# Driving 650 Miles In 1/2 Ton Nissan Titan And Need To Load A 1236 Asian Metal Lathe



## bloomingtonmike (Jul 16, 2016)

Hi everyone. 

Soon I need to make a 650 mile trip to pickup a Birmingham 1236 metal lathe. It has been converted to CNC so it weighs slightly less than a full gear head lathe but still ~1000lbs. I want to put it in the bed of my Nissan Titan King cab (think extended cab). 

My challenge - The place I am buying it from does not have a roll up door at ground height - only semi docks. 

My plan is to haul the lathe off the stand on a pallet in the bed of my truck.

So my choices are 
1. Roll it out a front pedestrian door and load it in my truck but without the use of their fork truck 

2. Lower it off the dock into the bed of my truck with straps and a fork truck.

Any advice on how to load it safely in either of the two methods above?

Third option is to pay for freight but I am dealing with a freight damaged latheh right now and really do not want to risk another deal.


----------



## bloomingtonmike (Jul 16, 2016)

bloomingtonmike said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> Soon I need to make a 650 mile trip to pickup a Birmingham 1236 metal lathe. It has been converted to CNC so it weighs slightly less than a full gear head lathe but still ~1000lbs. I want to put it in the bed of my Nissan Titan King cab (think extended cab).
> 
> ...


----------



## JimDawson (Jul 16, 2016)

bloomingtonmike said:


> So my choices are
> 1. Roll it out a front pedestrian door and load it in my truck but without the use of their fork truck
> 
> 2. Lower it off the dock into the bed of my truck with straps and a fork truck.




I don't like either method.  But I suppose lowering it off of the dock might be the best.

How big is their forklift?  If it's around 5K# capacity you can hang pretty much off the ends of the forks and tilt forward to the max.  

You could also make a boom to go on the forklift.  Like this.  This one is 8ft long and I have lifted over 1000 with it.  6x6 3/8 wall square tubing.  





Or maybe rent one of these


----------



## FOMOGO (Jul 16, 2016)

The forklift shouldn't have any issue lifting and placing it. I would use 2-3 appropriately rated lifting straps so as to balance the load and prevent scarring up the finish. Loop a short piece of chain through the strap ends and hook it over one of the forks and you can steer it by hand as it's lowered. Doing it outside with no mechanical help sounds like it would be tough. Jims boom idea is a good one if they have one, but I doubt they would use anything you brought along due to liability issues. Most freight company forklifts should be large enough and have long enough forks to place it safely in your truck from the dock. Hope it all goes well for you. Mike


----------



## 4GSR (Jul 18, 2016)

I know it's lots of trouble to do,  I would un bolt the lathe from that sheet metal base and set the lathe itself down in the bed of your truck.  If you don't, well lets hope nothing disastrous happens..


----------



## bloomingtonmike (Jul 18, 2016)

Yes the plan is to haul the lathe off the base. The reason is that I did just got a refund from a seller that did not unbolt it when he shipped one to me and it did fall over in freight shipping. He was responsible and is now setting with the freight company himself.


----------



## Junkyard Jim (Jul 18, 2016)

Unless I missed it, you don't mention how you are going to unload it at your place. I always load stuff with unloading in mind. It sounds like they have the equipment to get it loaded easy enough. How do you plan to unload?


----------



## kd4gij (Jul 19, 2016)

Rent a truck with a lift gate.


----------



## Ulma Doctor (Jul 19, 2016)

if i may interject an idea,
buy a sheet of sacrificial plywood or OSB.
disconnect lathe from base
extend the plywood from the tailgate and set the lathe as far forward on the sheet as possible.
then simply push the extended portion of the sheet back into the bed with the forklift until your tail gate closes.
to remove the lathe, simply add  suitable lengths of either pipe rollers or other rollers under the plywood or OSB as you are retracting the lathe.
a comealong or cherry picker could be used to great advantage for removal
the lathe will be heaviest towards the headstock end, the center of gravity should be near the first casting web going from the headstock to the tailstock.
the lathe will want to roll to the motor side, a simple leveling rig could be made from a ratchet strap to the motor mount to control roll.
in effect, this is a 2 point pick and is very steady.
i hope the information is helpful
i made a video making of a shipping crate the shows my method.
if you skip to around the 2:00 mark, you can see the pick on a jet 1024.
i would do the 1236 pick very similar, if it were my job to do.


----------



## bloomingtonmike (Aug 3, 2016)

Junkyard Jim said:


> Unless I missed it, you don't mention how you are going to unload it at your place. I always load stuff with unloading in mind. It sounds like they have the equipment to get it loaded easy enough. How do you plan to unload?




I have a 3320 John Deere utility tractor with a loader and forks to unload it.

Decided to have the seller crate it up fully, everything bolted down and strapped, fully surrounded everything in 1/2" osb, and am shipping it freight on two pallets with the lathe off the stand. My buddy backed out of the trip and honestly its just safer to have them load in a semi and then I will get it at a terminal that can load it into a borrowed car hauler trailer with a forklift. When I get home Johnny will unload it off the trailer.


----------



## rrjohnso2000 (Aug 3, 2016)

Easier is a wonderful luxury. You will be happy with your decesion.


----------



## bloomingtonmike (Aug 4, 2016)

Here is the packaged lathe on two pallets. Hope to get it trucked out tomorrow.


----------



## bloomingtonmike (Aug 14, 2016)




----------

