The Surface Plate is Moved!!! Here are the pics...

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Since so many people said I couldn't move it and it wasn't worth the trouble I decided I had to do it.  So, after much pondering and brainstorming I came up with a plan.  Here is how it went:First - it had to move about 30 feet to line up with the door.  I ended up using an Enerpac portapower as the main jack for the entire move.  It had about 8" of linear travel and worked great.  So, jacked it up one side at a time and got the "caterpillar" machinery trucks under it.Continued in next post
Reply:The owner of the building did loan me a forklift - a 5000lb model that would not lift even one side at a time.  To make it worse, someone had modified the controls to reverse them - ever tried running a forklift with reversed controls?  It's a pain!  Anyway, I just used it as a support to keep the plate from kicking out.Ok - now to lift one side and block it.  Still using the support frame it was on since it was very strong and stable.How the jack was appliedKeep goingI finally got it up to the required 34" height.  Everything to this point was done by me working alone.
Reply:Originally Posted by TubularFab:First - it had to move about 30 feet to line up with the door.
Reply:That was all before lunch.  After lunch I got the trailer and also a couple of helpers.  The goal now was to cut the support frame in two under the plate.  The frame was made with 4" x 3/4" angle iron - massive stuff.  Since I was reaching in to do it I cheated and used a big #3 tip on the Harris torch.  I cut the long way across the leg of the iron very quickly!  Anyway, the support stand had nice, solid pipe columns in it, and I decided that it would be a good base to set the plate on so I could back the trailer under.  After cutting it I slid the one side out, spun it 180 degrees and put the edge in under the plate.  Reblocked it there, and then did about the same on the other side.The entire goal was to create a hole to back the trailer in under it.  I ended up with 1.5 - 2" to spare on each side of the trailer.  The fun part was backing around a turn and up the ramp into the correct spot with no room for error.  Talk about threading a needle!  Use the enerpac to work it down onto the trailer with 6 x 6 timbers underneath to keep it off the fenders.continued...
Reply:Thats a much smaller trailer than I originally thought you had. Looking good so far. I can't wait to see the rest..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:This is where we realized there was a problem.  With the tires fully aired up they were squashed half way to the rims.  About this time a neighbor that knew the previous owner stopped by.  He said the PO told him the 20,000lbs was the actual weight after it had been cut.  We were banking on the fact that it was a 10' x 20' cut in half, and assumed the weight tag was before the cut.  More on that to follow...Anyway, at 6:00 pm I towed it down main street to my shop with a car following to block.  I kept it slow - 15 mph tops!  And, it went just fine.  Here is a pic of the tires when we got to the shop:Here I am feeling quite relieved of 2 things:1.  Everything went safely without a hitch!2.  The expecting wife that's at the end of the pregnancy and has been having random contractions for a couple weeks did not call with an urgent need to go to the hospital while I was in the middle of the move!And, here are a couple of pics of a project earlier this week that I really needed the table for:That cage was built from a computer model at my shop, then fitted to the chassis at the customer's shop.  They then proceded to check the positions of all the tubes with a Faro Arm coordinate measuring machine.  So, I really really need a good flat surface to do stuff like this on!Oh - I mentioned I had more to say on the weight.  I decided just now to calculate what the top surface of this thing weighs alone not counting all the webbing.  For the 2.5" thick x 10' x 10' top alone I came up with 20.83 cubic feet of cast iron x 450lbs per cubic foot = 9375lbs!  So, I'm starting to think the 20,000lbs might be about right.  No wonder the truck needed granny gear to get going...  Definitely my heaviest load ever!I'm now starting to think about cutting it exactly in half.  I would then come up with a way to bolt it back together mating two of the machined sides.  Shouldn't be too hard to level each one up and get it all flat and parallel.  Some plates are made to unbolt in 8' sections and have keyways on the edges to align them.  Can't put the keyway in, but can bolt it!So, there's phase one complete.  I'll be sure to document the cutting when I get to it.
Reply:DSW - It's only a 16' trailer, but is way overbuilt.  The frame rails are 6" channel doubled up with 4" x 1/2" angle iron.  The decking is 1/4" thick expanded metal.  It is a tank - weighs in at 4800lbs empty.  But, it could really use better axles, wheels, and tires for sure!  This was definitely too much for them - but ok since we went so slow and less than a mile.
