Good wheel dollies
 

I need to move a car around the shop no drivetrain and figure dollies will help make it easier in tight spaces. Cheap Harbor Freight ones worthless. Any suggestions?

Not cheap by anyone's standards, but they'll last a lifetime:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/GoJak...ck,403764.html

These are what wrecker drivers use to move cars out of parking spaces when they can't reach them with wheel lifts, because of the angle the car is parked on. There's probably something cheaper out there, but these dollies have an excellent reputation.

I've tried others. I considered the pneumatic ones from Eastwood. I broke down and bought a set of GoJaks. My only issue with my GoJak set is that I didn't buy it first!

Seriously, though. The GoJaks are heavy, sturdy, mechanical actuated, and super easy to use. The large casters make rolling the vehicle around the shop a simple task. I can easily press my knee against a tire and move the car in that direction. And the rolling rack is nice for storage.

My only caution would be if using them on a pitched floor. If you're not careful (or don't have a helper), one end of the car can get away from you and bump into something you don't want it to. They really do roll that easily!

Thanks guys! I could not even budge the Impala on the Harbor Freights and it has no motor/trans or interior!

Rocky a particular model seems like they have a lot of different ones.

And definitely no pitch to the ground around here on the Coastal Plains!

Skip, I will get you the model number when I get home and to the garage later tonight.

I bought these (10,000 lb version) from Summit 5 or 6 years ago. Wide casters require a little effort when changing direction but roll easily over concrete control joints.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mrm-m998035

I lightly spray the caster bearings with garage door roller lube from time to time

I did about the same with the cheap Harbor Freight type dollies.
Out of the package, the wheels would not hardly move and the swivel part about the same.

Packed with grease and they worked great. Move them easily, little pebbles sometimes cause a problem if just starting to move them.

:)

And using a jack under the rear end pumpkin and under the front frame crossmember gets a little spooky of falling off sometimes. A buddy uses that method to pack his cars within an 1" of each other!

My GoJaks are G6313.

I bought them from Speedway Motors during Covid. I drove down to Lincoln and picked them up in person to save on shipping.

I have a set similar to those. Two different vendors/suppliers. Each pair about the same money. I only used them one year to move the car around when the engine was broke. I had to rebuild one of the casters. It was easier if I pointed the casters in the direction I wanted to go. I could move the car fairly easily side to side. For and aft was a bit of a struggle.

Go jacks, the only one.

I know you poo-poo'd Harbor Freight, but you should give their Daytona 2500lb (10,000lb total) dollies a look. They are much better than their cheaper dollies. I use them to push my BMW around my shop and they are great.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2500-l...ece-58394.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/media/...8/58394_W8.jpg

I have the HF ones and don't have a problem with them. But....*anytime* I buy something with casters, new or used - I lube the axles and the rotating bits with lithium grease on an acid brush. It makes a world of difference! I last used the dollies on a 1971 A body with full drivetrain and interior, it worked fine and moved easily.

I have the HF Daytona dollies and they work great

I bought a set of Tire Skates over a decade ago and they’re working great, I don’t think that particular company is still in business. They were about $160 for the set, they look similar to the better quality Harbor Freight dollies.

Also bought another set again similar to the better quality HF dollies, no complaints. Definitely lube the axles and swivel bearings.

I have the Snap on Go jacks I bought when I had a truck account. You MUST buy the holder...
These are great, NO floor jack needed, they Jack themselves. the best, and worth it.
On a side note, Almost Any caster just hates a ZIP-TIE !!!.

Have 8-10 of the cheap gray HF dollies/ tire skates. Began buying them on sale, about 7 years ago. After attempting to use the first bunch of 2 pair of skates under one of my T/A's, I began carefully greasing the cheap casters w lubriplate. have also used Mystik JT-6.

With several floor jacks & cushioned jack pads in the shop, haven't seen a need to buy a set of Gojacks. With careful maneuvering I've also moved a few assembled rearends to an area next to my housing racks. If anything, I could use a small propane powered forklift so could build taller modular r/e housing racks, & a rack for assembled rears.

Ive been using those grey HF dollies for almost 10 years now, ungreased but will do that for next time, they work surprisingly well moving full drive train cars like 2nd gen TA's, also used the older beefier HF ones that had the metal wheel casters, the newer ones seem to work/roll quite a bit easier.

I do have a pretty smooth floor in my garage which helps but have let friends use them on older rough floors & they still work good for what they are, of course there are better ones but they cost 2-5 times as much.

After borrowing them, my friend with a early 80's Chevy truck bought a set & he keeps the truck on them year round so he can swing it around when needed to get access to other things in a smaller garage, I thought for sure the poly wheels would get damaged or have flat spots... they still roll & look like new after 2 years. For the price & hobbyist type use, they work very good and are definitely not worthless in my experiences.

I got some of the Summit brands in I'll let you know how they work ! They were not quite as pricey but look a little stouter.

I have the standard HF ones, and did lube the wheels. I did that out of habit before putting them to use, like all my shop equip w wheels.

My floor has a special coating, and is kind of 'bumpy', and work well enough for me on that.

I am going to need another pair though, let me know how the Summit ones work out.



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