How do you get a dual-seat driving cab down a flight of stairs?

[bleargh]

Short version... I'm looking to pick up a "Final Lap 2" dual-seat driving cabinet this coming weekend, but its all contingent on my figuring out HowTF to get it down the one flight of stairs and into the basement.

I've looked up the cabinet weight/dimensions online, and size-wise I've got enough room to get it down the stairs.  However... its going to weigh in at ~600lbs (its 650lbs total weight, and I'm guessing that each of the seats weighs ~25lbs each) (yes, I'm guessing that low on purpose, to over-estimate the weight of the rest of the cab).

At that weight (600lbs) and the size of this thing (54" wide x 61" tall x 32" deep), its like moving a piano.  I'll have to get it down a single flight of stairs (10 steps), no turns.

I'm thinking that I can get away with wrapping several heavy-duty tie straps (800lb rating) around the cabinet, using plywood and 2x6s to make a smooth ramp to go over the flight of stairs, and then using a tow rope to connect the tie straps to the back of our truck, and using that hold the weight while it gets lowered down the stairs.  That said, though, I also think its a crazy ass idea and someone could get seriously hurt if anything goes wrong.

How do you guys get these things moved down stairs?

[HaRuMaN]

You should be able to separate the cabs and move one at a time.

Don't make a smooth ramp.  You let that thing go and it picks up speed, it's gonna kill anyone in the way.

[bleargh]

You should be able to separate the cabs and move one at a time.

I haven't been to see the cab yet, but I got the impression that these ones don't separate (seller doesn't see how they come apart).

But yes, if they come apart, my problem is solved; at worst I've got 2x 300lb cabinets, and that I know we can get down the stairs.

For the moment, though, I'm planning on the worst case scenario (that they don't come apart and it has to be moved down the stairs as a single unit).

Don't make a smooth ramp.  You let that thing go and it picks up speed, it's gonna kill anyone in the way.

I know.  Thus my "think its a crazy ass idea" statement from before.  Also why I figured I'd ask here to find out what others are doing when trying to move these big-arse cabinets down stairs.

[garnerb350]

Just make sure you find several guys to help ya and buy PLENTY of beer... 

[BadMouth]

I haven't been to see the cab yet, but I got the impression that these ones don't separate (seller doesn't see how they come apart).

I seriously doubt that is the case.
On every sit-down driving cab I've seen, the two sides separate, and the seat section also separates from the front part of the cab.
A lot of games had a marquee that runs accross both cabs and must be removed first.

[bleargh]

I haven't been to see the cab yet, but I got the impression that these ones don't separate (seller doesn't see how they come apart).

I seriously doubt that is the case.
On every sit-down driving cab I've seen, the two sides separate, and the seat section also separates from the front part of the cab.
A lot of games had a marquee that runs across both cabs and must be removed first.

I'd be super-happy if that was the case (that the sides come apart).  Question then becomes... without having yet gone out to see this one, does anyone else here have a Final Lap 2 and can provide some insight?

[dprush83]

I haven't been to see the cab yet, but I got the impression that these ones don't separate (seller doesn't see how they come apart).

I seriously doubt that is the case.
On every sit-down driving cab I've seen, the two sides separate, and the seat section also separates from the front part of the cab.
A lot of games had a marquee that runs across both cabs and must be removed first.

I'd be super-happy if that was the case (that the sides come apart).  Question then becomes... without having yet gone out to see this one, does anyone else here have a Final Lap 2 and can provide some insight?

I think it's the same cabinet as Final Lap, right?  The link below is the manual for that cabinet and it can be played as a single or a multiple...so you should be able to take them apart.  Hope it helps:

http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade//Manual/formated/Final_Lap_-_1987_-_Namco.pdf

[bleargh]

I think it's the same cabinet as Final Lap, right?  The link below is the manual for that cabinet and it can be played as a single or a multiple...so you should be able to take them apart.  Hope it helps:

http://gamesdbase.com/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade//Manual/formated/Final_Lap_-_1987_-_Namco.pdf

Nope, different cabinet.  Its the one shown in this picture on KLOV:

    http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7798

[bleargh]

Found this link, which has pictures that look like the cabinet in question:

    http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Atari_Kee/Final_Lap_Sit-Down/

Which (unfortunately) tells me that these don't come apart.  Wonder how much weight I can drop by taking both screens out... ?

