Moving a Gold Crown IV in a min van

[ShootingArts]

Strange things happen

I thought yours was one of the more useful posts Hu. Not all of them were BS. I tried to be careful and specify a Dodge Caravan (or similar). I agree you can get hurt but I am assuming a normal male who has done a few things in life if he is contemplating moving a pool table. But you are right -- you never know. Perhaps your caution is warrented. No offense intended.

Joe,

You found one of my hot buttons, safety. I cringed at the idea of the minivan and would never consider it with other options available.

Strange things do happen. I pushed crews totaling hundreds of men over a fifteen year period. I was proud that my crews never had an injury requiring more than a band aid working very dangerous jobs in that time period. Unfortunately the first injury was to the superintendent of the job I was on, me! Blew my back. What I learned from dozens of injuries on other people's crews and from talking to other patients in the better part of a year I was in physical therapy after my surgery was that very often the injury occurred doing something well within the "normal range" of the person's activities, even something they did every day.

You and they both might get away with using a minivan fifty times or they may lose a few fingers or blow a back the first time they try it. Not necessarily from doing something foolish but just because of Murphy's law. Had he said he only had the minivan I would have issued some cautions and made suggestions for using it. When he has the truck and trailer readily available then I wouldn't use the minivan because it is easier to handle on the road or saves a little gas.

Hu

 

[bradsh98]

When I bought my Gold Crown, I had one other guy helping me and my wife riding along with us. It took us about 2 hours to tear down completely and load neatly in the back of a Dodge Grand Caravan. There was plenty of room for the whole thing and the three of us to fit. Safety has always been a big concern of mine and I saw no major safety issues in hauling a table in this manner. The thing I was most concerned with is damaging parts of the table.. However, after taking proper precautions to place every piece in the van, there was no need to worry. Anyone that claims that moving a table in the back of a Grand Caravan is a bad idea obviously has never done it.

 

[sly_shooter]

Rent a One Way trailer (about $25-35) and hook it to the back of the Explorer. A 5x10 Open trailer should be fine. You CANNOT fit the frame in the Explorer! Unless you tear it down and there still isn't room inside for the entire table. It's just to small a space. A Ford Expedition might just be large enough for a load like this. Barely! Be VERY careful towing a trailer, especially on a highway. Maintain speeds of 55 or under. You will be towing about 3,000 pounds (trailer plus table). One last thing, DO NOT attempt to load the frame on top of the Explorer. That's being penny wise and pound foolish.

I must have moved well over 200 tables in my life. For a one table move, I prefer a full size pick up truck with a long bed. I put the slate in first, all the way up against the cab. Lay a blanket or pad down first. Then I put all the other pieces in, with the frame going last. It usually must lay at an angle, with one side over the side rail of the truck. If you can close the tail gate of the truck, great. If not you must tie the frame in place WELL! Use heavy rope for this or large tie down straps will work also. I've even used the large rubber bungee cords that truck drivers carry for loads. You can buy them at Pep Boys.

I don't like vans, just because they are enclosed and not as user friendly to get things in and out of. In case of bad weather, I postpone the move. "Minivan" suggests to me a small van. I don't like this vehicle for moving a full size pool table. More power to you if you can do it. I won't!

Thanks, to make it even easier, I might just rent something like a large Pick-up or one of those small trucks they rent.

 

[Dartman]

Thanks, to make it even easier, I might just rent something like a large Pick-up or one of those small trucks they rent.

If you have UHaul nearby you can get a cargo van or a 10' box truck for $20 a day plus mileage.

 

[jay helfert]

I can carry several 10' X 2 X 12s in a Dodge Caravan with no trouble. They have to lay between the two front seats on the floor. So two long pool table rails easily fit in the enclosed van if two guys carry them in.

I agree with Jay that an open floor would be easier to move around in. For me the van is sitting ouside and everything lies flat as needed. With a couple of guys it is no big deal to bend and shuffle as needed. Over long distances here on the hilly east coast where we live, we never know when it is going to rain and I like the comfort of the van. I live in Ohio about 20 minutes from West by God Virginia. That says soemthing all by itself. My buddy was fixing his car on the side of the road with some baling wire and his son said, "You can't do that Dad." My buddy says, "Son, we live close enough to West Virginia that we can do just about any damn thing we need to do." Course I only live 30 miles from Pittsburgh where they don't do that!

The low boy has springs on it but they were designed to support my skid steer and I did not trust the ride, thought one good bounce might crack the slate. I suppose I could have cushioned the slate with a couple of sets of blankets but I saw no real need with a readily available van. I haul around about 10 ton with the low boy and skid steer attached so I would think that I could haul four or five tables in my truck, which is similar to Jay's. Might have a space problem but a 350 diesel can (and does) haul a heck of a lot of weight up and down these hills. BTW, I had my truck set up for hauling a fifth wheel over long distances and it too gets about 20 MPG. Might want to check into that Jay.

And 21 mpg is an advantage when I am hauling in the van down to Maryland for the kids.

I guess it all comes down to what is available and what you feel comfortable using.

