Easy way to move games around?

scottkeen

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I have space in my man-cave for 1 upright arcade (there's a bar, poker table, other stuff in there). By the end of today, I'll have 3 uprights. My plans are to keep 2 in the garage and rotate them in to the man-cave. The garage has 1 step up and then it's just a down the hall to the man cave. The flooring downstairs is all tile.

My question is, what's the best way of moving these arcades around without raising their height too much? I've put the gray caster wheels from Lowes on 2 of the arcades, but I don't really like how it raises the arcade height up 2-3".

The dolly hand truck I have is hard to handle and move around my crowded garage when moving a heavy arcade by myself.

Ideally, I'd like some kind of low-profile wheel/slider solution. I've seen some pics of arcades with recessed wheels, but a) don't know where they got those, and b) don't know how I'd retrofit that to the arcade without ripping out the bottom and putting in a new floor.
 
I've had luck with carpet sliders on tile, as long as the tile & the sliders are both reaaaaaaaly clean, and you're not going to be moving them around a lot.

But, then again, maybe felt-backed feet would be better for the hard surfaces...
 
I've had luck with carpet sliders on tile, as long as the tile & the sliders are both reaaaaaaaly clean, and you're not going to be moving them around a lot.

But, then again, maybe felt-backed feet would be better for the hard surfaces...

I think the problem with that is going to be moving them from around in the garage to the hallway. While the garage floor is smooth'ish, the step up from the garage to the inside of the house is rough brushed concrete and anything but wheels would get stuck, I think.

The only thing I can think of is some kind of in-board low-profile wheels, either 2 on the back corners or all 4.

My Delta table saw has a good wheel system. There are two fixed front wheels that are always in contact with the ground, and there is a 3rd rear wheel which is on a foot-lever. Push down on the foot lever and it raises the back of the saw up you can wheel it around. Lift up on the foot lever and it drops the saw down and the 3rd wheel doesn't make contact with the ground

Notice the 3rd wheel with the foot lever in this photo (not mine):
dts_mod_1.jpg
 
I can recommend the teflon leg levelers from quarterarcade.com for sliding/moving your games around on the flat tiles and other flat surfaces.

They work great on my uprights that will take them (any Ataris, Bally/Midways, Gottliebs, probably others). However, they don't really work that well for the Williams classics (Robotron, Joust, Sinistar, etc.) unless you get an extender of sorts as the length of the legs are not quite long enough since Williams games have a recessed portion underneath.

http://www.quarterarcade.com/Game.aspx/8166

Jon
 
I have my games on plywood stands, with 2 strips of carpet rems glued to the underside. Protects from water damage, they're easy to slide around, and only raises the game less than 1 inch. Reduces damage to the cabinet from the carts, or sliding the game directly on the floor. Reduces damage to the floor as well. The carpet just slips right over it.

MrDocabaret2.jpg
 
I have my games on plywood stands, with 2 strips of carpet rems glued to the underside. Protects from water damage, they're easy to slide around, and only raises the game less than 1 inch. Reduces damage to the cabinet from the carts, or sliding the game directly on the floor. Reduces damage to the floor as well. The carpet just slips right over it.

MrDocabaret2.jpg

Great idea man - really sweet. Just curious - are you cutting all of the stands to the same dimensions or are you custom-sizing them per-game?
 
Great idea man - really sweet. Just curious - are you cutting all of the stands to the same dimensions or are you custom-sizing them per-game?

I had originally custom cut them for each game. But many games have come and gone since I first made them, so some of them aren't a perfect fit now.
 
Or you could mame one of your cabinets and you wouldn't need to rotate them.
 
It sounds like the only problem you have with the sliding is the 1 step up from the garage. Might I suggest building a small portable ramp of sorts?

Drop it down on the steps and slide right up from the garage all the way to the "man-cave". You should be able to craft a ramp that's strong enough and smooth enough. Would help your back out too!

Otherwise you can cut out the back bottom of each machine a bit and place 2 heavy duty wheels there. Sort of like how, if I recall, some of the nintendo cabs have by default.
 
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