Can anyone give us an idea of a safe way (for other traffic and the building!) of moving a 14' granary about 25 miles, an area which includes about 5 miles of mild hilly highway where it can get quite windy. We have already moved another, shorter outbuilding (wider than it is tall)to our place from the same location and the wind on the two stretches of hills made things pretty adventurous (and damaged the building some.) We transported the other one by jacking it up onto a 8' wide 30' flatbed with a gooseneck, but have no idea how to even get such a tall building onto any mode of transport. Surely not upright, but do we tip it? And how? Feel pretty ignorant here, but you guys out there are my best shot that I've thought of so far. Thanks for any help!

Teddy Miller

-- Teddy Miller (Nebraska) (millerfam@panhandle.net), January 08, 2002

Answers

My house was moved here from a city lot. Came in two peices on special trailers which were really just "I" beams with rear axles that carried the load low. extra wide too! I'd bet tipping a grannery will destroy it but maybe extra bracing inside is what's needed!

-- Ross (amulet@istar.ca), January 08, 2002.

Let me see if I still have SuperMans number.

-- LurkyLu (lurkylu@yahoo.com), January 08, 2002.

Lurky, that was "LEAP a tall building in a single bound." ;o)

All kidding aside, there are heavy haulers who specialize in such things. I'd sure check with them. This time of year they're not too busy. I'd think you'd want to move it upright because that's the way it's designed and built to withstand stress. Good luck with your project. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), January 08, 2002.

We moved two a couple of years ago. One was close enough (about 2 miles away) to road all the way, using a fork lift. Each side was lifted up and boards were inserted underneath. Chains were wrapped around the boards and then attached to the outside of the granary. Come-alongs were used to attach the chains to anything that could be found (door latch). The fork lift picked up one side and with the help of a couple of people, the granary was tipped back and chained to the fork lift. This roaded easily, but then again we didn't have far to go.

The second was hauled on a trailer, upright. We used the same fork lift to load, overhanging most of it on the ditch side of the trailer. Boards were inserted underneath to keep it from bending too much. It was then chained anyplace we could find to chain. This one was hauled about 20 miles, but there was only 1 mile of highway. A tractor was used to unload. This one was tall enough that you could see it coming for miles, even with the hills on the road. (Watch for wires)

If you do decide to lay it down, the dents shouldn't be too severe to get out. They are fairly easy to reshape when placed in their final resting spot. I wish you well and hope it works out for you!!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 08, 2002.

Cowgirlone - can you tell me more about the trailer, what size fork lift etc? We have one that we can have IF we can figure out how to move it the 2 miles to our farm.

-- Trisha-MN (coldguinea@netscape.net), January 09, 2002.

Trisha, the trailer was just a 16 ft. flat bed trailer. We pulled it with the 1/2 ton pick-up. I'm not sure about the size of the fork lift. The granary we roaded with the fork lift was a 10 ft. granary. The one we hauled on the trailer was larger. This was a couple of years ago and I can't remember exactly how we placed the boards underneath. We did not bring any with us so we had to use what was laying around when we got there. The one we hauled on the trailer did not have a bottom and the one we moved with the fork lift did.

We got these free for the hauling, brought them home and poured a cement floor in the bottomless one. They have been great to have.

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 09, 2002.

You only mentioned 14' - is that the height I would guess? What are the other dimentions?

I moved 2 18' by 18' grain bins this summer with a car trailer & 5 friends, but that was only a mile. I moved a 15'x11' high bin 10 miles a couple years ago on a wagon running gear. My brother in law is moving a 12x20 x 11' high utility shed 100 miles on a 'Donahue' or JD machinery trailer.

However, for 25 miles and difficult conditions, you might want to consult the experts. It can be done, but you probably need special permits & such, and you need to find a route with no overhead obstructions, and/or pay the power co to raise the power lines in the way. (Yes, all these things can be done yourself & without notifying anyone, but you do assume a lot of liability then!)

So, how big is your grainery and what is it constructed of, what is the frame under it? Makes a big difference.

I don't know everything by a long shot, but I have _never_ heard of a building tipped on it's side to move it, I think you'd end up with toothpicks.

--->Paul

-- paul (ramblerplm@hotmail.com), January 09, 2002.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. The granary is old (but solid, so far... ahem), all wood, has a wood floor and apparently has been moved in the past, as it is sitting on skids. The 14'is the height and I can't find the other dimensions at present, but we moved a 17 x 22 building (only 8' tall, tho)from the same location, and the floor dimensions of this are considerably less, but the height is what has us wondering. We've never heard of tipping a building on its side, either. Thought it'd be a wise question to ask tho, as opposed to trying it and watching it go to shambles. The granary is in great shape and we can have it free if we can get it. Too many other projects hollering for attention to even consider dismantling and reconstructing.... or using the wood for anything else. We just want it intact!

-- Teddy Miller (millerfam@panhandle.net), January 09, 2002.