Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[JRobyn]

I have used these "piano movers" many times to..... move pianos! Weighing maybe 600-800lbs. It is prudent to occasionally lube the wheels and the caster swivels and check the hold-down nuts. After bouncing in a trailer for a few hundred miles once, I found about half the nuts on the trailer floor.

 

[newbury]

The wood dollies are ideal for moving furniture and other cases where it won't stay loaded long enough (months) to get flat spots on the wheels.

I just noticed one of the nuts holding a caster has disappeared off one of mine. At HF final QC is left to the customer. Don't take uniform quality for granted, inspect when new and after a while.

<snip>

I must push mine around enough in my various ramblings around the shops because I have not noticed any bad flat spots yet.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

What's this? On the HF website 'Vulcan' returns only welding consumables, gloves, and this welding cart.

Looks like they will soon have a new line of (more expensive?) welders. Searching 'Vulcan Welder' returns a manufacturer in India.

I bought one of those carts when they had the 25% off at July 4th. It is a very nice unit, heavy, drawers roll nice. I am thinking of putting a steel top on it for a welding table. I use it for my O/A tanks and stuff. I have one of the smaller ones to put my arc welder on. It is equally nice. waiting to see reviews on the new Vulcan line of welders.

Ron

 

[sixdogs]

I bought one of those carts when they had the 25% off at July 4th. It is a very nice unit, heavy, drawers roll nice. I am thinking of putting a steel top on it for a welding table. I use it for my O/A tanks and stuff. I have one of the smaller ones to put my arc welder on. It is equally nice. waiting to see reviews on the new Vulcan line of welders.

Ron

Cart mentioned is too light for a welding table. I made one out of square stock with a wood top and put a piece of 1/4" plate on top. That's my welding table that, if I ever wanted, could be a HD rolling bench in a few seconds.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

N
How difficult is that to swap out?

Not difficult at all, really. A few mods were needed.

I had to make a motor mount because the plane of the pulley was different on the replacement. A couple of pieces of perforated square tubing allowed me to move the motor where I needed it. Then I had to measure the belts, and order something to fit. The new compressor had a double groove instead of a single like the old one. I could have run with one belt, but I decided to go with the double, so that needed a new pulley for the motor. But then, I needed a new one anyway because the diameter of the new compressor pulley was different. I looked up a pulley ratio calculator online to determine the new motor pulley size to keep the pump RPM where it should be.

That was the most complicated part. Then I had to craft some custom plumbing because the old compressor had a half inch outlet, and the new one is 3/4". Not a big deal. I took the opportunity to put a new pressure switch on it, too. Didn't trust the old one, but at the moment I don't remember why.

So, it sure wasn't plug and play but nothing to be afraid of. Any handy man should be able to do it with no problem. :drink:

 

[Garandman]

Are the furniture Dolly's you can get for like $8 worth it? I want to build wheeled platforms for my sprayer (60 lbs) bush hog (500 lbs) and tiller (650 lbs).

For the sprayer I just need one. For the hog and tiller I need 2 each for sure. May need 4 just to have wheels in all the right places. Thinking of cutting them up to get the wheels and build my own platforms out of scrap pallets and dimensional lumber I have.

They sell loose casters as well.
Rigid Casters & Rigid Caster Wheels
Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

We use the small dollies to put implements like pallet forks, wood chipper etc. to roll around the garage. We use two for the 450 lb wood chipper, no problem.

Have two of the "big wheel" hand trucks and find them invaluable. 7 lb. Capacity Bigfoot Hand Truck

 

[aczlan]

They sell loose casters as well.
Rigid Casters & Rigid Caster Wheels
Harbor Freight Tools – Quality Tools at Discount Prices Since 1977

We use the small dollies to put implements like pallet forks, wood chipper etc. to roll around the garage. We use two for the 450 lb wood chipper, no problem.

Have two of the "big wheel" hand trucks and find them invaluable. 7 lb. Capacity Bigfoot Hand Truck

I found it interesting to compare the "250# rated" loose wheels to the wheels on the "1000# rated" cart. The loose wheels are significantly larger and heavier than the ones on the cart which are supposedly rated for the same weight.

Aaron Z

 

[lennyzx11]

Are the furniture Dolly's you can get for like $8 worth it? I want to build wheeled platforms for my sprayer (60 lbs) bush hog (500 lbs) and tiller (650 lbs).

For the sprayer I just need one. For the hog and tiller I need 2 each for sure. May need 4 just to have wheels in all the right places. Thinking of cutting them up to get the wheels and build my own platforms out of scrap pallets and dimensional lumber I have.

I have a few of them and all get used consistently with no damage or problems so far. I set a chunk of 4x4 on one, then set the front of my rotary cutter down over it. That and the tail wheel allows one handed moving of the cutter on a concrete floor.

 

[California]

...
Have two of the "big wheel" hand trucks and find them invaluable. 7 lb. Capacity Bigfoot Hand Truck

I have that hand truck. Its excellent to use however the tires don't hold air between my infrequent uses of it. If the air loss isn't in the tread area I doubt Slime in the tires would help. (HF seems to sell a lot of Slime, I wonder why? )

I've thought about welding up a frame I can mount on that hand truck to make it a trailer for towing my harvest ladders down into the orchard. If I'm not towing the 4x8 trailer then I carry the 8 and 11 ft ladders crosswise above the front loader and zig-zag around dodging tree props. Towing these and longer ladders behind me lengthwise would work better. Another project for when I get around to it. Has anyone done this?

