Pallets & Racks for attachment storage (not a fork discussion).

[Bullwinkle123]

So I got a quote from a place on pallet racks, but the carrier is "dock to dock, business to business". I asked if I was out of luck, told him I had a tractor with pallet forks, he queried his carrier and came back with "Carrier said if you can get the material off the truck the rate should be fine. The pallet will be 12 long and weigh 750 lbs."

A twelve foot pallet? Is that a thing? Don't think my 48" tractor pallet forks are going to do that. Anybody got additional light they can shed on this?

 

[Reb954]

The pallet is 12 feet long but how wide is it? If it is 4 feet or less it shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get to the side of it. If you can't get to the side of it you can put your forks under one end then run a chain from the fork mast to the other end of the pallet to pick it up. If that won't work you can put your forks under one end, slide the pallet out most of the way then set that end down, move so you can pick up the end still in the truck, pick it up and let the truck drive out from under it. Then set that end down, move to the middle of the pallet and go.

 

[Big Barn]

Pallets & Racks for attachment storage (not a fork discussion).

Bit of a misnomer. The pallet of pallet racks would be 12 feet wide and approximately 4 feet long/ deep.

Easy to pick up putting the forks into the FOUR foot depth. Just a matter of finding the balance point which MAY be labeled.

We are assuming it will arrive on a flat bed bodied trailer or truck.

If it comes in a van body (unlikely but possible) it will need to be dragged out first.

 

[newbury]

Lol, what's this?
View attachment 646423

A shim - I've got a new very slightly sloping metal roof above. Historically snowfall here is 1" or less. I hail from Northern Vermont and have seen many a snowstorm over 30". With the messed up climate I'm concerned what a heavy snow would do to a roof designed for 6" so I shimmed the roof beam, little effort almost no cost.

<snip>
You can assemble pallet racking solo, but it is enormously easier with 2 people, BTW. Getting that first crossbar in place can be a real juggling act solo.

Yes two people make it easier, but I always rolled alone.
I usually set the first beam on two chairs, hooking into one upright that was leaned against the wall, then stand up the second upright and hook it in. I'd put the first beam in at chair height because if I put it in real low stuff twisted easily.
This forms the "rack", then I would hook more beams in at the heights I wanted for the first shelf. After it was hooked with 3 beams I would "slide" it into place.
Next put down stuff on the first shelf to stand on. The metal racks are great.
Then stand on the first shelf and put up a second shelf as high as I conveniently could at the spacing I wanted. The beams are heavy and I'm not a weight lifter.
Then repeat for higher shelves. Finally, after all shelves were up remove the first beam I put in.
Remember to put the first beam in so it's easy to take out.

So I got a quote from a place on pallet racks, but the carrier is "dock to dock, business to business". I asked if I was out of luck, told him I had a tractor with pallet forks, he queried his carrier and came back with "Carrier said if you can get the material off the truck the rate should be fine. The pallet will be 12 long and weigh 750 lbs."

A twelve foot pallet? Is that a thing? Don't think my 48" tractor pallet forks are going to do that. Anybody got additional light they can shed on this?

Drag it halfway off the truck then lift it in the middle.

But keep looking, the crashing economy should start forcing people to get rid of inventory.
I'd expect $40 to $50/upright and $25 to $30 per 12' beam, so a 24' run with 3 uprights and a total of 6 shelves be less than $500 off CL. But it will be easier to find 8' beams and have 3 sections.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

The pallet is 12 feet long but how wide is it? If it is 4 feet or less it shouldn't be a problem as long as you can get to the side of it. If you can't get to the side of it you can put your forks under one end then run a chain from the fork mast to the other end of the pallet to pick it up. If that won't work you can put your forks under one end, slide the pallet out most of the way then set that end down, move so you can pick up the end still in the truck, pick it up and let the truck drive out from under it. Then set that end down, move to the middle of the pallet and go.

Sounds like I'd better ask if I can talk to the carrier directly (if the seller will give me the contact info). The order will weigh 750 pounds, don't think I'd be wanting to try that from the long end of things, chains or no chains, and it will be tippy at best.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

...
But keep looking, the crashing economy should start forcing people to get rid of inventory.
I'd expect $40 to $50/upright and $25 to $30 per 12' beam, so a 24' run with 3 uprights and a total of 6 shelves be less than $500 off CL. But it will be easier to find 8' beams and have 3 sections.

I'm fixed on the 12' beams, if I can, because it is the nicest way to partition the two-bay garage space (24 of the 25 feet), in such a way that the vehicles parked will come _nowhere close_ to the uprights, hopefully minimizing accidents in that regard. 'Course that's all on paper, I have no idea how things will work out in practice.

 

[Peter 315]

Being a truck driver if you have to unload it by hand just tip the driver it works wonders....

 

[52farmer]

Pull the 12 foot pallet out 11foot or so ,take a normal size mty pallet, stand on end to hold the end up, drive around side and lift pallet and have driver pull ahead, done.
I am a retired city driver and delivered many a 10-14' pallet and used this procedure many times unloading oversized freight.
PS-I highly doubt it will be on a flat-bed,but you never know.

