Moving a shed

[BamaSpek]

I have a 8x16 and an 8x10 wood shed that I need to move. The small one has secure skids the other one has one skid and another Kinda on there.

The both have bolted down wood shelving inside that im sure adds a bit of weight. Shingled roof.

I need to move them about 300 feet across fairly level dirt/cleared land.

Ive considered three ways:
1. Drill a hole through the skids and adding rebar or something to tie a chain to and dragging them.....but not sure my tractor has the arse for it. Its an 8n....I'm afraid if I pulled it tied to the rear of the tractor the front would raise....and reverse on this thing is somewhere near mach 3.

2. I have a 16ft trailer with side rails....and thats how the small one got here....but the guy had large jacks, and it was still a bit tricky setting it on blocks so it was above the rails ....all I have are small 10 ton jacks and a floor jack.

3. I have several 8' wood fence posts that are 8" diam. I was tinking of jacking the sheds up...slide a few under and then pull it....replacing them as they come out the back end.

I have heard all these ideas somewhere or another but have never seen em work or seen videos.

Is it worth the money to hire a dozer or something big to drag it (hunting season for small dozer work is probably the equivalent of calling a plumber on easter Sunday around here)

Am I over complicating this.... the problem is the sheds are full, and once I empty them to move them.....I wont have alot of time (between rains) to move the shed and set it back up and refill it. If I get everything out to find out I cant roll, push or pull the shed where I need it......

[james dilley]

I moved A 8X16, about 15 years ago. about A 1/2 mile. I used A crowbar and blocks to get it up , To where I could use A bottle jack. To lift it up far enoughto use concrete blocks. then backed a trl under it and tied it down. It made the trip .I had the use of A 1/2 ton chevy p/u to pull it with .. Just make sure its square on the trl

[travis91]

hire some local shade tree mechanic with a roll back

[fantasymaker]

The 8n should handle it fine. You might have to jack it up first to break it loose .

[oneokie]

You will need to put some kind of spreader between the skids to prevent the chains/cables from pulling the ends of the skids together and tearing them loose from the floor joists.

[BamaSpek]

Originally Posted by fantasymaker

The 8n should handle it fine. You might have to jack it up first to break it loose .

pulling forward or pulling in reverse?

[BamaSpek]

Originally Posted by oneokie

You will need to put some kind of spreader between the skids to prevent the chains/cables from pulling the ends of the skids together and tearing them loose from the floor joists.

Nice, never thought of that. Would have been one of those learning lessons that maybe now avoided. Glad I asked and glad you knew

[BamaSpek]

Originally Posted by travis91

hire some local shade tree mechanic with a roll back

The roll back drivers I found moved the large one here the first time and also a 16 foot refrigerated box....... It was something I don't want to go through again. The 16' box is still at a 30 degree angle from where I want it. and the large shed came close to rolling off the rollback.

If I knew a good repo man with a rollback maybe....but they charge over $100

[springvalley]

You have got to lift it, and as oneokie said, you need to put something between the skids so they don`t pull togeather on ya, putting some small posts under to roll it wouldn`t hurt, but your 8 in ones may be a bit big. Good luck. > Marc

[Windy in Kansas]

For 300 feet I'm not sure that I would even mess around with using a tractor.

Jack an end up and place fence post or other fairly large diameter rollers under it. A bar will move it right along. Would be easiest to put plank down and then you could use smaller rollers as they wouldn't sink into the soil.

Last one I moved for my kids I placed it on 4X4s that I had picked up cheap as they were warped. I used ¾ inch rollers cut from scrap pipe. For most of the distance we didn't even use a bar, just pushed on it.

[ksfarmer]

Your 8N should have plenty of pull, just use a low gear and move slowly, pulling from the drawbar.. Like someone said, be sure to put a spreader on the skids to hold them from pulling to center. The shed with skids fastened solidly should be no trouble, the other with one loose skid may need a little work to secure the skid. You will be surprised how easily they slide along if the ground isn't too soft or muddy.

[travis91]

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch...ter-38943.html

make some dollies you can jack the shed up and set them on and secure with a bolt.. im thinking like a rectangular frame l__l with one at each corner front and back.. with ridgid ones on the back and swivel ones on the front.

[longshot38]

a tip i read about was to have your hitch point lower than the axle to prevent the front poping up.

i havent done this but it seems to make sense to change the angle will redirect the way the forces pull


dean

[OldGrouch]

Couple weeks back... moved a 16 X 16 shed about 50 feet and turned it to face a different direction. It had/has no skids and no floor. Jacked it up and put some round fence posts under it then wrapped a couple tow straps around it and using my tractor as a anchor pulled it with a come-a-long. Moved the posts as it moved... Took about 3 hours with me taking things nice and easy... Would have been easier if the building had skids under it.

--Dwight

[WildernesFamily]

We just moved a fairly heavy 8 x 8 pig shed. But it was built on skids. DH put a heavy duty eyebolt through each skid, attached chain and used our Farmall H to pull it to another pasture. Worked really well. I took video but I'm not really sure it would be all that much help to you?

[Dexter]

A lot of people have died on 9N and 8N tractors doing this incorrectly.
How about a local backhoe to drag? He may try pallet forks as well.

I've hired a hiab truck to slip two belts under and sling it onto a flat bed (moved 3 miles). Cost a couple hundred and was worth not building a new shed.

If they aren't tightly built they will twist apart while being dragged, been there done that.

[Cabin Fever]

If water is available near by, I'd make an ice road between where the shed is now and where you want it to be. Once you have a good layer of ice, a 4x4 wheeler with chains ought to be able to pull it to the new location.

We have ice fishing shanties that are the size of your sheds that are easily pulled around frozen lakes by ATVs and snowmmobiles.

[Sanza]

We successfully moved my 10 X 12' coop this summer by lifting up the ends and placing 20' planks down under the skids, and then from the back lifted and pushed the building along the planks, and repeated the procedure until we got it to the right place. It was smooth with no resistance or gouging into the ground with the skids running on the planks.
I was very happy with the outcome especially with my son for trying my idea first for a change...lol. Nothing was disturbed inside also which was a bonus.

[fishhead]

I'm sure I could move the smaller one by hand with just 3 or 4 ten foot pieces of schedule 40 4" PVC pipe for rollers. If the ground is soft I would lay some planks down for the pipe to roll on.

[mothernature]

We moved DH's 10x16 with the help of a good friend with a flat bed wrecker!! Good luck!