrisg3103]

something like this then

had 2 huge pallets in the lockup when i moved in + about 20 tiny castors = shell moving device
works a treat, can glide a shell across the floor with one hand