 

[dennis103]

I have all my attachments on pallets. Some of the pallets are made to fit the attachment others are just standard pallets. The shorter equipment I put on the racks 2 or 3 high with my forks. I have a pallet jack (Harbor freight $220ish on sale) to move the pallets when on the cement floor. The pallet jack works great. I can roll the piece of equipment up to the back of the tractor and attach it. You can also pack the equipment very tight on the floor and pull out the one you want to mount on the tractor. In my opinion the pallet jack is as important as the racks.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Pull the 12 foot pallet out 11foot or so ,take a normal size mty pallet, stand on end to hold the end up, drive around side and lift pallet and have driver pull ahead, done.
I am a retired city driver and delivered many a 10-14' pallet and used this procedure many times unloading oversized freight.
PS-I highly doubt it will be on a flat-bed,but you never know.

Vendor says it would be on a box truck so would be pulled out length-wise with the procedure you mention, perhaps. Is the driver going to be okay with me fumbling my way through such a procedure?

 

[52farmer]

Vendor says it would be on a box truck so would be pulled out length-wise with the procedure you mention, perhaps. Is the driver going to be okay with me fumbling my way through such a procedure?

Driver really has to be able to work with you to deliver the shipment.As long as your ready when he arrives, you shouldn't have a problem.Just keep in mind, his job is to get freight to your house, yours is to unload, most cases the drivers are helpful.Treat the driver the way you would like to be treated and it will work out fine.

 

[fruitcakesa]

When I ordered my 8 foot snowplow, It came on an 8 foot pallet in a tractor trailer.
The pallet had already be damaged by whoever originally handled it and it had been loaded the long way in.
I was able to angle it enough with my forks to get under the 4 foot length and off the truck.
When it was on the ground I reset my forks so it was better balanced and then clamped it with the grapple for the ride back up my bumpy hill.
Take your time and you will be ok.

 

[kenmbz]

So far all of the delivery drivers were quite ok with me showing up with a tractor and forks. Just remember to take your time, and if it takes a more than 20 minutes, to tip the driver since his day is going to be a bit longer. So far have been able to keep within this time though. Make sure you have your rear ballast set, may need to lift the forks pretty high.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Question (since I have no experience with this):

Say I have a 48" deep rack. How bad is it if the rear end of a 48" deep pallet does not rest on the rear beam assuming customary wire decks underneath?

Tragic load failure? Or expected occurrence? What if it's a 42" deep pallet on a 48" deep rack, and the entire pallet misses the beams? (The beams are, what, 2" wide? in terms of the horizontal dimension).

Just wondering if it's really better to get 42" rack. Of course then there are issues where I'm likely to have the pallet 5" off the front instead of 3" off the front, but even then it would still overhang the rear by 1".

Anyway, if you know of pros and cons on the rack depth please share, I'm wrestling with this in my order.

Also, realistically, if I got a 48" rack I'd be tempted to put it flush with a wall. Bad idea? I'd offset the pallet away from the wall a couple of inches to avoid hitting the wall (thus prior question about pallet not sitting directly on beam). If it was a 42" rack I'd put it 3 inches from the wall, but similarly offset the pallet, except on a 42" rack it would still sit on the rear beam.

Tight space at a premium, I'm basically wanting the rack not to exceed 48" from the wall, and the pallet to be at least 2" away from the wall to avoid hitting the wall (which is an interior building wall). Hmmm, like the old software design equation: fast, cheap, good, pick two. I can't have it all. I can move it all forward toward my vehicle, either way the vehicle is likely to be parked 12 inches under a 48" deep pallet. More if I move stuff further from the wall.

 

[jmc]

^^^^

Inevitably, I expect to "miss" with the forks and hit the beam if the tips are too low, or hit with the forks' heel if the forks aren't level. Wall support might be good in that case because bolts to the floor might just bend the feet with a force that far up. The big-target-skids I mentioned in #36 was to minimize the chance of this. Still, I need clearance behind the racking so I'll just have to add some blocking back there.

 

[dstig1]

You are really overthinking this. The mesh shelves have a weight rating of their own, which will inevitably be less than the rack itself. As long as you don't exceed the weight ratings, it is fine. I left a ~6-8" gap behind mine, mainly so I could slide some scrap plywood behind there to store it. The forks would probably poke into the drywall a bit if there was no gap, I guess. It is a good idea to secure the rack to the wall and/or floor. I went for the walls.

 

[aczlan]

When I put up mine, I bolted them to the wall at the top. I had plans of drilling into the concrete and holding them down to the concrete as well (I have a box of anchors just for that purpose sitting in the shop), but haven't gotten around to it yet.
If you want the wall to stay intact, I would sheet it with 3/4" plywood or flakeboard.

Aaron Z

 

[Bullwinkle123]

You are really overthinking this.

True enough! I have no experience with it so trying not to make an $800 mistake, or worse if I screw up the building as well as just the shelving. Don't want a 400 pound implement falling down through the rack.

Anyway, thanks for the tips. What I was really hoping to get a handle on this weekend was: 42" or 48" deep shelving, given my desire to keep everything as close to the wall as possible. Unfortunately I'm incapable of saying it that succinctly on the first try

 

[Underdog57]

I have no experience with those racks, but I would go with the 42" and leave a space behind them and the back wall.

 

[BoylermanCT]

When unloading long objects from a flatbed, it is often easiest to find the center of the load weight wise and pick up the load enough to allow the truck to pull out from underneath the load. Then you can move the load without worrying about damaging the truck. I did that with 900 lbs of metal roofing panels that were 3’x28’.