Moving with lead stash....suggestions?

[selmerfan]

So we're moving down to Iowa (Britt) in about 8 weeks - 240 miles one way. I'll be making several trips with some of my stuff before the pro movers show up, both to cut down on cost and to get some of my stuff in place before we settle in. One thing I'll be moving is my lead stash. Everything is melted into ingots at this point. I have about 150 lbs. of pure, 100 lbs. of dental x-ray film alloy, 30 lbs pure tin, 20 lbs 63/37 solder, 100 lbs or so of linotype, and about 800 lbs of COWW ingots. Is my best bet to make a couple of trips with lead packed in the center of my Suburban while pulling a 12 ft. trailer? I know I don't want to stack it into milk crates or buckets - too much weight to lift in at once. But I'm open to other suggestions on how to move the stash, because I'm certainly not leaving it behind!
Selmerfan

[slim1836]

Piano dolly with side rails?

Slim

[bangerjim]

You probably should do several trips. Distribute the ingots evenly on the floor. You listed over 1K# of weight! That is a high axle load with a trailer hooked on too. And the other stuff you will be tempted to put in. Pb gets expensive when you have to move it.

Good luck on your move. I left IA over 40 years ago.

[JSnover]

I rented a U-Haul 17' truck for my last move and neatly spread 1500 ingots on the floor. Covered them with some old blankets and loaded everything else on top.

[Sweetpea]

Take it in two trips, spread them out on the floor in the back seat.

[jkl1861]

If you broke it into two trips (960miles total, 10mpg, $3.25/gal, 60mph), you're talking $312 gas and 16+ hours on the road.

Or...

You could ship the 1200lbs in 18 medium flat rate boxes ($12.65 each). It will only cost you $228 postage, but your new mailman will hate you forever (priceless!)

Good luck with your move!

[sqlbullet]

I got some stupid in me, but week ago friday, I loaded my suburban with 3100 lbs of isotope lead for a 5 mile drive. I would not go 240 miles that way. But you only have 1200 lbs. I would run it in it's own trip.

[bangerjim]

Can you say "broken axle"?

Be very cautious. It is NOT a heavy duty truck.

[lightman]

I would just put it in my truck, load some other stuff on to top and roll with it. But I drive a Supper Duty!:D A Suburban should carry 1200# for that distance. Put it on the floor in the back seat, and load it up with other light weight stuff. I think a Suburban will haul 7 or 8 200# people right? Just don't put it all in the back, past the rear axle.

[leeggen]

Myself I would lay some on the trailer floor and some in the truck. That is nothing for a 12 ft trailer and the suv to handle.
CD

[leeggen]

By the way 1861, he is already doing the trip with his house hold items so the lead cost is nominal. If that was the only thing he was moving then yes it would be expensive.
CD

[dragon813gt]

Why not stack and strap it all on a pallet and have the professionals movers move it? They should have no issues moving it w/ a pallet jack and their truck.

[selmerfan]

Well, let's put it this way. We're going down tomorrow with my wife and one kid for a visit to the school and more church info. I'm going to load up a good portion into the center of the Suburban and toss our overnight stuff in as well. I'll be bringing a 12 ft trailer back so that I can take down stuff like the garden tiller, snowblower, cider press - bulky things that aren't too heavy but don't pack well into a moving truck. I can load the trailer and take more lead down. I'll be making at least two of those trips, and would with or without the lead. So I'll be fine splitting it into thirds for moving then. I just need a reasonable plan. This move is happening so fast that we hardly feel prepared for it...

[str8shot426]

If the trailer is a single axle it is most likely a 3500#. I would load it all in the trailer under your other items. Equal out the weight over the trailer axle and it will pull fine. Suburbans are ok tuggers, nothing like a truck, but the half ton version will pull 6000#.

[selmerfan]

This is a 1999 half-ton with the 5.7 Vortec and towing package. 185000 miles and it has pulled our travel trailer and my 16 ft. Lund boat very nicely, as well as a heavily loaded 16 ft. trailer on our last move. It pulls well, I just haven't put something as dense as this much lead into it and don't want to overload the whole rig because the lead doesn't take up too much space..

[RogerDat]

This is a 1999 half-ton with the 5.7 Vortec and towing package. 185000 miles and it has pulled our travel trailer and my 16 ft. Lund boat very nicely, as well as a heavily loaded 16 ft. trailer on our last move. It pulls well, I just haven't put something as dense as this much lead into it and don't want to overload the whole rig because the lead doesn't take up too much space..

Think your being smart to think it through. Don't want to be like those internet pictures of vehicles loaded by idiots at the lumber store. Sounds like the household items your going to transport are bulky so even with lead should stay under trailer capacity. Towing weight is the least stressful on the vehicle. Much less stress than on the floor inside. As long as you maintain proper tongue weight of 10% - 12% of trailer weight you should have no problem with that lead in the trailer. Better concentrated weight be toward the center and with that tongue percentage forward of axle line than with the weight at edges or front/rear. Farther concentrated weight is from center the more prone to sway the trailer will get. Might want an extra piece of scrap wood under the concentrated weight to avoid over stressing the trailer floor. Spread the weight out a bit using some scrap wood like a snow shoe. Seems to me the weight will travel better in the trailer and be easier to load if one avoids having to bend down and lean into the car to put it on the floor.