[BadMouth]

yeah, looks like the seat parts detach, but that's it!
Hope you don't have to go around and corners on thew way down.
That thing is a beast. 

[05SRT4]

LOL This reminds me of when Me and a friend picked up a single Sega Touring cab. My back is still killing me after that. It did split apart from the seat, But it was still a beast to move. So long story short it stayed in the garage. I'm sure with help from at least 3-5 others you'll be able to do it.

Like said before don't make a rap. Someone will get killed. When we picked up ours it was just the 2 of us. And we almost died/ broke the cab getting it into the truck. If its dual im sure its going to be around 1200 lbs.

[bleargh]

Like said before don't make a rap. Someone will get killed. When we picked up ours it was just the 2 of us. And we almost died/ broke the cab getting it into the truck. If its dual im sure its going to be around 1200 lbs.

I've seen several sites list it as 650lbs total weight, so I'm reasonably confident that's what I'm looking at weight wise.

Taking the seats off, I'm hoping we can shed 50lbs off of that (2x25lbs).  Taking the 25" monitors out, I'm hoping we can shed another 120lbs (2x60lbs).  Still leaves me w/480lbs to get down the stairs, though.  Lighter, but still a beast.

[05SRT4]

yeah that wont be as bad as the one we did. just take it 1 step a a time.

[Well Fed Games]

Like said before don't make a rap. Someone will get killed.

[HaRuMaN]

Like said before don't make a rap. Someone will get killed.

[05SRT4]

Hahaha, I saw the mistake and still went with it.
And now im getting a laugh out of it!!

[vanrose72]

Nice, HaRuMaN! Looks like Tupac is looking up at Biggie.

[05SRT4]

When I first saw biggie I thought thefearsomefearful was quoting my 1200 lbs estimate.......

[Green Giant]

Like said before don't make a rap. Someone will get killed. When we picked up ours it was just the 2 of us. And we almost died/ broke the cab getting it into the truck. If its dual im sure its going to be around 1200 lbs.

I've seen several sites list it as 650lbs total weight, so I'm reasonably confident that's what I'm looking at weight wise.

Taking the seats off, I'm hoping we can shed 50lbs off of that (2x25lbs).  Taking the 25" monitors out, I'm hoping we can shed another 120lbs (2x60lbs).  Still leaves me w/480lbs to get down the stairs, though.  Lighter, but still a beast.

480lbs you think?

What's the big deal?  Throw some straps over it, toss them over your shoulders, and lift it up like a backpack.  Remember, lift with the knees.

[ark_ader]

Stick it in bubble wrap and watch it bounce down the stairs.

Make sure you video it for us! 

[Afterburner]

If it is like moving a piano, then move it like a piano....

Take it apart as much as possible.  Don't think it comes apart there?  Try harder.

Then get lots of muscle.

If you think 3 people are enough, bring five....someone needs to be there to call the ambulance and someon needs to be videoing.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Chop it into pieces.  all the pieces must be small enough to fit through a 1' diameter iron ring on a stand.  pass the pieces through the ring.  take pieces downstairs.  glue back together.  Mame it.   

[kahlid74]

If it is like moving a piano, then move it like a piano....

I would hit up some moving forums or some local businesses that move.  Ask them what/how they do it and maybe even fork over 100 bucks for them to do it for you.

I've done a lift with a 400 lbs object down stairs and the only to do it is one step at a time with lots of muscle.  Ramps/dolly's can't bear the weight/create a deathtrap when you miscalculate angles/inertia.

