Ballast Question on ballast box

[JD755]

I have that same dolly. One caution though. I remember a thread about casters breaking because the ballast box does not always set down exactly even. All the force for a moment combined with the downward momentum as it sets on one caster can break it.

 

[Joe Gremlin]

Hello Joe and welcome to TBN
If you have to buy the casters,pricewise it might be better to just get a completed furniture dolly from Northern Tool,capable of around 900 lbs for roughly 35.00 dollars. That's what I ended up doing. Just my .02

Northern Industrial Carpeted Hardwood Dolly 900Lb. Capacity | Dollies + Accessories | Northern Tool + Equipment

Greg

Yep, all that makes sense so I'm going with a dolly instead. Now I just have to wrestle with the sand vs concrete choice. :confused2:

 

[soulasphil]

Of course sand or stone allow you to vary the weight. I have never found that very useful and if you use concrete you can forget about it once dried. I left two holes at the bottom for drainage, which helped hold the plastic tubes when pouring the concrete.

 

[C-Range]

I think the ideal solution is stone of some small size, like 3/4". You can change the amount in there if you need to to carry chains, cones, etc, still change the configuration of tool tubes, and use drill holes for water drainage without worrying about losing fill material.

Sand is scary to me because if you get moisture in there, it can't get out since you can't really drill drain holes unless you want to leave a trail wherever you go. I suppose you could add a few layers of nylon or stainless screen beneath the sand, but it still just doesn't sound like the way I'd choose to go.

Cement is too permanent for my taste although I do recall reading about someone who used cement blocks stacked neatly and that would be ok with me.

As for wheels, I use a furniture dolly I got at a home improvement store which works perfectly for me especially since I rarely use the ballast box anyway. I can just wheel it into a corner and pile junk on it until the next time.

 

[mjncad]

Another thought is lead wheel weights if the tire shops still throw them away, which I doubt due to EPA regulations.

 

[stuart]

ANOTHER THOUGHT; a pile of old free weights.