Loading/unloading arcade to the truck

[Arc4di4]

Would like to get your suggestions on how you guys transported an old but heavy arcade? Rather than hiring a mover, I think I could use my brother's truck. However, I need to figure out how to put it on the bed. Did you guys try to tie it on the backrack? I think unloading it would also be complicated.

Will a ramp be necessary?

[Nephasth]

Buy a strong friend or two some beers. Badda bing badda boom.

[keilmillerjr]

I moved mine twice so far. Once, I layed it on its side and strapped it down. The next time, I left it right on the dolley (on its side). I just made sure I scratched strapped it to the dolley extra good, and the cabinet and dolley to the bed really good.

Left my straps in back of truck and some one stole them. Realized this when I went to move something Sunday. Do not move to anywhere in Hartford county CT. I hate this place.

[BadMouth]

First make sure everything inside the cab is bolted down.  Sometimes the power supply or other boards will just be laying loose in the bottom.  If it's not secure, remove it.

 Harbor freight moving blankets over tailgate and bed. Tip cab over on its side against the edge of tailgate and slide in.  Strap down to prevent unlikely freak accident.  Put folded corrugated cardboard where the straps contact the cab before ratcheting them all the way tight.  This will prevent the straps from damaging anything (not likely, but better safe than sorry)

Same deal for putting in an SUV, except for strapping it down.

A hand cart (referred to as a dolly by some) will make getting it to and from the truck a breeze.

[pbj]

Leave it to this forum to over complicate everything.  Wheel machine to your truck.  Spin it around so the back is facing the truck.  Tip it backwards into the bed.  They're 6 feet tall and weigh 300lbs, they've not going anywhere once that tailgate is up.

It's almost as if things are designed to common form factors.....

[behrmr]

Leave it to this forum to over complicate everything.  Wheel machine to your truck.  Spin it around so the back is facing the truck.  Tip it backwards into the bed.  They're 6 feet tall and weigh 300lbs, they've not going anywhere once that tailgate is up.

It's almost as if things are designed to common form factors.....

Leave it to you to post a snarky reply. All other replies are appropriate. Badmouth provides the better instructions. And not everyone has a truck whose bed is long enough to close the tailgate. 

[pbj]

Then you leave the tailgate open and have a strap across the bottom of the cabinet.

 

[keilmillerjr]

Illustrated.

[Nephasth]

Leave it to this forum to over complicate everything.  Wheel machine to your truck.  Spin it around so the back is facing the truck.  Tip it backwards into the bed.  They're 6 feet tall and weigh 300lbs, they've not going anywhere once that tailgate is up.

It's almost as if things are designed to common form factors.....

Leave it to you to post a snarky reply. All other replies are appropriate. Badmouth provides the better instructions. And not everyone has a truck whose bed is long enough to close the tailgate.

Stand the mother ---smurf--- up. The tailgate will close. If not... you do not possess a truck.

[keilmillerjr]

Leave it to this forum to over complicate everything.  Wheel machine to your truck.  Spin it around so the back is facing the truck.  Tip it backwards into the bed.  They're 6 feet tall and weigh 300lbs, they've not going anywhere once that tailgate is up.

It's almost as if things are designed to common form factors.....

Leave it to you to post a snarky reply. All other replies are appropriate. Badmouth provides the better instructions. And not everyone has a truck whose bed is long enough to close the tailgate.

Stand the mother ---smurf--- up. The tailgate will close. If not... you do not possess a truck.

Bed is low pressure zone. It won’t magically jump out. I have a gator in my pickup right now, with the tailgate down. Drive it over 300 miles Sunday, threw 3 states. You just need to make sure your load is secure.  Closing the tail gate is a way to do so, but not the only way. There is more than one way to move things. If you do stand it up, make sure it won’t rock or slide into the cab rear glass.

[Nephasth]

[paigeoliver]

Wow, you people overcomplicate things.

Lay it down in the bed.

If you somehow have a truck with a bed shorter than 6' (very, very rare). then leave the tailgate around and throw a strap over the thing somewhere.

Never stand the game up unless you have to.

It is not a 2 man job, it can be done by the average 13 year old boy.

[pbj]

Leave it to you to post a snarky reply.




 

[Slippyblade]

Yes, one person can do it.  Soooo much easier with two, though.

[jennifer]

   (*Edit).... If you lay it down, it works best to, lay a blanket over the end of the tailgate first then it slides better, and doesn't scratch things up, make sure the key is out of the backdoor, or it will break off...And if it looks like rain bring plastic and duck tape just in case.

