How to Use a Furniture Dolly

The best way to keep strain off of your back is to use a dolly whenever possible to transport things. We recommend that you always have a dolly – also known as a hand truck – available before the moving day.

Two-wheel Dollies

2-wheel dollies are most useful for moving boxes over hilly surfaces because they’re easy to control in that environment. 2-wheel appliance dollies are great for carrying appliances because of their built-in appliance tie-down strap in front and their built-in stair-rollers in back. Appliance dollies and hand-trucks and other 2 or 4-wheel dollies can be rented inexpensively from most truck rental companies and/or equipment rental services.

You may want to use a hand-truck with inflatable tires while moving furniture around the house, especially if you have hardwood floor installed. This will prevent it from scratching.

Four-wheel Dollies

4-wheel dollies are best for carrying things on level ground because they make for simple, easy legwork just pushing loads.

They are also good for carrying really big pieces like pianos or dressers as opposed to a 2-wheel dolly which will not work to carry these kind of things.

4-wheel dollies can also carry couches or heavy sofa-beds.

Or huge armoires which, when balanced correctly on a 4-wheel dolly, are nearly weightless.

4-wheel dollies can also be used to carry stacked things and boxes just as can 2-wheel dollies.

As opposed to 2-wheel dollies, 4-wheel dollies can be used for most any kind of furnishing, even well-padded and cardboarded heavy TVs.

The use of dollies, whenever possible, during a move is a major safety boon for the movers too, because they don’t have to risk their backs as much when they are lifting loads. It’s also a major safety feature for your household goods if they are properly utilized.

Additionally, there is a lot less chance of the human error of dropping things and damaging them, as when things are being carried.

In order to properly utilize the dolly to transport large furniture like the piano below, you have to mount the piece correctly upon it. That means that the dolly must be centered under the furniture piece, like the piano on its side is in the picture below.

Or you can put the piano centered on its bottom on the dolly. But remember, most of the piano’s weight is in the back of the case so it actually is very well-balanced in this position.

Each of these furniture pieces can be lifted up by a couple of strong guys and a third person can roll the dolly into a centered position underneath it.

Or you can tip-mount them onto the dolly by following the easy procedure shown below.

First, place a folded pad underneath the edge to which the furniture piece will be tipped so as not to scratch it.

Then, using 2 men, tip it up and have the 3rd man place the dolly centered and flush with the furniture piece’s bottom. Then lower the furniture piece gradually onto the dolly and it will pop right up onto it.

Below is a mover tip-mounting a dresser onto a dolly by himself.

Dollying big furniture pieces is a much easier way to cover distance with them than to carry them because dollying conserves human energy. Once at the residence’s front door, the movers will carry it up any stairs and into the place where it is to be positioned.

Below is shown a well-padded antique desk with damaged and broken legs sitting upside down. The pads are protecting its top while it sits in this position and the damaged area is left exposed. This piece should be dollied or carried upside down like this so that anyone handling it can see the problem and avoid making it worse.

It should also be positioned on the truck upside down and with nothing set upon it.

If you feel really nervous about using a moving dolly to wheel out your heavy and large household items, such as furniture pieces and appliances, then leave this heavy job to extensively trained professionals who have used dollies in their daily work for years. Request a free moving quote to learn the cost of hiring professional movers.

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