Moving the XL BGE to contests: your input needed

The Virginian · October 2004

Free Range BBQ will be picking up one of those XL BGE beauties as soon as BGE lets them onto the market. Once I wrestle it to its spot under the carport we will be fine until spring when we need to start hauling that bad boy around to competitions. I have been racking my brain on ways to move the 200+ lb beasty easily and safely from carport to car to competition and back again. So far, the best I can come up with is a hydraulic cart that allows you to move things up to 300 lbs up and down as needed (and wheel them around), which will allow us to move the XL from cart to car without having to lift anything. The downside is the $200 cost. [p]So, I throw this little puzzle to the collective wisdom of the board. What will be the best, least expensive way to get the XL from hither to yon? [p]Brett
Free Range BBQ

Unknown · October 2004

If you're putting it in a car you best get on to the gym and work on that back and your legs. I load my four larges by rolling them up a pair of ramps made from 2x8's and a ramp kit from Wally World. I'm putting them into an enclosed trailer. Whatever you come up with be careful because that is going to be an odd sized weight to handle.
If you go with the cart will it be easy to carry with you and what does it weight. How about getting it off the cart into the car.
Good Luck and Good Eggin!!
Poppasam

The Virginian · October 2004

Poppasam,
The cart weighs 70 lbs. With the hydraulic lift I would just need to pump it to the right height, then shove it over to the floor of my minivan, no lifting required.

Unknown · October 2004

Sounds like that will work as you are going from one level surface to another. Just make sure your setup is stable and wont shift on you as you are moving it. May need a piece of plywood to set your cart on to keep it level and allow you to move it around.
Let us know how it works and good luck.
Good Eggin and Good Movin,
Poppasam

tach18k · October 2004

The VIrginian, There is a lift that swings 180 degree's. They use these to move equipment in and out of trucks and vans. Plumbers use them to move their heavy snakes out of vans. Its all mechanical winch. You can always remove it from the mount. Maybe at Mcmaster Carr.

Ranny · October 2004

The VIrginian,
I think you start a serious weght build-up program so you can look like this guy.
Ranny in Reston, VA

Ranny · October 2004

Sorry, forgot the link

Ranny · October 2004

The VIrginian,
Maybe this one will work.[p]Ranny

Unknown · October 2004

The VIrginian,
Have you looked at Harbor Freight or Northern? They have strong fairly light weight aluminum ramps used for loading riding lawn mowers into pickup trucks. Those combined with some heavy duty casters on a dolly may be the cheapest answer if you have the height to roll it into your vehicle. The casters you can probably get from Harbor Freight as well. If not I got 4 locking wheels at www.highlandhardware.com that are rated for 250lbs each as I recall and the locking mechicnism works pretty well. As for the dolly, the new XL looks short and squat enough you could probably build a sturdy dolly out of wood that would be pretty stable with the XL inside. You may sill have to be concerned wit the heat because I doubt you would want to take the XL off the cart once you get in on.
Just some thoughts...
Good luck and keep us posted.
T-Que

Ranny · October 2004

The VIrginian,
Seriously, I used to crew for a hot air balloon. They has a small lift, which was really a vertical tow like in the front of jeeps. But, they had it rigged to a car battery to lift the balloon up, the lift was on a roller from a garage door, then rolled it into a trailor.[p]Ranny

WessB · October 2004

The VIrginian,
Here`s something that looks pretty cool. You said a minivan so this probably wont work in your case, sure could help out others in a similar situation though.....[p]Wess
[ul][li]LIFT[/ul]

Unknown · October 2004

Brett,[p]I can think of a few methods that might work for you but some would be costly. [p]The trouble with the table lift is that you would need to take it with you as well and it does take up some space. However, it sure would be nice to have it on there and then be able to just jack it up to a nice working height. [p]Probably the least costly would be to build the cooker into a small table with large castors and purchase the 6' ramps from Harbor Freight for around 35 dollars when they are on sale and then just roll the cooker and table up the ramp and into the back of your mini-van. The ramps don't take up much space and can be taken with you. [p]Next option is a cargo carrier. Piggy Pack makes a swing out carrier that will fit the back of your van. The cooker could be loaded on this and not even have to be unloaded at a contest. Just swing it out and cook on it right at the back of the van. The cooker would be at a nice working height and when it is out, you can open the back door of the van. [p]I use a cargo carrier but will probably upgrade to the Piggy Pack unit for next year as my cooker weighs more than the XL and I am getting too old to load and unload the darn thing. [p]Hope this helps,[p]Dave

Unknown · October 2004

The Virginian,
Thanks to all, a lot of good suggestions. I will look into all of them and let you all know what I settle on once we have the XL in hand. [p]Brett

SeanB · October 2004

Unknown · October 2004

1044 · October 2004

Moving the XL BGE to contests: your input needed

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