For all the guys (and gals) out there who use Hand trucks / trolleys for transporting their Dobs - How big are your ones? How are the wheels, or what mods have you made?
I've been looking on and off at Hand trucks and I measured the ones I found. Officeworks claims to have big ones, but they charge the earth and didn't have them in stock. I looked at the local hardware store near work, and Bunnings.
Nearly all of them have a tray / base depth of ~200mm, most with a width of 350mm. Only the fridge trolley at Bunnings had a depth of about 250-300mm and width of 350-400mm. The wheels weren't the best. The dollys have a base that is wide and long enough, but the long gravity and 4 small solid wheels don't really allow for proper non-flat movement.
I am just wondering because I measured the base of the scope at about 410-450mm square, and was nervous at the overhang, both for stability and moisture on grass or asphalt.
If I had a 12", I'd be worried that the bottom plate doesn't extend far enough under the dob base to hold it securely, so I'd probably make some extension.
ive got the 12 inch dob and the same trolley that mike has and it transports the dob quite well. without an extension
i allso use two straps to tie it to the trolley
Same here, I bought the same trolley about 10 yrs ago for my 18" DOB and like Mike my view to the Nth West was blocked by a double story house and a large tree to the Nth East, so the trolley came in very handy indeed.didn't even have to tie anything around it made things so easy. also had heavy duty Castor's as well, for use on the path way.
Thanks guys. I have the 10in actually, like Mike. I saw his article and it gave me the idea. To my mind, the ones I see aren't big enough, but when you consider straps... and that only a little over half needs to be under..., it should be fine. I think I know the one you have - the big blow-up wheels about 300mm. What is the depth of your trays, by the way. I couldn't really see from the pictures.
I brought a $25 special from Bunnings, P-handle type complete with blow-up wheels. I had to modify it to fit standing upright behind the driver seat, ( I own a Ford Falcon sedan). This consisted of shortening the bottom plate down to 100mm and shortening the length down to 1100mm. I did this by cutting the tubing about half-way, cut off the excess, then rejoin the two section with steel-tubing inserts, and finally, some pop-rivets to hold it together. I've made an insert for the 10 inch dob's optical tube from the original packing carton which fits in the boot. I use this strapped to the hand truck to cart the scope around..much easier!!!
We have the standard $25 Super Cheap trolly and use the styro insert from the scopes box to rest the tube on. Ockky straps hold the tube in place.
This works well for moving the dob around the imediate house yard but is not stable enough to go offroad with if I want to set up in the front paddock. In that case I carry it down by hand in two trips.
I like Rons setup for moving his 16" about. Maybe he can tell you about it.
What about one of these platform trolleys, i was looking at this as a solution rather than a handttruck. I have seen them for sale in one store for 70-90$. I also saw an add in a hardware catlogue (junk mail), but i do not recall for wich store. http://www.absoe.com.au/shelvingstor...rmtrolley.html
Sounds like it doesn't require much astro_nutt and jjjnettie. Just a base big enough to hold it to the back and something to keep the scope there. And here I was thinking they're all too small.
The picture didn't come up, netwolf, but I think I know what you're talking about. I dismissed them because the I'd have to remove and replace the wheels with something a lot larger and pneumatic to handle the drop off the verandah (only about 50-100mm depending where I go off - there's a row of plants blocking the lowest point) and onto the grass. Also, and related to the first part, the handles don't seem to me to provide enough leverage - the advantage of a hand truck is that I can gingerly put the weight to the back and then move up or down uneven ground. I haven't tried it, so it might work better.
