Move A By Yourself

David in San Antonio

David in San Antonio

Well-known member
What do you call a little electric motor cart that moves a dead car around? Not wheel dollies (fine for a smooth garage floor) but up a slight inclined driveway and over the garage door saddle. I think some may have a jump starter built in, though I don’t need that.
I just can’t muscle my roadster (currently minus engine) by myself. I’d sure like to wash it out on the driveway, and work on it where the light is better.
PS I’ve seen electric dollies specifically for trailers, so maybe this is just a version of that?
 
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Do you or a neighbor have a riding lawn mower? I would think making a short tow bar to hook onto the front bumper would move a Roadster minus an engine fairly easily.
 
You might also consider a winch anchored to the concrete floor along with a ****** block for extra pulling power. Would cost a heckuva lot less that the Power Pusher machine you're referring to in your first post.
 
A tug. Look in your local craigslist in Aviation section they use them to move planes in and out of hangers. One of those should work.
Facebook Market Place also. I've seen them in both places.
(one of the small hand operated units, not a sit on one)
 
Here's a somewhat cheaper one you might be able to adapt to work.
https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Electric-Trailer-Capacity-Adjustable/dp/B0CGLWPXFZ?tag=atomicindus08-20

I think you could attach the mounting bracket to a thick block of wood or a fabricated metal piece about 6-9" long that would bolt onto the front axle under the radiator and project out in front. Then you could crank the handle up until the dolly was under a couple hundred pounds of load so it had some grip. You'd have to have someone steer the car and a second person steer the dolly.
 
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I would highly recommend steering clear of those raised trailer hitches for lawn tractors. Pulling anything with a drawbar higher than the axle is a recipe for getting pinned underneath an upside down tractor. Learned that one the hard way pulling a Jeep doodlebug that I built out of the garage with a rope.
 
A power palet jack perhaps? Maybe a liquidation sale, or an auction for a warehouse that is closing...
 
I made a tow bar that clamps to the A axle and a ball hitch for attaching to my truck. It is a T shape , used for pushing up a steep driveway about 30*. Just the chassis was a bit dicey because I couldn’t see it in my mirrors, but it worked ! Sometimes it took several tries to get it placed just right in a one car garage. Don’t give me grief about clamping it to the front axle, clamped it out near the radius rods
 
Lay a 2 inch wide nylon tow ******** the ground and roll one of the car tires over the strap. Bring the end of the strap over the top of the tire and gently pull forward (or back, if that's the direction you need to go). Keep the strap under the tire as you go. Keep pulling on the strap coming off the top of the tire (and under the bumper) and the car will go anywhere you want to go.

I'll take a photo of the setup the next time I do this.
 
Some here may howl, but it works: use the high torque of your starter to move the car short distances in 1st gear and back in reverse. Temporarily back off the brake adjusting wedges three or four clicks to lessen the strain on the starter. I have had to do this to get a balky Model A out of traffic on more than one occasion in the last almost 60 years of driving Model A's. Hard on the starter? Sure! But if you only need to move your Model A from the garage to just outside on the driveway without starting the engine, the starter trick will work. Just don't do it over a long distance. I had to do this the last time five years ago to get out of harm's way and the starter suffered no damage. It's still in the car and spins the engine over as if it had never needed to move the car by itself.
Well, you DID ask for suggestions, didn't you? :)
Marshall
 
Some additional information to my previous post: the cylinder head on the Model A that I moved last via the starter has a 7:1 Super Brumfield milled to about 8:1. If that extra compression didn't hurt the starter during its short journey off the street, I wouldn't worry about trying to move a Model A with a standard 4.2:1 CR just a few feet and back again. A good Model A starter is one TOUGH animal!
Marshall
 
We had a unit such as you are describing at work to move non running vehicles to the shops and it was called The Mule. Don't know if that was it real name but it was definitely a professionally made unit.
 
alexiskai said:
Here's a somewhat cheaper one you might be able to adapt to work.
https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Electric-Trailer-Capacity-Adjustable/dp/B0CGLWPXFZ?tag=atomicindus08-20

I think you could attach the mounting bracket to a thick block of wood or a fabricated metal piece about 6-9" long that would bolt onto the front axle under the radiator and project out in front. Then you could crank the handle up until the dolly was under a couple hundred pounds of load so it had some grip. You'd have to have someone steer the car and a second person steer the dolly.
Click to expand...

I bought one of those to pull my enclosed all aluminum trailer (which was well within its max weight capacity) but the dolly buckled, its mounting bracket bent, the cast frame of the wheel cracked by the steering handle, the drive belt on the wheel came off its track and the top crank (to lower the wheel) sheered off - it is 100% junk!

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Luckily I got my money back.

Brad in Maryland
 

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alexiskai said:
They make hitch adapters for riding mowers. Here's just one example for inspiration:
https://www.amazon.com/ELITEWILL-Lawn-Towing-Hitch-Husqvarna/dp/B0855NDVZM?tag=atomicindus08-20
Click to expand...

I have one of those which works well for pulling light loads if the front end of your riding mower is heavily weighted ...... else it will pop a wheelie and you will quickly loose control....or worse. For heavier loads (like an enclosed aluminum car trailer) if your riding mower has a hydrostatic transmission (and a weighted front end), it will quickly smoke the mowers drive mechanism!

....don't ask me how I know! :mad:

I have a similar situation with my slightly slanted driveway out front of my garage. To pull a car into the garage, I just use a portable electric winch that I attach to a pillar whch is bolted into the concrete floor, in the back of my garage. I use a winch with a 25ft cable and most importantly a remote control.
2Fgoods_img_big-v8%2Felectric-hoist-winch-m100-1.2.jpg


So one person can do the entire job by themself. The remote control allows you to steer the car as it is pulled into your garage. Here is the link to the winch I have: https://www.vevor.com/electric-wire...MIwtKiiKG0hgMVx0pHAR25SQ8cEAQYBiABEgJ_mPD_BwE

On the Model A, I use a Combo Bridle to attache to the two ends of the front axle.
121937.jpg
The center ring is then position correctly to tow your car without damaging the axle or other parts of your Model A. Here is the link to the Combo Bridle I use: https://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/straps/specialty/towing/bridle/p/121937/

Both the winch and the combo bridle are great things to have in your kit bag for other uses as well and I carry the combo bridle in my car just in case I ever need to be winched up on a flat bed, if I break down on the road.

Brad in Maryland




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Jim Cannon, brilliant idea! I’m reminded of the old timer who moved his cars by pushing the top of a tire, rather than the whole car. I’m thinking the top of the tire moves at twice the distance as the chassis, giving a 2:1 mechanical advantage.
Marshall, I’ve used the starter motor to push the car a very short distance, too. Sometimes this was inadvertent because it was still in gear when I meant to start it. Never hit the back wall of the garage. So far. Unfortunately, the entire engine is out for rebuilding so there’s no drivetrain forward of the torque tube right now.
Brad, the winch idea sounds like it can horse the car up the incline out of the garage. Bonus: it gives me an excuse to sink an anchor into the concrete at the top of the driveway.
This forum really is a phenomenal resource because of this community.
 
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