Reply:Awesome.  Thanks for taking the pictures.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:I love the tailights! But those tires, are they 14.5"?City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:That's a baby load for that truck.  I got the year, make, model and configuration.  I scaled it with our big horse trailer with 6 horses and all the stuff to go with them 88 gal of diesel fuel, and three people in the truck 27,975Lbs.    Towed the combo from California to Virginia several times, Texas and Oklahoma more than i can count, Florida, Canada and all points between.80 MPH no problems got 12-15 MPGS we would run wheel rolling for 6-8 hours at a time.That load was kids stuff.    The trailer looks very pissed off,. the sooner you can get that weight off of there the better.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:PLEASE!!!!!!!Start a thread on the construction of the chassis!
Reply:I sure enjoyed reading this, and looking at the pics"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Wow... quite a saga!  Whew, I'm glad you made it... got to say... those squished tires were sceaming maybe you wouldn't!  Ditto what Dualie said, "The trailer looks very pissed off; the sooner you can get that weight off of there the better."  Great Read!Rick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet
Reply:Originally Posted by tanglediverI love the tailights! But those tires, are they 14.5"?
Reply:Originally Posted by AndyAWhat are those tailights?  Old blackout lamps from something military?
Reply:Sweet dude!Thanks for the writeup!1981 Lincoln SA 200Miller Trailblazer 302gMiller 211 Mig Welder w/ AutosetI'm learning to stick metal together
Reply:Good job..Love the truck....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:impressive project to take on.good work and good luck on the rest of it. Nice work on the work in your shop also.
Reply:The trailer lights are some sort of military units.  The funny thing is there are cheap modern bases screwed into the inside for the standard 1157 bulbs.  But, they make great heavy duty, sealed enclosures and I've never had them let me down!The tires are 14.5's and I hate them.  But, they've done quite well and I've put a bunch of miles on them.  They are REALLY old, and all about bald now.  I've owned the trailer since 1997, and they were old and worn when I got it!  The axles/springs are in a weird configuration.  The back 2 axles are on typical equalizing shackels, and the front is independant.  I think it was added later.  Makes for a trailer that likes to sit level!  You can unhook it from the truck and it'll balance out level if there's no weight on it.  I always fingured I'd put a set of good 6000lb axles with 12" brakes and 8 lug hubs on it when these tires were finally done.  It's just kept on being a workhorse as is though!  I did discover today that the tires were down on pressure a little bit.  The axles are holding it fine - still have some counter-arch in them.I measured the hollows in the plate today, and sure enough I'm calculating that baby at just over 20,000lbs!  I guess our logic on thinking the plate with 20,960lbs stamped on it being the weight prior to it being cut down was flawed!  Must be the current weight.The truck is an early '99 6 speed 2wd built in '98.  Has the little turbo, little injectors, and little hpop but still runs pretty strong.  Have a Diablo flash on it to give a little more low end grunt.  The truck has 318,000 miles on it now and I've owned it since it hit 280k.  I got it from the company I worked for for almost nothing and don't regret it.  Still sounds and drives like a new one - not even on rattle inside the cab.Last edited by TubularFab; 08-07-2010 at 10:23 PM.
Reply:Well done on the move Tubular fab, I wouldn't have done anything different.
Reply:That's a baby load for that truck
Reply:I moved a 15 ton engine using grease and an enerpac jack.  It was easy once you started it moving but if it sat for more than a minute, the grease would squeeze out from under the engine's feet and then it would take some effort to get it moving again.
Reply:Great post!!! Can`t wait to see the cutting post!!!!!I got a laugh out of the use off the ratchet straps! Like that pig is going anywhere!!!Great job!!!!!200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Originally Posted by MX727They look exactly the same as the ones on my mil-surplus water buffalo.
Reply:holy crap!!!!!!!  that's a MOVE!Now for the "easy" bit:  move it inside your shop.Good Move!I thought maybe TF was waiting for the marbles to be delivered.Or I wondered if TubularFfab was gonna wait for the next snow storm, or if he was gonna get a dump truck load at the ice company - and then drag the plate with the dump truck's box raised and the tailgate chained open to spread ice. Don't let the plate's mass mislead you, it definitely needed to be tied down.One false move and the trailer would separate from the plate faster than a magician yanks the tablecloth.   Then you'd have your hands full. Good Luck
Reply:I agree on the tie downs as well. Think of it as tying the trailer to the plate, not as tying the plate to the trailer.