As to carrying it in a car, I guess you would have to break down the long rails and that is really no big deal because there are only a few bolts that keep them together. You would still have a couple of long boards but they would not be as fragile. I think it might be difficult to get the slate in the car depending upon what you use. It is kinda like picking up and moving a refridgerator by hand. Heavy and you have to be careful. I don't think I would want to try it if a van were avaialble. If the slates are not centered that front end is sure gonna hunt and you will get to see all of the bird's nests in the area.

The guy who set up my truck (previous owner) put a tall rear end in it. Something like a 4.11 I'm sure. Great torque and acceleration, but lousy mileage. I could change the rear end, but I like smoking guys off the line in their little Beemers and Mercedes. I've got over 400 HP and when my truck is empty it will scream! I can smoke the back tires, no problem. Guess it's the kid in me.

 

[JoeW]

The guy who set up my truck (previous owner) put a tall rear end in it. Something like a 4.11 I'm sure. Great torque and acceleration, but lousy mileage. I could change the rear end, but I like smoking guys off the line in their little Beemers and Mercedes. I've got over 400 HP and when my truck is empty it will scream! I can smoke the back tires, no problem. Guess it's the kid in me.

Yeah, I gotcha and that would be fun. I am still riding a 750 Yamaha for the fun stuff. You'd think that by our age we would not have that need for speed but then too I'm glad it is still there. Getting older is not for kids! :grin-square:

It is true (at least in my case) that the difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys.

While Hu is right about the safety issues I think it is also true that if your male, over 30, and do not have a lower back problem, your not much of a man!

 

[jmac79]

I had to drive across state to pick up my gc as well and we rented the 5x10 enclosed trailer and blankets from uhaul. We pulled the trailer with a dodge diesal truck. This setup worked pretty good for us.

 

[swrooster]

I moved mine 750 miles. Rented a cargo van from Budget, worried about weather, drove down p/u drove back about 100.00 plus fuel. I disassembled totally because it came from a smoking establishment so I totally cleaned and treated skirts and pedastals. We had a local mechanic set it up, I helped. A great overall experience and I would recomend it to anyone. I also bought new rails, had subrails extended and have 4" pockets with new 860. I had been around tables all my life but this helped make mine "unique". My wife helped and a great overall experience. Mark all pieces if you disassemble it to make going together easier.

 

[Caromsoft]

The guy who set up my truck (previous owner) put a tall rear end in it. Something like a 4.11 I'm sure. Great torque and acceleration, but lousy mileage. I could change the rear end, but I like smoking guys off the line in their little Beemers and Mercedes. I've got over 400 HP and when my truck is empty it will scream! I can smoke the back tires, no problem. Guess it's the kid in me.

Jay, sounds like the Bakersfield in you! :wink:

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, sounds like the Bakersfield in you! :wink:

Ha Ha! I never owned a pick-up truck until I lived in Bakersfield for a few years. Up there, EVERYBODY has one and it's their number one vehicle. It's 'Okie' country up there. I used to see guys with a .30-.30 rifle mounted in the rear window of their truck. I'm sure lots of others had their rifle behind the seat.

 

[aussieblake]

Move went Flawless

Yesterday we went and picked up the pool table. When we arrived in the mini van I think the mechanic did not think if would fit. Needless to say I did have a mechanic take the table apart, but could have done it myself.

Since mini vans do not have a smooth floor board, a piece of 3/4" plywood with 2x4's mounted on the bottom was used to make a platform for moving (the plywood was cut to 94"x45", it was not cut tight to the sides about a 1" gap on the sides), it also made handling the slates a lot easier. The slates went in the van first, all three were stacked on top of each other with a heavy piece of card board in between each layer and on top of the last piece for protection. Next the frame. the longer rails of the frame went to one side of the slate. The shorter pieces went in next with the intermediate cross pieces (not the end pieces) where placed sideways against the end of the slate. Next the base went in the stretcher and the leg pieces where placed on the slate, all upside down. The long side aprons are the only piece that remotely presented a challenge, they were placed between the stretcher and one of the base pieces (blankets were used to protect all finished surfaces, lots of blankets where used), the long aprons ran from the rear of the van to the front between the driver and passenger seats, it prevented a cup holder in the dash from being opened (still had aabout 2" or 3" to spare). The rest of the pieces were neatly stowed with blankets for protection with no issues. To be honest everyone else was concerned it would not fit at first, and when it was done there was still lots of room. I could see out the rearview mirror with no obstructions (nothing was in my field of view).

One gold crown in a mini van is fairly easy as long as you have the length for the long aprons, the longer frame pieces of a GC V might require a different stowing location.

I would have taken pics but it was too late and we wanted to get done (it was midnight), and over 500 miles round trip. I could have had it delivered for a reasonable amount, but it would have traveled in the back of a pick up, and the person making the move would not have been as careful as I was. My recommendation is that if you know the mechanic making the move and you trust they will take better care of the table than you would, then have them move it, it was obvious to me and everyone else that my mechanic would not have been as careful as I was.

Great experience, hopefully my one and only (I am never moving and table should last me forever).

aussieblake