[HaRuMaN]

When we moved into our current house, we moved all the small stuff ourselves, leaving the big stuff such as furniture and arcade games.  We hired a local company to move all that...

For under $300, they moved all our furniture and set it up in the new house, and moved my arcade games (Mortal Kombat, pinball machine, Capcom Impress, and Popeye cocktail) into the UPSTAIRS loft!

Best $300 I ever spent! 

[kahlid74]

When we moved into our current house, we moved all the small stuff ourselves, leaving the big stuff such as furniture and arcade games.  We hired a local company to move all that...

For under $300, they moved all our furniture and set it up in the new house, and moved my arcade games (Mortal Kombat, pinball machine, Capcom Impress, and Popeye cocktail) into the UPSTAIRS loft!

Best $300 I ever spent! 

This is the key here in all honesty.  This may be the smartest investment you make.  These guys lift this stuff all the time and know how to do it.

[lilshawn]

IF YOU TRY AND HAVE A GO AT IT YOUR SELVES...

remove as much as you can from the cabinet (seats monitors etc.)

it's a hell of a lot easier manoeuvring a 150-200lbs shell that's wedged in the hallway than 600lbs.

it will take some time but I personally would rather not have a huge broken mess at the bottom of the stairs I need to fix. Plus monitors don't like being banged around.

[bkenobi]

If you film the monitor as you bang it around, you can start your own youtube channel.  It's worked for others!

[paigeoliver]

You can get more weight out of it than you think. Take the control panels off. Take the coin doors off. take the back doors off. Take the board cages out, take the isolation transformers out. 

400 pounds isn't that bad if you have several helpers and you can get it down to 400 lbs easily. Most classic Atari titles weigh between 290 and 310 pounds and I have moved countless ones up and down steps with just one helper (and most atari games have literally nothing to hold onto).

[Nephasth]

The Two-Headed Beast weighs 475 lbs stock. I've moved it 3 times since I bought it with only me and one other guy, but it will have to come apart in pieces to make it to it's new home in the game room (damn 30" doorway). I also moved my Vendorlator V-165-5 soda machine with one other guy, it weighs 487 lbs. A furniture dolly made those moves possible. But I did almost lose a testicle moving the soda machine...

[bleargh]

Appreciate all the thoughts, the input, and the laughs at how we're about to do something utterly stupid.

Have managed to convince a couple of friends to come help out, and we're off to pick it up noon-ish today.  Plan is to take the monitors out, strip off any other obvious heavy (and easily removable) parts, then get it down the stairs.  Doing a partial strip should get us to ~450lbs, at which point everyone here feels comfortable getting it down in one piece; we've done a 350lb cab with just two guys and an appliance dolly before, and with two extra bodies we think we're ok.

Gonna be nice once we get it into place; moved a few things around in the game room to make room for it, and its now starting to look (somewhat) organized.  I'll have to take a photo of it when its all done (as well as letting you know how we fared in getting this thing down the stairs).

[compute]

Fifteenthing the suggestion to remove parts before moving the cab.  My JAMMA cabinet is apparently lined with lead, so the only way we could get it up or down stairs was to take out all of the parts.  Make sure to take pictures so you remember where everything goes, though

[lilshawn]

  I'll have to take a photo of it when its all done (as well as letting you know how we fared in getting this thing down the stairs).

take a photo of it before and after going down the stairs...

you know, just in case.

for science.

[bleargh]

Success!  (and nobody got hurt)

Arrived at the sellers house, to see that he'd backed his trailer right up to his extra-wide basement door.  There were four of us there and although we all groaned while picking it up, we managed to lift it up and onto the trailer.  That turned out to be the hardest part of it all (and thankfully, was at the beginning when we all still had energy).

When we arrived at my place we backed up his trailer right to the front door.  Laid out plywood sheets on the ground to help create a ramp to get us over the 1" lip at the door, and laid a moving blanked on top of that to reduce friction.  Blanket would bunch up, but it was easier to slide that across than to lift the cabinet up and in over the lip.