 

[aczlan]

I've thought about welding up a frame I can mount on that hand truck to make it a trailer for towing my harvest ladders down into the orchard. If I'm not towing the 4x8 trailer then I carry the 8 and 11 ft ladders crosswise above the front loader and zig-zag around dodging tree props. Towing these and longer ladders behind me lengthwise would would work better. Another project for when I get around to it. Has anyone done this?

I would suggest using a 3 point trailer mover for the front, make a swivel bracket that connects to the top of it and connect the top of the ladder to that. Then strap the bottom of the ladder to the hand truck. When not moving ladders, hook the hand truck to the trailer mover bracket so it hangs off of the ground.

Aaron Z

 

[California]

I would suggest using a 3 point trailer mover for the front, make a swivel bracket that connects to the top of it and connect the top of the ladder to that. Then strap the bottom of the ladder to the hand truck.
Aaron Z

Thanks! That broadens my perspective on how to design it.

The trailer mover will have a wider wheelbase so it takes the place of something awkward on the tractor needed to prevent the trailer from tipping over on rough sloping ground. I would be towing the ladders behind this little carryall platform (with a six ft ladder on it in this photo) so mounting a structure on the platform wouldn't leave much space for fruit bins. Here's an old photo with the longer ladders that are too big to carry crosswise.

All this is for picking the few family trees in the orchard, the commercial harvest is contracted to a neighbor.

=====
Major revision to this post: superseded by #7793 below. I'll leave this post unchanged since #7793 is based on this.

 

[PhysAssist]

I have that hand truck. Its excellent to use however the tires don't hold air between my infrequent uses of it. If the air loss isn't in the tread area I doubt Slime in the tires would help. (HF seems to sell a lot of Slime, I wonder why? )

I've thought about welding up a frame I can mount on that hand truck to make it a trailer for towing my harvest ladders down into the orchard. If I'm not towing the 4x8 trailer then I carry the 8 and 11 ft ladders crosswise above the front loader and zig-zag around dodging tree props. Towing these and longer ladders behind me lengthwise would would work better. Another project for when I get around to it. Has anyone done this?

I have one of these, in addition to a much larger one that was sourced at TSC, and the HF gets the most use- primarily because it fits through normal doorways.

We have never had a problem with the tires holding air, but after about a year of using it for bringing in 1/2 barrels of firewood, the welds holding the wheel hub onto the wheel broke, leaving the hub on the axle, and the tire and wheel completely unattached.

We bought a new HF wheel/tire assembly, and XC for the color mismatch [the new one was white], we have continued to use it without further problems- despite my tendency to load it so heavily that my 270#-ish body weight can barely lift the load to roll it.

 

[California]

Major revision to my post above: I was thinking 'trailer mover' was this:

while the suggested 3-point trailer mover is something different.

Anyhow - I need the rear platform shown in that photo linked in my prior post. Then I could tow behind it this type of 'trailer mover' supporting the front of the ladders, and as discussed the HF dolly at the back end of the ladders.

 

[newbury]

I have that hand truck. Its excellent to use however the tires don't hold air between my infrequent uses of it. If the air loss isn't in the tread area I doubt Slime in the tires would help. (HF seems to sell a lot of Slime, I wonder why? )

I've thought about welding up a frame I can mount on that hand truck to make it a trailer for towing my harvest ladders down into the orchard. If I'm not towing the 4x8 trailer then I carry the 8 and 11 ft ladders crosswise above the front loader and zig-zag around dodging tree props. Towing these and longer ladders behind me lengthwise would work better. Another project for when I get around to it. Has anyone done this?

I've also got that handtruck and it leaks. But I used to just run it by my $39 (on special) HF compressor, now I use my $354 29 gal 150 PSI compressor because it is situated better.

I've a 12' fiberglass step ladder and a 24' extension ladder that I occasionally carried on my B7610. I'd put the ladder on the ROPS and on the front and hold on. Probably should think of tying it down.

 

[bcp]

When you buy a hand truck in the HF store, squeeze the tires, then buy the one with the hardest tires. I did this on two, and they stay up at a useful pressure for 6-9 months.

Bruce

 

[Travelover]

When you buy a hand truck in the HF store, squeeze the tires, then buy the one with the hardest tires. I did this on two, and they stay up at a useful pressure for 6-9 months.

Bruce

I bet you always pick the best watermelons, too. :laughing::laughing:

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I bet you always pick the best watermelons, too. :laughing::laughing:

And women?... :ashamed:

 

[PhysAssist]

And women?... :ashamed:

In that case, I'd prefer an ability to pick cantaloupes or grapefruits...

 

[4get gto]

In that case, I'd prefer an ability to pick cantaloupes or grapefruits...

Couldn't stop there could you.? :laughing:

 

[TomSeller]

In that case, I'd prefer an ability to pick cantaloupes or grapefruits...

Are you saying size matters?