How to get the welder in and out...

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Looking into getting a sa-200, or trailblazer and wondering what's the most common way to get them out of the bed...I live alone at the moment and help would be tough to come by.So, how do you get them up and down?Thanks,Jsm
Reply:Equipment, forklift, backhoe etc.Crane, A frame and chainfall, jib boom, engine hoist.Loading dock and a pallet jack.I've seen one done with ramps and a winch but that would be the very last choice to me..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:However you move it, never, never allow your body to be between the unit and wherever it may land should things go wrong.
Reply:I feel your pain. I just bought a Miller Dialarc 250 (my first welder) Friday and it's still sitting in my band trailer. I've been thinking of the engine hoist idea as the most accessible to me."Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem." -- John GalsworthyMy equipment. I'm new to welding:- Stick -- Miller Thunderbolt XL, 225/150, AC/DC   - MIG -- Miller Millermatic 211
Reply:I have none of those...^^^LolI was considering a cherrypicker but, unsure if it would work.
Reply:If your low on lifting equipment, I wonder if building a truck height storage dock, or cart, would be the answer. Then you would just have to deal with a slide out, rather than a lift. Scissors lift table?Good Luck
Reply:Buy all the material you need for a lift and have it ready for when you buy the welder. Make it and take the welder off the truck with it.Your choice between machines is something to consider as well. The SA200 weighs 1000# more than the Trailblazer. If You don't have a way to get it off the truck you better go for the lighter machine. Besides the Trailblazer will do way more than the SA200 for you.
Reply:Originally Posted by jsm11I have none of those...^^^LolI was considering a cherrypicker but, unsure if it would work.
Reply:Engine hoist (shop crane, cherry picker) works for me to move heavy stuff.  When that doesn't do the trick, I use a friend's forklift or skytrak.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Are you buying a new machine? If so, the local welding supply, (National Welders/AirGas), will deliver the machine to you, mine did at no added cost, Using one of there big gas cylinder delivery trucks equipped with a hydraulic lift tail gate.They delivered my trailblazer strapped to a pallet to the front door of my shop. I built a small running gear/trailer, used my truck and tow straps to drift welder from pallet onto trailer, secured it thru the manufactures bolt hole pattern. Hooked to bumper and traveled.  I think my trailerblazer has a dry weight some where around 750 lbs.Miller TrailBlazer 251Miller HF-250-1Miller MaxStar 150 STLHyperTherm PowerMax 380 plasmaLincoln PowerMig 180Millermatic 252Miller Diversion 180
Reply:Here's how I do it. That jib crane is the best thing I ever built. Attached ImagesQamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:Jsm11 take note of the dolly on the floor under the machine in DDA52's last shot. Once you get it off the truck it's nice to have something like that to sit it on to be able to shift it arround.DDA52 I see I'm not the only one who uses scaffold as shelves.  Nice shop and skid..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks, DSW. The shop is a work in progress. It only got half done before the economy bit me. As to the scaffold, I just made use of the horizontal space since I hadn't taken it down yet. It kinda stuck, too. At least it works. I'll get around to building the real shelves soon...I hope.Yup, the dolly is absolutely necessary. I use it to move stuff around when the skid isn't on it. It will have a bobcat bucket on it later today.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:The scaffold makes wonderful adjustable shelves, It's just hard to find extra beams cheap. I did a remodel job years ago for a home supply chain like Depot. We tossed tons of narrow 26" H frame in the dumpsters cleaning up the site before the bigwigs got there. I'd kill to have 6 or 8, 8 to 12 foot uprights and 30 or 40 of those cross rails. Some of the best adjustable shelves there is. The wider frames 36-48", will hold pallets no problem. Also makes a great mezzanine in tall shops with the right accessories..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:An engine hoist will work.  I had to unload a 1947 shorthood off of my truck a few months ago and I used an engine hoist.  They are about 1500 pounds.  It worked well on my concrete drive and rolled smoothly into my garage. After that I built an A-frame on steel casters that can easily lift 4500lbs. so as to lift a skid with machine, tool boxes, bottles and so forth out of a truck or trailer.Salas Repair General Welding & Fabrication
Reply:I go to job sites a lot, so I use an engine hoist. It was the bosses idea actually. And a good one. I get the Bobcat, in and out of the van by myself all the time. If I am really lazy, I will drive the van out from underneath it. Usually when the terrain is really bumpy. Ha-ha.  You can use ramps if you have a hoist as well. A lot of guys, put a round mount on the back of the truck, that will accept a piece of pipe that they put one 45 degree bend in. They mount a pulley at the end, and a small hoist on the vertical pipe. The whole boom swings 360, so they just lift up the welder and swing it into the truck, or out of the truck. Sometimes they leave the crane on. Sometimes they take the crane off. But one guy can do that as well.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:On a side note, on occasion I have welded with a welder in the van. On a rainy day, you can get a good electrical flow right through the side of the painted truck. Especially if your overalls are wet. And a brand new metal railing you are welding is on the other side of you. I was squeezing between the van and the railing. I asked the fellow I was with to turn it off. I was making funny movements. It must have looked like I wanted to get the railing pregnant. Ha-ha. I would have gotten out eventually, but I wanted it stop right then.        Sincerely,             William McCormick
Reply:Now that's funny!
Reply:TrailblazerBucket hooks on a tractor front end loader.Works wellIt's on a wheeled cart all the time.Mountain MetalDynasty 200DXCoolmate 1Miller Trailblazer 302 W/ KohlerMiller Suitcase 12VS Wire feederWeldcraft 26 TIG TorchMiller 210 Spoolmate 3035Thermal Dynamics 51 PlasmaVictor O/AJet  7x12 L Cooled Band SawDelta Drill Press