Once inside the door, the cabinet was wrapped in another moving blanket, to help protect the walls as we go down the stairs.  Should we end up rubbing against the walls on the way down I wanted it to be something softer than the 3/4" plywood rubbing against the drywall.  That was then wrapped by four sets of red tie-down straps, each rated for 900lbs.

The tie-down straps were then all connected to a rope hoist by a quick-link (rated for 1800lbs).  Hoist itself has a 1000lb rating on it (and was on sale at Canadian Tire last week for $13.99).  Other end of the hoist was tied off to the tow rings on my brother in-law's trailer hitch with a tow rope rated for ~2400lbs.  Had enough tow-rope that we looped it and tied it off four times.

We all stopped, thought about it again, and felt comfortable with what we were about to do.  Rope hoist is supposed to give a 7:1 lift ratio, which should make the ~600lbs feel like ~90lbs.  Still heavy for a controlled lift down the stairs, but far more realistic than the full 600lbs.

Then, the moment of truth... pushing it over the edge of the top of the stairs.  Nudged it along inch by inch to the edge, and watched it slowly tip upwards and start to slide down.  Hoist worked awesome; brother in-law said it was minimal effort to slowly let the rope out while the other two of us guided this beast down the stairs.  At one point, he actually pulled it back up a few inches as he wasn't sure if it was stuck or not.

Once down into the basement, we rolled it over to its final resting place, and plugged it in.  And yes, we managed to do this without taking the screens out.

Definitely a success.   

Although I was a science geek in high-school and know all the physics behind pulleys and hoist systems, I was still surprised how easy it made this.    Wouldn't imagine doing it without several other people on-hand to help guide and lift those few little bits here and there, but for the trek down the stairs, the hoist sure made this the easiest haul down the stairs of any cab we've moved.

w00t!

[tommyinajar]

Cool- nice job.

 I wish I would have spent more time planing and measuring with my Outrun cab that got wedged at the bottom of a narrow basement stairs. Needless to say, 500 curse words, some stitches and 2 saws-all blades later, the result was not quite as fortunate as yours...

[bleargh]

I wish I would have spent more time planing and measuring with my Outrun cab that got wedged at the bottom of a narrow basement stairs. Needless to say, 500 curse words, some stitches and 2 saws-all blades later, the result was not quite as fortunate as yours...

Yeah, was a whole lot of measuring on this one first.  Wanted to make sure we had room to spare, just in case the measurements I was getting from people weren't quite accurate.  Took the pins off the front door to get it off the hinges so we could get it in there w/or problem, railing came off of the stairs to give an extra few inches (and less chance to get hooked on anything), all the pictures (hangers, nails and all) came down from the stairway, and the door jamb at the bottom of the stairs was removed (which in the end turned out to be a must-do anyways; we would've been half an inch too skinny if we hadn't taken the jamb out).

"Measure twice, cut once".

Again, want to thank everyone for their input and advice from similar ventures in the past.  Forced me to stop and rethink this a few times and make sure I was really comfortable with what we were doing and the (obvious but easily overlooked in the heat of the moment) possible things that could go wrong.

[BadMouth]

Simply Awesome!

[bleargh]

Apologies for the crappy phone shots, but figured I'd close this thread out with a photo of the success; Final Lap 3 in the basement, being enjoyed by both of our boys.

Could use a cleaning and a few minor things, but its all there (and in one piece!)   

[Well Fed Games]

That is great! Lucky kids!
 

[Vigo]

If I was a betting man, I would have predicted more chaos and destruction. Glad to hear that it was as smooth as butter! 

[bleargh]

If I was a betting man, I would have predicted more chaos and destruction. Glad to hear that it was as smooth as butter! 

Had those moments myself, thinking that its either going to be a piece of cake, or its going to be a major disaster.

Thankfully, turned out to be cake.