Taking home a large egg

Aron

Sunday is the big day. I will finally be getting a large big green egg. One dealer in my area does not allow customer pickup because he says it's too heavy and fragile, while another says that 90% of his customers pick theirs up at the store. I would like to do a self pickup so I can get the egg the same day and don't have to wait around for a delivery, since I'm generally pretty busy.
Does anyone have tips on how to transport one of these suckers in a mini-van? I've heard they can be taken apart for easier carrying. About how heavy is the heaviest piece (I don't make a habit of carrying 140 pounds around on a regular basis)? Should I line the floor of the van with eggcrates? All tips would be appreciated. Thanks.[p]Aron

WessB

Aron,
It should be packaged for transport when you get it, you may have to get them to help you load it..then at home you can remove it from the van one piece at a time, shouldn`t be a problem..assembly is very minimal..Congrats.[p]Wess

Chris

Aron,
I picked mine up from the dealer. It was packaged in a heavy cardboard shipping container; pieces inside wrapped seperately. The dealer used a dolly and loaded in my truck. This was fine for getting it home. Once home it it is best to un-crate in your vehicle and carry each piece to the assembly location(unless you have a good dolly and some help).
You should have no problem with most of the pieces except for the Egg Bottom it is difficult to get a hold of and weighs about 70-80 pounds. I was able to pick-up and carry but almost dropped it--don't take the chance.[p]In the past I have moved heavy & bulky objects in different ways like putting on a piece of old carpet and dragging, I once used my son's skateboard(this works very well and skateboards can take a lot of weight.[p]Main thing is to be careful and not to get into a rush and perhaps damage it. Also be careful about moving the BGE even when it is on the wheeled nest. Just hitting one little twig could send everything over;ALWAYS PULL NEVER PUSH!!

Unknown

Aron,
My suggestion would be to transport it in the packaging it came in. Once you get home, take one piece at a time to the final set up area. One tip in carrying the heaviest piece, the bottom... reach down through the top and put your hand through the bottom vent. Put the other hand whereever it is comfortable. This is much safer that trying to hug your arms around a slick egg and carry it. Happy egging.
Cold beers and hot butts,
Seth

The Naked Whiz

Aron,
I picked mine up assembled at my dealer. We just stood it up in the back of an Explorer, put some other stuff up against it and carefully drove home. No big deal.[p]TNW

Julie

Aron,
Congratulations on your new BGE! You won't be disappointed. If the back of your vehicle is full with whatever, it also can sit on a seat and seatbelt it in. I've delivered many this way. The others are right on target about leaving it in the original packing until you get it home. Find a friend to help to help take it out or take it out in pieces. Have your table handy to put it in right away. Nests are great if you don't move them, but for my money a table no matter what size is the best if you have the room. They usually don't cost much more that the nest and mate if you or someone are handy with tools. Happy Egging!

KennyG

<p />Aron,[p]Congrats on the forthcoming new toy and welcome to the family and forum. And old set of luggage wheels can come in very handy here. I routinely use mine to transport the larger Eggs from the garage to the deck when Summer finally arrives in Cleveland.[p]K~G

Julie

KennyG,
Why do you put it in the garage for the winter? My BGE sits on my deck uncovered 24/7 in Iowa. The only problem I have ever had was the day after a snow storm and the gasket was frozen together. I just put newspaper in the bottom draft door and started that. That was enough to start the charcoal and thaw the gasket.

nikkig

Aron,
Since our dealer put our egg together for us, we brought it home uncrated. Take the fire ring, and fire box out, set them in the back of the van, then just carry out the egg shell, and buckle it in the seatbelt. For good measure, I rode next to it just to make sure it didn't wobble. As said in an earlier post, put your arm through the inside and use the vent opening as a handle. Good luck, and happy egging!

EdF

Aron,[p]My (big) son and I picked it up at the dealer crated in heavy-duty cardboard, where they helped us get it in the back of my Ford Focus hatchback. The luggage compartment was small enough that we just wedged a few odds-and-ends around it to keep it from rolling.[p]Then the two of us got it out of the back (this was the toughest part) fully packed. Then broke open the box, separated the parts, and used the cardboard base to drag the body of the egg to where we assembled it. Not too bad all in all.[p]- Ed

KennyG

<p />Julie,[p]We just love to cook out virtually every day of the year. I tried to set my garage up with a "kitchen" so as not to have to deal with the elements once the snow starts to fall.[p]K~G

Steve-O

Aron,
When I bought my large BGE I planned to take it and its table home in the back of my pickup truck. When we got to the store's door and my dealer looked at my truck, he said, "This will never go in your truck!" - I hadn't told him that I have a fiberglass shell on my truck, and I thought that it would fit. He finally said, well, I guess we could deliver it to you tomorrow - and they did! So I lucked out there - I could never have gotten the egg and table out of my truck by myself. Most of the posts below assume that your dealer has a large BGE still in the shipping box. If so, that is the way to go. However, if that is not the case, I suggest that you take the egg completely apart, including taking off the dome. It will be much easier to manage getting it into and out of your van if you are by yourself. I can take mine in and out of my table by removing all of the innards and the dome. Just be sure all the parts are protected from banging into each other and from the side of your van.

Unknown

Aron,[p]I brought mine home in the box in the back of my Passat wagon. No problems at all.[p]We unpacked it in the driveway and carried it around back to the deck one part a time where we assembled it and put it to work (first night 24 pounds of meat) long and slow.[p]pastor_chuck