Games and stairs

firefgtn8

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My basement is finally completed. Now its time to move about 10 games down the steps. Does anyone know if you can rent a motorized stair climbing dolly? Do these work both up and down stairs? How about those furniture lifting straps, anyone tried those? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, my back is not what it used to be. My cheap dolly is not going to cut it.
 
Down is easy. Two guys one hand truck. Big guy on the bottom to keep the game from getting away. Guy on top is steering and keeping it tipped back.
Wait till you want to get one back out.
 
Find 4 guys and buy 2 cases of beer. Make sure they move the games before the beer. :)
 
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Sometimes local college sport programs will have fund raisers that involve moving furniture for people. I would see if there is anything like this in your area. $40 to a good cause and your games can get to the basement. At the very least a dolly is needed for it.
 
The blade width on those appliance dollies saved my TRON from utter destruction. I didn't have it strapped tight enough apparently and the rear wheels slipped. The lower back door was missing at the time and the blade hit that opening, with an inch or so to spare on either side (the sides of the cabinet prevented it from entering the space and slicing the PCB stack in half).
 
I move mine down stairs with one other buddy. No dolly, but the stairs are carpet. Just slide our down on its back.
 
Just to piggy back on the above post....

My lady and I move games from the garage with the dolly to the top of the stairs, then lay down a heavy duty comforter at the top of the stairs (no carpet on the stairs.) We lay the game on its back and slide it down, me below the game with the comforter wrapped around the bottom of the game to guide it...Once at the bottom stand it up and dolly it into place. This is also my first time to deal with stairs at all, I love the basement arcade but god dang its nuts getting them down there....LOL Good luck.
 
Do you actually own this specific dolly? Do the stair rollers have bearings/slide smoothly? How is it for going up stairs?

For going down I just do the same as some others here, lay the game on its back and slide it down (carpeted stairs).

I have essentially that same handtruck but with a ratchet strap (I don't like the kind in the link personally). The stair sliders work okay I guess, but I have only used them on concrete and wood stairs.

I would never move a game myself up and down any steps without help (or a powered handtruck). Too many things can go south in a hurry and it's good to have another pair of eyes, or a witness for the police when you get squished under a game.

Chris
 
I have essentially that same handtruck but with a ratchet strap (I don't like the kind in the link personally)

+1 to this!
The loop on the built in strap on mine cruses the cabinet corners. Just put a ratchet strap around it.


The thing i don't like about my dolly though, is it is not tall enough. i get bad bruises on my forearms from where the game rests on them. I need to either weld up some extensions or get a taller dolly.
 
I have that same type of dolly, and go down 4 stairs with it on my own quite frequently. Going up stairs I take the long route to my back yard where I only have to go up two stairs. Then I can get most up on my own. Championship Sprint being the exception... too f'n heavy for me to pull it up the stairs on my own.
 
The door to my basement (game room) is only 24" wide and 6' tall. It also has a 90 degree turn in the stair landing. This means I plan to stick with collecting cabarets or cocktail machines.

My standard method of getting them down there is:
1) call a friend
2) promise them beer afterwards
3) muscle that sucker down
4) swear that that's the last one :D
 
Preferred Methods:

1. Four big guys & beer after the job is done (as previously stated).

2. Piano Stretcher (from it's similarity to the stretchers used for injured soldiers). Also known as a "piano skid". You can see/purchase them at http://pianodolly-usa.com/ but they are very cheap to rent. I moved all 13 of my games into and out of a basement using one of these including an assembled sit-down Pole Position and an antique player piano (about 1200 lbs). But my new house has a walk-in basement. Easy as cake; piece of pie.

do-s-53.jpg


3. Hand truck (dolly). Also rentable.

4. Professional Movers. But they'll bang up your walls worse than #1 above.
 
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The door to my basement (game room) is only 24" wide and 6' tall. It also has a 90 degree turn in the stair landing. This means I plan to stick with collecting cabarets or cocktail machines.

My standard method of getting them down there is:
1) call a friend
2) promise them beer afterwards
3) muscle that sucker down
4) swear that that's the last one :D

Your entrance and procedure sounds identical to mine, but I'm lucky to have a 35" door (so I'm limited to 35x35 games, due to the width of the stair well). I've actually cheated a few times and started rotating a skinny but deeper game (DOT, for example) through the doorway on the last step instead of the landing. Might help you get a little larger game in there...
 
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