I have a sets of the diamondplate 1500lb HF ones under my '37 Century, straight 8. They were really good when it was just a body on a chassis, a little less good when it was a just a chassis with an engine, but now that its chassis, body, (minus front sheet metal) and engine, they're prety uncooperative when trying to move it around on a smooth concrete floor. Theres still a good amount of weight that will be added to the car before its done, so i might be looking for a heavier duty set or some casters with better wheels to replace the current ones. I have another set under an OT c10 truck and they've been fine
the harbor freight units seem to work fine for me. I was able to move a '53 lincoln around on my own.(4600lbs, up a sloped driveway)
I have to wonder what the definition of "fine" is for the people who think HF works "fine". HF rollers are good if you want to store a car right up against the wall and leave it there for a long time. they don't roll for shit. I have 8 of them from when I had more cars at my place.
I bought my brother a set of GoJack "style" dollies from Northern Tool a 10-11 years ago. They work great with a large with a large mid-70s Lincoln. I've borrowed them a few times to move my 63 Falcon and I can turn it 360 in a small two car garage with no trouble and not much effort. I think I paid about $400.00 for the set of 4 on sale. I have a set of these HF units for the Falcon, work ok, but not great at changing direction. I have a set similar to these but with 4 bolts for each caster under my 61 f100, they work ok, but a little hard to change direction. I think I bought these at O'Reilly. Still both sets work well enough for most needs.
The best ones in the world are NMW but unfortunately they have been out of business now for a good number of years. So I'm no help. Pat
I made some also and would agree good casters are key. I got some used very heavy duty machine casters, they work great
For those of you who have swapped casters on the HF variety or built your own- What do you recommend for “good” casters? I’ve got the 4-bolt HF skates and I can move them around pretty easy until I put a car on them. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
I get my casters here. The ones I used are rated for 750 lbs each. That might be overkill, depending on your use....but I tend to overbuild everything. https://www.surpluscenter.com/
I have a dozen of these, have cars I move around easily. Have had engines and transmissions on them too. I use them for all kinds of stuff in the garage!
Try cleaning all the oil and grease off, then give them a squirt of graphite. Oily little wheels tend to pick up grit and crud easily. (Ask any skateboarder!). It looks like the same chinese crap is sold all over the world under different brands. The set I bought (with the built-in lifting jack) had large black rollers which contact the tyres. Of course they broke (under the weight of a '56 Chevy, not that much really), but a length of PVC pipe was the right diameter to slip over the cracked originals. Also, they tend to spill their guts out of the seal if left "pumped up" for a long time. I pump them up, then let them down to the mechanical stop pin once in position, so the hydraulics are not under pressure all the time.
I, and expect I'm not alone, evaluate the performance of Harbor Freight tools within the context of their cost. It's a cost/performance ratio thing, so when somebody says something "works fine", it means fine for it's price point. It's a matter of expectations. Bob
Like others have said, the casters are the weak point on most all of these, regardless of their price and who they came from. They main issues are: - Caster mounting style (single post mount versus 3 or 4 bolts per caster) - Caster bearing quality (in the turning / mounting surface and in wheel rotation) - Caster diameter (up to a point, larger diameter is better for less rolling resistance) - Dolly structure: If it flexes much, the caster mounts move off of vertical which increase caster turning resistance
I have used several different Harbor Freight ones, they work well for the price. I'd recommend the Go-Jack style ones from Eastwood - they're fantastic. They're hydraulic, have really nice rollers and are well made. We use them at our shop all the time. Worth every dollar.
Same here. The bottom line is that if the floor of your garage sucks, you're going to have a hard time rolling anything around regardless of the quality of the dollies. Uneven concrete, big expansion joints, rough finish, plus debris is going to make any set of dollies problematic. I took the time and expense to grind my floor and put an epoxy coating down. I can roll complete, full-sized cars around the shop by myself, albeit with some strength and effort. It is 2+ tons after all.
I have the 1500# from HF they worked "fine" with a 10 ton wench, larger better casters from Northern Tools solved the problem. Today I would buy the go jacks
My definition of “fine” means that they did the job I bought them for. I had 4 cars packed into my old garage, and had to play tetris any time I wanted to move anything. I was able to move any of the cars, by myself, with the HF skates. I had planned on using them to move the car trailer into a corner of the new garage, but my trailer backing skills have improved exponentially, so it wasn’t needed.
you could move your cars around for free with your floor jack and some muscle. so lets take your logic to the next step and not buy these things at all. a floor jack will work "fine".
And you can pound a screw in with a hammer (just ask my wife...that’s how she does it), but it is easier when you use the proper tool for the proper job.
I've been rolling my t bucket around on 4 of the HF wooden furniture dollies, they work great for it. oddly, the front end rolls easier than the rear even
I built a set of 4 using casters off of 45gal drum carts we were scrapping out at work. Each wheel is 2x4, full ball bearing and rated for 750lbs each (3000lbs per skate). Definitely over kill for car dollies but work great. Almost too great - just leaning on the car will cause it to roll (into a stack of tubing causing minor fender issues - dammit). When putting the car away for the winter use these under the control arms and rear axle to slide the car out of the way, then 2 old screw jacks on the frame to keep it in place. Sent from my SM-T560NU using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have both of the HF units. One set I bought and switched the casters for good ones, made them better. The others were given to me. No way I would buy them again. If the Titans are $100 each, and there is a somewhat local dealer, then I will buy some. When I was 50 moving a car on the HF’s was doable, now at 75 not so.
Fine means your young & strong & your garage floor is smooth , flat & level with no expansion joints , crappy is , your old , weak & your garage floor has pits , divots & wide uneven expansion joints & level is an unobtainable ideal !
Here is where I purchased my Titan units: http://briansrepairables.com/#!/listing/Titan/5a779bb7bd8233185feb50dc I was able to drive there and pick them up, I am sure they would ship them also.
Most useless tools I ever had. The casters never wanted to swing around the way you wanted the car to go.
I have 4 of the HF ones and use them now and then but not much. 1 pair is now bolted under a BIG horizontal band saw a good friend gave me and is sitting outside. I have also used them for rolling engines around. Never had issues using them under cars and yes, I have used them for cars. Yesterday my son in law asked me if he could borrow a pair as then needed to move in a cast iron bath tub! Boss decided to just go buy some. Haven't heard the end story yet. Dave
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