Good price on an appliance truck -- is it any good?

i just bought one from the harbor freight on stadium on saturday. used it to move a empty qbert cab down to my basement. it works good, the straps are nice. 2 things i dont like about it are the small wheels which i think makes it harder to move around and also the stair runners left some black marks on the carpet on my stairs.
 
Well, my stairs are relatively steep, so something taller like an appliance truck is preferable. I can't imagine bending down to hold on to the handles on a "normal" sized dolly while balancing a cab on this stairway...

I did some searching of the forums, looks like lots of people had issues with the stair climbers blowing out on other trucks from HF -- not too surprised I guess.

Sucks about the stains, Fudd -- did they come out? My stairs are also carpeted.
 
I wish they made a "hybrid" dolly that had the large base platform and inflatable wheels of a regular dolly, combined with the height, tension strap system, and "stair climbers" of an appliance dolly.

Anyway, I broke the bank and bought my $99 appliance dolly from Home Depot. But I buy lots of other stuff from Harbor Fright. Isn't everything made in China anyway?
 
The base on the harbor freight one has a extra bar that comes out to extend it. you can see it in the picture. i wouldnt have bought it with just the small base on it.

My wife hasnt seen the stains yet, when she finds them i'll let you know if she can get them out :)
 
I would stay away from that one. I use a hand truck with larger wheels, kinda like bicycle wheels. Works great going down stairs as well as general use. The one that you are spec'ing has real small wheels, that might be a problem.
 
The red $34.99 hand truck from Harbor Freight is what I have. 1000lb capacity and it moves Pole Position and Spy Hunter with relative ease.
 
I have the same cart hindered, never had a problem with my carpet and stairs, have used it on all of my upright games.
 
i just bought one from the harbor freight on stadium on saturday. used it to move a empty qbert cab down to my basement. it works good, the straps are nice. 2 things i dont like about it are the small wheels which i think makes it harder to move around and also the stair runners left some black marks on the carpet on my stairs.

I have this one and it did the same thing... black came out.

What I did notice is that the rubber "tracks" dont really move most of the time, which defeats the purpose...
 
Most of my experience relates to going down stairs..

I personally don't like the ones with the "tracks". I find that they will get away from you easier. I like a decent sized solid wheel, not bouncy, and most importantly a tall frame. The taller the truck, the less you will have to stoop over and get "under" the game.

For going up stairs, those tracks may help out a bit.
 
Anyway, I broke the bank and bought my $99 appliance dolly from Home Depot. But I buy lots of other stuff from Harbor Fright. Isn't everything made in China anyway?

Mine from Harbor Freight was made in Vietnam. I paid $50 for it and moved my 4 slot Neo Geo with relative ease into the house.
 
I have this one and it did the same thing... black came out.

What I did notice is that the rubber "tracks" dont really move most of the time, which defeats the purpose...

If the rubber tracks aren't moving that is what is causing the carpet marks, add a little lube

I bought the same one. I ended up removing the tracks. They do not move because they are too small for the holders and the holders do not have ball bearings in them. I used to have a commercial appliance dolly and the the stair rollers had ball bearings in them and moved like silk. I used a dry silicon spray lubricant to no avail. What I filnally did was remove them and used a pair of screwdrivers to pry the black track out of the holders and jammed a stick in on both sides to stretch the track. It took about 2 months of adding bigger sticks until I managed to get them stretched out enough to move freely.

The small wheels worked great when going up stairs because they don't require the same anount of lift that dollies with bigger wheels do. But the load was more unstable on flat surfaces.

The straps worked well on video games, but might be a little short on large cabinets.

My recommendation would be to pass on this one and get a little more industrial one with decent stair rollers. It may cost more, but how much will it cost if you dump a game?

ken
 
In my opinion, the base on appliance dollys are too wide and too short. I got this one from Depot for the same price:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053


Exactly the one I got. Works great when you have to go "off road" the small wheels blow when the sod is soft. This thing goes over it no problems. I just use a small ratchet strap to keep the load in place.

I wouldn't mind getting the 4wheel version of this some time though

http://www.globalindustrial.com/g/m...bing/steel-professional-appliance-hand-trucks
 
:hijacked:

Since we are talking dollies for arcade games, has anybody tried one of these: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200381541_200381541

They look cool, but I am just wondering how well they work.

ken

I like it! A Damnation Alley version!

damnation-alley_1425459i.jpg
 
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