1000# of lead plus 1000 - 1500# of house hold stuff should tow beautiful and who wants to unload more than that after a long drive?

[selmerfan]

My loading/work bench breaks down into legs and table top. If I turn the top upside down, I have 6" deep "lips" on the table top, which is 3" thick. 84x32. I could set that over the axle in the trailer and stack lead in it up to the lip and then pack around it. That would be a good start and a good way to spread the weight out to protect the floor, right? I hadn't thought about the weight being more stressful loaded in the vehicle than as towing weight - that's a good point. It's a long enough haul that I want to have it loaded right and I'll probably split it into two different loads because I have that luxury.

[smokeywolf]

I'm looking forward to trying to figure the packing and transportation of my supplies; except I'll likely be moving 1,700 miles.

[GoodOlBoy]

lift with yer knees......

GoodOlBoy

[selmerfan]

Problem solved. One of my coffee buddies has a flat bed, double axle open car trailer with an open-frame surrounding it four feet high. I'll be able to do the lead, swingset, tiller, and snowblower and garden tools in one run! Woohoo!

[Savage99]

What I did with about 1100 lbs of lead (and my other heavy stuff) was announced at work that I needed help with moving and that there would be a barbeque and beer at the end of the day. The response was 4 guys with their trucks and a trailer borrowed from work. Did everything in 1 day and the barbeque turned out great. It was only about 30 miles or so but a lot of heavy tools (mainly woodworking and safe) plus it was fun (kinda) and nobody worked really hard.

[Tenbender]

Sell it to me and I will move it !! :D

[jsizemore]

So, if you were hauling 3-200lb buddies in the backseat you wouldn't think twice. Add 100lbs of luggage behind them. That leaves you with 400lbs for the trailer with about 50-100lbs forward of the axle for a smooth ride. What's the big deal?

[rondog]

You probably already know this, but I'll just add that pro movers won't move or handle stuff like ammo and your typical garage/yard/household chemicals that all us tinkerers love to have around, so you'll need to move that stuff yourself too. Hired some movers once, and it was disgusting how much stuff I had to give away to friends or throw away. They also don't like to move boxes that you've already pre-packed. They have their reasons and rules to follow, but it still sucks for us.

Good luck with your move! I hope I never have to do it again, unless a dream comes true.....

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Problem solved. One of my coffee buddies has a flat bed, double axle open car trailer with an open-frame surrounding it four feet high. I'll be able to do the lead, swingset, tiller, and snowblower and garden tools in one run! Woohoo!

I wish you all the best in IA. Glad you are getting this figured out.

[Springfield]

I loaded 500 lbs of ingots into my sidecar with a BMW attached once. The guy said he had 250 lbs in the ad but he was wrong and I couldn't leave it behind nor make a second trip. Worked surprisingly well, just had to allow for the weight when braking.

[mold maker]

The hand work loading and unloading it would be the bigger problem for me. I drove a 73 (3/4 ton) sub till 03, and it never failed to haul all I could load, whether rock or tools. Lots of times it made a road where none existed. Rock hounds and prospectors are crazy, just like casters.

[mart]

When I moved to Alaska, we shipped most of our stuff in a conex by barge. In that conex was 2700 pounds of lead. My wife thought I was crazy. I probably was. It made it just fine.

[scottfire1957]

I know you've figured out what to do, but would you have asked that question if it had been the same weight in pillows?

It's just weight, no matter the density of the item. A pound of foam weighs the same as a pound of lead.

[62chevy]

I know you've figured out what to do, but would you have asked that question if it had been the same weight in pillows?

It's just weight, no matter the density of the item. A pound of foam weighs the same as a pound of lead.


It's the volume that would kill you.

[scottfire1957]

It's the volume that would kill you.

Totally different question, fer shure.;-)

[zuke]

I moved 1000 lbs packed into milk crate's with ingot's piled to the bottom of the handle's.

[lightman]

The last time that I moved a friend borrowed a box truck from work. I think it was an F-600 Ford with an electric lift on back. We loaded my lead last, putting it in the very back of the truck. The worst possible place, even though it was a short haul. The steering was very light with 3 5 gallon buckets of type metal and several milk crates of 1# ingots. Even that heavy duty truck felt all of that weight on the very back! I've got even more now, but hoping not to move again. If I do, I'll load it with my tractor and haul it on my goose neck. Good Luck with your move!

[sqlbullet]

I consulted the door frame on my suburban...A 2011 1500. The sticker says not to exceed 1483 lbs cargo and passenger. Based on that I would have no qualms about loading it up with your 1200 lbs of lead and my 220 lb self and driving a couple hundred miles.

A flat bed is definitely the better option. Glad that worked out for you.