[keilmillerjr]

Lay them down, WTH?... Get a tommy gate, and you can move 8 at a time by yourself in a long box Ford,  But be warned, that much weight will stress your windshield and it will crack diagonally from corner to corner about once a year.

Weight in a bed will not crack your windshield. It doesn’t even make sense... but you mention ford. F150 and ranger have major frame rot issues. You see plenty of them with drive shaft holding the bed to the cab. F250+ seem to be much better in that department. Dodge dakotas have same issue as well.

Unless your hitting bumps with inadequate suspension.? I haven’t a clue. I have like 1000lbs extra in my truck right now and I don’t even think it’s enough to sink the suspension any.

[jennifer]

Oh yes it will, I am on my third one, so sick of replacing them (in A F150), the cube F250 is much more better suited for the job, and doesn't flex enough to be a problem (with 8 games)....old farm trucks will crack them too, but that's just from the abuse loaded heavy and driving in the fields and ditches, and most likely (just guessing) temper cooked out of the old glass from age and heat.

[nitrogen_widget]

Leave it to this forum to over complicate everything.  Wheel machine to your truck.  Spin it around so the back is facing the truck.  Tip it backwards into the bed.  They're 6 feet tall and weigh 300lbs, they've not going anywhere once that tailgate is up.

It's almost as if things are designed to common form factors.....

Leave it to you to post a snarky reply. All other replies are appropriate. Badmouth provides the better instructions. And not everyone has a truck whose bed is long enough to close the tailgate.

first off I actually agree with him.
Secondly if your truck bed isn't long enough to fit a 6ft tall arcade cabinet, then you don't have a real truck.

[nitrogen_widget]

Lay them down, WTH?... Get a tommy gate, and you can move 8 at a time by yourself in a long box Ford,  But be warned, that much weight will stress your windshield and it will crack diagonally from corner to corner about once a year.

Weight in a bed will not crack your windshield. It doesn’t even make sense... but you mention ford. F150 and ranger have major frame rot issues. You see plenty of them with drive shaft holding the bed to the cab. F250+ seem to be much better in that department. Dodge dakotas have same issue as well.

Unless your hitting bumps with inadequate suspension.? I haven’t a clue. I have like 1000lbs extra in my truck right now and I don’t even think it’s enough to sink the suspension any.

we filled an 82 ford f-250 with enough oak firewood to actually make the suspension sink 3 inches then we loaded up a an 8ft single axle wood trailer with maple. barely moved it. huh?

shame the cab was rusted to crap and sunk to the point the doors and hood had issues opening.
but windows did not crack strangely.
rest of it was surprisingly solid.
I liked working on it. not that we had to all that much.
Didn't need to jack it up. lol.

[nitrogen_widget]

Oh yes it will, I am on my third one, so sick of replacing them (in A F150), the cube F250 is much more better suited for the job, and doesn't flex enough to be a problem (with 8 games)....old farm trucks will crack them too, but that's just from the abuse loaded heavy and driving in the fields and ditches, and most likely (just guessing) temper cooked out of the old glass from age and heat.

You sure you arn't thinking of:
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/6cd52865-5d5f-4546-b1ca-6d41bb2fbff1#ry4SnxNYCM.copy

[Jakobud]

I drive one of these:



I can't lay an arcade cabinet down or fit it standing up. So what do I do you bunch of smart a$$es?

[jennifer]

Lay them down, WTH?... Get a tommy gate, and you can move 8 at a time by yourself in a long box Ford,  But be warned, that much weight will stress your windshield and it will crack diagonally from corner to corner about once a year.

Weight in a bed will not crack your windshield. It doesn’t even make sense... but you mention ford. F150 and ranger have major frame rot issues. You see plenty of them with drive shaft holding the bed to the cab. F250+ seem to be much better in that department. Dodge dakotas have same issue as well.

Unless your hitting bumps with inadequate suspension.? I haven’t a clue. I have like 1000lbs extra in my truck right now and I don’t even think it’s enough to sink the suspension any.

we filled an 82 ford f-250 with enough oak firewood to actually make the suspension sink 3 inches then we loaded up a an 8ft single axle wood trailer with maple. barely moved it. huh?

shame the cab was rusted to crap and sunk to the point the doors and hood had issues opening.
but windows did not crack strangely.
rest of it was surprisingly solid.
I liked working on it. not that we had to all that much.
Didn't need to jack it up. lol.

That's a beast of a truck (I forgot about the door issues) the bottoms of my door panels are broken from that, I had to retire it from heavy after a few years of hauling pool tables however, the outside box started to tear in the corners....**Fun story, Filled a half ton chevy with gravel until it was heaping, creeped away on bloated tires, and about 8 miles away the transmission puked.