Reply:Wow, impressive move  Originally Posted by \\NV.Welding//20k on the trailer, trailer weighs 4800, and the crew can dually has to weigh 9k or close to it... 33,800lbsi wouldnt wanna stop it with little hydraulic brakes
Reply:Pull the trailer forward, dig post footings, built frame for the table on top of the post footings, put surface plate on top of the frame, build a 'temp' structure around the surface plate.  Use it.You had those tires waaaay overloaded.    20K plate + 5K trailer = 25k+ weight.  Six tires means over 4000 lbs per tire if they all shared the load equally.  I'll consider the tongue weight as just so little as to ignore it for the tire load.  Besides, the load was pretty much centered over the tires/axles, so almost all of the load weight was going right to the tires/axles.And are you driving around with hoses and regulators on you tanks?      Are you -trying- to get in trouble?    Cylinder -ALWAYS- have to be capped when in transport.  At least  you -did- tie the load down.  No matter what, you really can't or don't rely on gravity to keep a load in place.I'm all for get it done and DIY.  But you have to do things safely.  I think in this case Murphy was looking someplace else and Lady Luck was glancing in your direction.  It's better to plan and be safe than to rely on luck.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Originally Posted by daddyI agree on the tie downs as well. Think of it as tying the trailer to the plate, not as tying the plate to the trailer.
Reply:Depending on the weight rating of the axles on the trailer you might have been able to "axle" that load out but you were definitely over the trucks GCVWR but that rating is B.S.  its amazing how well these newer trucks handle the weight.   but i also agree on the tie downs, more is better but at a certain point your really just holding the trailer to the load.   I will warn you if you tow regularly to service the rear end frequently.   Those Dana 80's aren't all they're cracked up to be. 75-140 gear oil is what they love and i personally use synthetic in that application (Now)  My truck with 368,000 is on its second R&P.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Ironically Duallie, the move was postponed a week due to the fact I had the differential apart.  A couple of weekends ago I was installing a 5th wheel and happened to grab the driveshaft to pull myself on the creeper.  Problem was, it moved!  I had radial and axial play in the pinion shaft.  For some reason the outer race of the front pinion bearing and the inner race of the rear pinion bearing both spun machining some play into both ends.  The bearings were fine - cannot figure out why they spun.  But, for now it's patched with Loktite RC620 and a couple of new bearings while I look for a deal on another whole rear to rebuild.  Oddly enough the R & P look great!  It's had religious service with the synthetic 75-140 changed pretty regularly.
Reply:We blew the rear end on our F350 dually flat bed hauling a bunch of tires.  Now we use it as a trailer to move gear boxes for our boats.  The box weighs 6 tons.  We use the forklift on the back side to lighten the load a little and as propulsoin as one of the axles is broken in the rear end.  6 tons in the back of a 92 F350 dually puts the axle against the frame and touches the tread fo the rim on all 4 tires.
Reply:that's a totally different rear end than the 99 up dually's.   the pre 99's had 10.25" sterling axles.Vantage 500's LN-25's, VI-400's, cobramatics, Miller migs, synch 350 LX, Powcon inverters, XMT's, 250 Ton Acurrpress 12' brake, 1/4" 10' Atlantic shear,Koikie plasma table W/ esab plasmas. marvel & hyd-mech saws, pirrana & metal muncher punches.
Reply:Originally Posted by TubularFabIronically Duallie, the move was postponed a week due to the fact I had the differential apart.  A couple of weekends ago I was installing a 5th wheel and happened to grab the driveshaft to pull myself on the creeper.  Problem was, it moved!  I had radial and axial play in the pinion shaft.  For some reason the outer race of the front pinion bearing and the inner race of the rear pinion bearing both spun machining some play into both ends.  The bearings were fine - cannot figure out why they spun.  But, for now it's patched with Loktite RC620 and a couple of new bearings while I look for a deal on another whole rear to rebuild.  Oddly enough the R & P look great!  It's had religious service with the synthetic 75-140 changed pretty regularly.