Moving a Heavy Smoker Down to a Walkout Basement

[at]

Hello,

I'm new here. I wanted to reach out to the community here to see if anyone has some experience with this.

I ordered a new smoker (Fatstack 120), and as I'm awaiting for the day it arrives, I keep wondering to myself how much trouble it's going to be moving it from my driveway to it's final location. I have a walkout basement and need to get the smoker down the hill to the backyard.

I did opt for the rover mod, so it has 15" lawnmower tires on it. Still though, the thing is 1,000 lbs. I just have no context for whether it's something my wife and I can get down a hill like that or if it's a job for half a dozen guys.

Does anyone have experience moving a heavy offset down a steep grade?

Cheers!

 

[Charny]

Congratulations!

A few thoughts - plan carefully, don't get hurt. Use your smarts to do this, not muscle. Two people is not enough for this move. At a minimum you need at least one spotter, to look for problems and fetch stuff. What's the point of saying "hold my beer!" if there is no one there to make a video? More extra hands would be good. Bribe some people with BBQ? Get the high school varsity football team to carry it down?

We don't know how far or how steep, but you did say STEEP. That smoker will be very tippy. Obviously it is most tippy front to back. But on a steep slope a load like that can also topple over on the long axis, or swap ends. Don't underestimate that danger.

You can ratchet strap 4x4's at each end, extending out to the sides - "outriggers". The idea is to make it "impossible" to tip over. Put them as low as possible - below the bottom rack, etc. You might even screw wood spacers on them, to get them closer to the ground. If you get them low enough, 2x4's might be okay. This assumes that lower rack is strong enough for this. I'd use 2" ratchet straps (typically 10k break/3300 WLL) for that - the 1" stuff is a joke and you need this very secure. If you shop around at the big box stores you should find them for $10/each. That will do a lot to prevent tipping sideways, though 8' 4x4's won't really be that wide, when you consider the width of the smoker...

Depending on how well those tires roll over your surface, and how smooth it is, you could use two sheets of 4x8 3/4" plywood, moving them along, bit by bit. That is a common way to move light machinery over uneven terrain, or soft terrain.

Getting it down the steep hill.. Do you have a garden tractor? Does a neighbor? You could rig up a tow bar, or even just a strap, and take it down that way. You could also use a vehicle as an anchor, and belay it down. There should always be a safety line so it cannot 'get away'. Trying to throw or stick stuff in front of the wheels does not work well and is dangerous. Note that some garden tractor brakes work better in one direction (forward) than reverse.

You should be able to lift an end of the smoker with an 8 or 10' 2x4. If the wheels do not steer, you can lift and pivot it to change the direction. It is much better on your back to push down on the 2x4 than to lift up, so plan on having an appropriately height fulcrum to pivot on.

Don't forget to set a phone up to take a video of the entire process.

 

[airedale]

Hire a piano mover company.

 

[whoru]

Use a winch

 

[1MoreFord]

Hire a piano mover company.

Or Safe Movers.

 

[frayedend]

I had 3 guys help me with my LSG 42". It's a bit over 700lb. Same issue you have and the LSG is known for tipping over. I second the winch idea if you can, just to control the speed with which it goes down the hill.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I have a walkout basement and have handled up to 200 lbs by myself. That was pushing it, and borderline dangerous. Even with a hand truck it gets out of hand.


I had a very large safe put in my basement 4 or 5 years ago, about 1500 lbs. I hired Two Men and a Truck to bring it to my house and into the basement. They actually brought 3 men (ha!) and they barely handled it. They used those straps that went under the safe and around their back/shoulders. One guy kinda got pinned in the doorway and jacked up his shoulder, but other than that, they did okay.



I'd guess it would cost a lot if you could get them to do it. Maybe grab 3 or 4 other guys, a case of beers, and some pizzas. Putting some plywood down in the grass keeps things from sinking.



Assuming you can't disassemble enough to help you out.

 

[ssv3]

If you have room use a winch. Definitely get a few guys together to help you. On the last leg of it's final resting destination in my backyard, down a fairly steep drop which I built a makeshift ramp for, my LSG 24x30 vertical offset got away from me. Luckily it didn't tip over and stopped after the roll on its own due to its massive 1400lb weight. Literally a few inches from jumping off the concrete path and into the neighbors fence and backyard. :shock:
I just didn't have space to use a winch so if you can do it or hire someone.

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

I would check with the Fatstack company for advice on safely moving it down a steep incline. Then I would check around your area for a reliable moving company that has done a job similar to moving an item like this smoker. One of my many careers was was working for a moving outfit and this is not a job I would want to do on my own for the first time.

Looking to the future, how are you going to get the smoker back up the hill if and when you move? Better take notes and pictures of the process in case you do change residences sometime. Good luck!