[BadMouth]

we filled an 82 ford f-250 with enough oak firewood to actually make the suspension sink 3 inches then we loaded up a an 8ft single axle wood trailer with maple. barely moved it. huh?

I bought a used '88 Toyota that turned out to have helper springs installed.  Back end never sagged.  Once I hauled enough gravel that it bent the bottom of the bed so it permanently drooped in between the cross supports...but it barely sagged.

[nitrogen_widget]

we filled an 82 ford f-250 with enough oak firewood to actually make the suspension sink 3 inches then we loaded up a an 8ft single axle wood trailer with maple. barely moved it. huh?

I bought a used '88 Toyota that turned out to have helper springs installed.  Back end never sagged.  Once I hauled enough gravel that it bent the bottom of the bed so it permanently drooped in between the cross supports...but it barely sagged.

Ouch.
My dad took the truck to get stone once.
They just droped it in the bed with the pay loader.
not gentle.
never did that again.

The "new" f250 we picked up is an early 90's and has 3rd door so i can bring the kids with me.
But it's not as heavy duty.

Which is fine. Hauling that much firewood is nerve wracking.
People don't seem to understand when you are loaded down like that you aint stopping on a dime when they decide to cut you off.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I've picked up arcade cabinets by myself with zero issues in both a pickup and SUV.  #1 rule:  Open it up and check that the monitor and other misc parts are secure.  I've heard horror stories of unbolted monitors falling out when you tilt it while loading it up.

In an SUV:
I use a hand truck to wheel it to the back of my SUV.  Remove the hand truck, but make sure you position the game to give it enough angle to tilt the front of the cabinet onto the back of the SUV.  As Jennifer suggested, you lay a moving blanket on the edge so it doesn't scratch anything and let's it slide in easier.  Lay it on it's side with the CP facing the passenger side.  This allows it to fit a few more inches inside when you move the front passenger seat up (the SUV center console fits against the back angle of the cabinet).

In a Pickup:
I use a hand truck to wheel it to the back of the bed.  Remove the hand truck, but make sure you position the game to give it enough angle to tilt the top of the cabinet onto the back of the SUV.  As Jennifer suggested, you lay a moving blanket on the edge so it doesn't scratch anything and let's it slide in easier.  Now that it's tilted and the top part is resting on the bed, grab the bottom part of the cabinet and lift up (with your legs not back) and it's surprisingly easy to lift and slide in.  Lay it on it's back.  Strap it down.  Make sure you bring some cardboard to put under the straps so they won't rub on the artwork and take it off when you travel.  If the gate on the back closes, great.  If not, leave it open and make sure you put a strap on the bottom.  There should be rings around the bottom of the truck's bed to latch onto for everything.

Quick tip:  If it's raining out I wrap the whole cabinet in the moving "saran wrap" stuff before loading it up.  Works way better than tarps which can come loose and flap around while traveling.

To unload it you do the opposite.  Slide it out as much as you can by holding it on the bottom and pulling it out. When the top is close to the edge, put the bottom down on the floor.  Then move to the side and tilt it upright.  Voila!  Toss it on a hand truck and you're in business.

DeL

[nitrogen_widget]

I drive one of these:



I can't lay an arcade cabinet down or fit it standing up. So what do I do you bunch of smart a$$es?

[paigeoliver]

I once brought home a Kangaroo standing up in the backseat of a Lebaron convertible with the front seats pushed all the way forward. Can't believe it worked.

When I used to have my flatbed I could get 7 games on it by myself. I only needed help for the 8th game because that one had to be lifted into place while still standing up. Btw, thanks to the many strangers who have helped me get that last game on at various auctions and picking sites.

Speaking of monitors. I once wheeled a half stripped Asteroids to Sega Star Trek conversion to the flatbed, laid it down, stood it up, muscled it into place, drove home 400 miles, laid it down, pulled it off, stood it up, wheeled it somewhere else and only later discovered that the Color Vector monitor in the thing wasn't hooked up or bolted down, and it didn't even have any front glass on it, so the monitor could have fallen out at any time.

[Nephasth]

Only ever had one game fall over on me. It was an Operation Wolf, monitor is in the bottom, pointed up at an angled mirror. Some dipshit came to a stop in the middle of the interstate for nothing. Slammed on the brakes pretty hard. The machine fell backwards onto the edge of the tail gate, then slid back into the bed slamming down again. I was selling this game and on my way to deliver it. When I got there, the mirror hadn't even cracked!