VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Vehicle garage rollers

I am going to need a set of rollers to go under the wheels of my 32 to maneuver it in the garage. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of a good set of these, who makes them and approx. cost?
Thanks

There was a fairly long discussion on this subject sometime back. You might want to do a search regarding the rollers. As I remember, all different types were covered in this past discussion.

$39.00 for a pair at Harbor Freight they are good for 1000 lbs. each. Have used mine under my 34 dump truck with no problems.

JC Whitney has them also, they are on the web.

Don't waste your money on those inexpensive ones. I have found the one of the best on the market. Made by Merick Machinery. Contact Maria at: mariad@merrickmachine.com Tell her Steve from Minnesota told you to call.
We bought 20 sets of 4 last year. You can move a car with 1 hand. You have to have berrings in the axles as well as the swivels to move a car easily. You can take it from me their dollies are the best I have bought.

I agree with Steve. I have a pair of the Harbor Freight dollies. While they work, it is tough to get them started rolling. And usually one or more of the casters sticks and scratches the floor.

At $150 from JC Whitney for a set of 4, with Steve's endorsement, they beat out the $40 pair from Harbor Freight, especially if you want 4.

Here's a link to a larger selection http://www.mygaragestore.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=493

The Auto Dolly on that site is made by Merrick Machine. You can buy them direct. You need to ask for the HEAVY DUTY ones with the ball berrings in the axels. I don't know if you can get the same price this year or not, but if you ordered 10 sets you could get them for $115 for a set of 4. They are normaly over $200 for a set of the HEAVY DUTY ones. It was not that hard to find 10 guys who needed them. Most of us got 2 or 3 sets at that price. Maria will work with you.
Now that being said I really do like those GO-Jak's, but holy smokes are they expensive.
Don't know if you know how much a 58 Buick weighs, but mine is on a set and it rolls like a dream. I put my 32 Chevy on a set too and with 1 finger I can roll the car. You almost have to be carefull it dosen't get away from you.
Well my 2 cents worth. For the money Merrick got my business

Happy Rolling

Do you have any of the ones made of 1/4" Plate, The red ones that sell for $148 for 4?

Yes those are the the ones we bought, but they sell the regular and heavy duty. You have to tell them you want the Heavy Duty. Those are the ones that have berrings in the axles. Trust me berrings in the axles are like night and day. Also you want to order them straight from Merrick so you can save some money. Don't go through a middle man.

Maria Delgado
Merrick Machine Company
1-800-568-7423 Ext. 188

Are these the 2 sets in question?

U.S. General:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93368

or

JC sells the Merrick: "Easy-roll zinc-plated ball-bearing casters with shock-resistant phenolic plastic rollers. Handy in your garage or shop. Essential for auto shows, museums, safely moving that special "project" car, etc. Each Auto Dolly supports up to 1500 lbs., up to 6000 lbs. with the set of 4. 12" x 16" Auto Dolly Set Set of 4 ZX484441W $149.99; 16" x 16" Auto Dolly Set Set of 4 ZX484442U $159.99"

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...AllTextSearc hGroup?Ntt=car%20dolly

You will not find the HEAVY DUTY ones at JC Whitney. Most all of the dollies on the market advertise ball berring castors. Very deceving!! They all have ball berrings in the swivel part. So they say ball berring castors. In order for a dolly to roll without getting a hernia they have to have ball berrings in the axels. A very important difference. Merrick makes several models. The ones I bought are 3000lb's per dolly. 12,000lb's per set. What ever brand dolly you decide to purchase, make sure they have berrings in the axels. Roll Master was another great set, but they are no longer in business. Truth of the matter is you could take a cheep set of dollies and remove the wheels that came with it and replace with castors that had berrings in the axels and come up with a good set of dollies.
You just have to think "BERRINGS IN THE AXELS" and you won't bust a nut trying to move your car.

Thanks for that 'heads-up', will call Merrick for their 'heavy duty' ones.

Everyone,

I just talked to Maria at Merrick. We can get the heavy duty, 12 x 16 for $116 for 16 x 16 for $126 if we buy 10 sets shipped to the same address. The small one weight 75 lbs and the larger 95 lbs. I could sure go for a set at these prices. Anyone near me in Los Angeles interested? I don't think it would be worthwhile to buy them and reship.

Thanks,
Jim

Do you know if the $126.00 per set price for 10 ($1,260.00 total, 16"x16") shipped to the same address; does that $1,260.00 include the shipping or is shipping added to that total? If so how much for east coast?

I think there are more than enough people in our local club to order 10.

Thanks

Shipping is not included. Call her and she will get a shipping quote. That's for 950 pounds.

When we were working with Maria the best I can remember shipping divided between all of us was only going to add about $15.00 or so. We had a friend that was coming back from Vegas to MN and he picked them up for us. His truck was loaded down.
All of us bought the 12 X 16 ones, and they are just fine. Unless you have a car with tires wider that 12" you really don't need the bigger ones. All of their cars are on the 12 X 16 dollies.
By the way check out Merrick's site for their collection of cars. It is very impressive.

http://www.merrickmachine.com/autodolly/merrick_museum_collection.htm

And they're all on auto dollies!

Chevman, you talk about dollies rated at 3,000 per dolly, the website just shows dollies that hold either 1500 or 1750 pounds per. Are there other products that they don't list on website?

You need to ask Maria. I know they have had several different wheels on the dollies. I think they are a smaller diameter now. That is good too, so you don't have to jack the car up as high to get them under it.

Chevman, I must have missed where they talk about ball bearings in the axles in the heavy duty dollies (dollys?) description; do any of the ones on their web site talk about having the bearings in the axles?

Is the ”˜axle’ you talk about in your prior post the shaft that goes thru the wheel or the shaft going down to the wheel? Sorry I just don’t understand where the axle is or where the bearings go.

Might be having a senior moment.

Louis C. The standard dollies that Merrick sells hold 1500 lbs per dolly and have ball bearings only in the casters, they also use a smaller wheel. The heavy duty set holds 1750lbs. per axle and has ball bearings not only for the wheels to swivel but ball bearings in the axles that go through the wheels. The HD dollies also use a larger 3" wheel. These seem to be the ones preferred by everyone.

They do not talk about berrings in the axles on the web site. Why I do not know! They should to promote their product. The shaft that goes through the wheel needs to go through berrings. Most of the dollies on the market have a sleeve bushing that the shaft for the wheel goes through. That is why they are so hard to get to start rolling. They are a sloppy fit. The berrings can either be ball berrings, or roller berrings. Either one is far better than a bolt going through a bronze sleeve, or worse yet no sleeve. Just a bolt going through a hole in the wheel. Any where you decide to get the dollies from, ask if they have berrings in the axles. If they don't know what you are talking about you don't want to deal with them. Like I said there are castor companies out there you can buy some very good wheels from. I know of a place in Vegas that sells castors. Thing is by the time you spend $20 per castor for a good one you have $80 per dolly. The dolly companies can buy castors cheeper than us. When you look at Merricks web site at their collector cars all of them are on dollies. I guarantee you they roll easy. They made a product to meet their needs, and the decided to market it. And that is the bottom line.

Thank you that clears it up for me; you are right they should use it in their ads.

The 12x16 heavy duty Merrick dollies are being sold on ebay for $140.00 plus $60.00 shipping. Getting 10 people to purchase sets directly really cuts the price.

The Harbor Freight ones work fairly well if you oil the axles when you need to move the car. I don't need to move the cars around too often, I would rather drive them around, except for the one without engine or tranny.