 

[at]

I appreciate all the feedback.

We don't know how far or how steep, but you did say STEEP.

For context, I'd say that it drops about 6 feet over 25 feet, so it's probably like a 15 degree angle.

Looking to the future, how are you going to get the smoker back up the hill if and when you move?

This thought has crossed my mind, but hopefully I'm in this house for a long time. With any luck, this will be a problem for my kids when they inherit the smoker.

I have a walkout basement and have handled up to 200 lbs by myself. That was pushing it, and borderline dangerous. Even with a hand truck it gets out of hand.

Ya, the specs on my current smoker put it at a little over 200 lbs. I've moved that down the hill on my own just fine. In fact, I've almost moved it up the hill on my own, but couldn't quite overcome the last 5-10 feet. The current one has two wheels and two legs though, so the legs give the benefit of something to just stop and anchor it. The new one will move freely, and my biggest fear is it just running away from us.

Use a winch

I had 3 guys help me with my LSG 42". It's a bit over 700lb. Same issue you have and the LSG is known for tipping over. I second the winch idea if you can, just to control the speed with which it goes down the hill.

I thought about this. Unfortunately, I don't have a winch, although I wouldn't be opposed to buying one, but moreover, I don't have a great space to anchor it. I may try to figure this out though.

Hire a piano mover company.

Or Safe Movers.

I hadn't considered this. That's not a bad idea. Although, it does make me worry a bit about liability. If they did drop the thing and even if they did cover damage, I'd hate to ruin the smoker. Although, I guess these things are built pretty tough and maybe damage to the smoker in a tilt situation isn't that likely.

The hired movers idea makes me wonder if it would actually be easier to walk it down while it's still crated rather than unpacked and on wheels?

 

[Mike Twangzer]

Wrap in a ton of foam .... then ...push and !!!! :wink:

 

[onemanlan]

Definitely look into getting some movers to help you. I had 4 guys move my 350 lbs battlebox up two sets of stairs. Worth every penny. They might not have thought so at the end though lol.

 

[cowgirl]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Itsdone]

If you don't have a vehicle you can bolt a winch to, you could use ratchet straps and strap it to the frame of a car and slowly back it down the hill.

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

Here is an idea. See if there is a company that has an off road fork lift that has the lifting/carrying capacity that can handle the cooker. If there is, then let the Fatstack company know how you plan on moving the cooker with a fork lift while still in the crate. This way when they build the shipping crate they can make accommodations for lifting and securing the cooker to the forks of the lift and the protective cage that also secures the forks. It might be more money than you planned on spending to get the cooker where you want it, but this would probably be the safest way to do it.

 

[Gore]

Here is an idea. See if there is a company that has an off road fork lift that has the lifting/carrying capacity that can handle the cooker. If there is, then let the Fatstack company know how you plan on moving the cooker with a fork lift while still in the crate. This way when they build the shipping crate they can make accommodations for lifting and securing the cooker to the forks of the lift and the protective cage that also secures the forks. It might be more money than you planned on spending to get the cooker where you want it, but this would probably be the safest way to do it.

The last large, heavy item I had delivered had a forklift on the truck and the item was already on a pallet. The delivery guy asked where I wanted it and put it right where I said. Saved me a chitload of trouble. I'd expect a crated, half-ton smoker would have similar.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

A come along would do it as long as you have something to anchor to.


Otherwise, Two men an a small boy.


Welcome to the site.

 

[bschoen]

At, get a winch (come-a long) of 50 feet, you said 6 foot drop in 25 feet, Harbor freight is your friend here, also get 100 feet of braided rope with a rated capacity of quadruple the weight of your cooker. Get an anchor point for both winch and rope, the car/truck suggestion previously is a good one. The suggestion of outriggers is also a good one. Anchor both rope and come-a-long, leave 3 to 5 feet of slack in the rope as a safety from run-a-way. Slowly winch your cooker down the grade. Reset the safety rope to what ever the slack length is. Slow and smooth is your friend. If your anchor point is longer than your winch length, use a better rated rope and learn to tie an alpine butterfly knot, use those loops as your winch anchor.

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

The last large, heavy item I had delivered had a forklift on the truck and the item was already on a pallet. The delivery guy asked where I wanted it and put it right where I said. Saved me a chitload of trouble. I'd expect a crated, half-ton smoker would have similar.

Gore, Most delivery trucks that I have seen in my area that have forklifts on the truck are not for offroad use. I guess you can request that type of lift be on the truck from the delivery company in advance.

 

[Grain Belt]

I have rented 12 volt winches for various tasks. We once moved a 14 x 16 cabin with one! Check your local rental tool store. If you don’t have the space for direct winching lines, you can use pulleys to change angles but not lose effectiveness. Good luck!