load heavy items without help

[digitalage]

How to load a clothes washing machine by myself onto a pick-up truck without hurting my back? Do they sell ramps for that purpose? If so, where?

[Greg]

Are you using a hand truck? Do you have a small hill in your yard? When I was loading Harleys I would back down in the swale in the front yard until the tailgate hits the dirt, then roll it on. The other way is to tip the washer over onto the tailgate and rock it up but you need a piece of carpet or something to protect the finish

[spamfree]

I just bought a heavy old cement mixer. One of the real ones that were made of steel, not the new cheap plastic ones. Where I bought it, they put it in my pickup with a loader. I unloaded it using a hill in my yard, and used two 2x8's for ramps to the top of the hill. It was real easy to slide on the boards after I made them wet.

[Chuck Yerkes]

Neighbor has a pickup with a liftgate. That was really handy to mooch.

Is your pickup a big "I'm making up for something" with a 4' high gate? (I'll pass on the making up for comment if you actually regularly have > 1 ton of stuff in the back).

A low rider? A nissan little guy?

The question to address is how vertical you have to get it.

18" or 40" up from the ground?

I've done bikes (like the other guy) parking downhill with a bike ramp. Still a PITA.

These days I go rent a 4x8' garden trailer (1' of lift needed). A pair of 2x6's with a bit of lathe nailed to keep them from moving away from each other gets an appliance dolly right up.

Or go give a couple big guys $50 to save your back.

[John W. Wells]

If that's not high enough to reach the truck bed, and you don't have (or want to rent) an appliance hand truck, lash a step ladder to the back of the washer, lean the two back against the tailgate, and lift and slide the ladder with washer attached into the bed.

If that truck is yours, you ought to buy a pair of ratcheting straps to secure things--perhaps you already have?

--JWWells

[AC/DCdude17]

Use an appliance hand truck. Set up a pair of lumber and roll it up

[Joseph Meehan]

I suggest teenage boys (or girls in some cases)

[dadiOH]

Rent a truck with a power lift. Barring that, I like Meehan's suggestion of teenage boys/girls :)

If neither of those suit your fancy, this works well...

1. Get heavy load close to truck and sitting on something stable.
2. Tilt to one side and put two concrete blocks under the side. Depending on weight, use 1/2 blocks so less tilting is necessary.
3. Tilt to other side and put two concrete blocks under
4. Repeat #2 & #3 until it is high enough then tilt onto truck bed.

-- dadiOH _____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Joseph Meehan]

Say, did I see you in Egypt working on those tall pointy buildings a while back? ;-)