Thanks to all who have replied since I last posted. We, wife and I, appreciate the support. I have been eying a gantry crane that I saw at Harbor Freight earlier in the Fall. I saw one at a boat restoration museum in Clayton, NY, and it was the same model. Not saying it would have prevented the hoe from flipping, but it might have. Pretty big expense as I recall, but I think I may seriously consider it for the extra safety factor.
I don't want this thread to discourage anyone from using a dolly type support. The entire fault is mine. I went from a concrete floor, to a floor covered with polypropylene tiles that are somewhat slippery under the right conditions, and can create unexpected resistance to small dolly wheels from rolling in others. I used my log grapple, which was on the tractor, just as I thought, I'll try moving the hoe one more time this way, and if that doesn't work I'll switch to the pallet forks.... Well, too late, I should have been less lazy and gone to get the forks. They allow me to drive over the sub-frame and access the entire hoe and lift it,CAREFULLY, to allow moving it to a better position. But I had already spent a lot of time messing with dolly position/adjustment and decided to forgo the forks for the grapple. Big mistake.
I changed the platform and it was less stable than I thought it would be, much to my surprise. And It was much more tippy on the dipper end than it was previously. So, point is I created the bad Ju-Ju, and now need to re-work the platform to prevent this type of occurrence in future.
Bigger 5" polypro wheels with swivel base/locks on each, bought today. Progress and final product will be shown as it pans out. Stay tuned.
