Moving an Optima/Cameo

[dazedandconfused]

How many backs does it take to hand carry/move one of these?  My side and backyards are really soft due to new sod.  Dollies are other equiopment may dig intot he grass.

If I hired some backs with beer and pizza, how many would it take?  I have no clue!

[Electro]

dazedand confused,                          

Both the Optima and Cameo weigh about 850 pounds when empty.  You can figure it might take 10 guys to do this, moving the tub along the ground a little at a time.  It will definitely mess up your sod.

Electro

[Brewman]

I'm thinking that whatever method of delivery, it could mess up your sod.  That leaves you with 2 options:
One is to mess up the sod, and fix it when delivery is complete.  The other is to wait until your sod has rooted down, and you can stop watering it for long enough for the spa dolly.  The dolly that was used to deliver our spa had quite nice tires, which did no damage to our lawn at all.  
Are you considering installing this spa yourself, vs having the dealer do it?
What about your concrete pad, or whatever foundation you need.  If that is not in place yet, will you have to move concrete or stones down, and what might that do to your new lawn?


Brewman

[Lori]

You can always have a crane delivery.   :-/ Not exactly what I had planned in the beginning, but it pays to measure the clearance at the sides of your house.  If the spa is bigger than the clearance, it won't matter about the lawn.    Trust me!!!  

There you go mccall!!!  

[wmccall]

You can always have a crane delivery.   :-/ Not exactly what I had planned in the beginning, but it pays to measure the clearance at the sides of your house.  If the spa is bigger than the clearance, it won't matter about the lawn.    Trust me!!!  

There you go mccall!!!  

I was just starting to let that go Lori, Its no fun beating a dead horse.

[doodoo]

You  could also lay a couple of plywood sheets down and run your dolly over that moving the loose sheet forward. No damage to your lawn and a smooth ride.

Not familiar with the story Lori, is it funny?

[Lori]

Doodoo,

Yes, the story is funny, now  .  But at the time I was desperate.

Ok, so, I looked and looked and wet tested and wet tested.  Finally decided on the Vanguard.  Of course, all the dealers I talked to said "No problem.  We can get it in your backyard."  So, I didn't think to measure the clearance between the ground and the eaves of our house on either side.  Big mistake.  

There was not enough clearance to get the spa in, without taking the packaging material off and getting a number of guys to carry it.  Plus I would have had to move our air conditioning unit.  Big pain.  

So, I was going to go through my neighbor's yard to the west of me.  She is a great little old lady, sweet, and I even promised her a dip!  There wasn't enough clearance on the side of her house, either.  When the dealer came out and measured, he wasn't sure about what to do.  They had never had to deal with a crane delivery.

Turned out to be the best thing!   Found a guy who charged $72/hr with 1 hr minimum.  This was the best quote we got.  He pulled up, put the cradle of straps around the spa, lifted it up over the house (the scariest part) and gingerly set it down in the exact spot it sits today!

It was beautiful.  I took lots of pictures.  The delivery crew were thankful, they didn't have to do any hard work except taking the packaging materials off, setting it up, assembling the steps and cover lift.  They did have to break up the pallet it was on, they didn't think to have the crane lift it back over the house!

Anyway, I have taken some ribbing over not measuring before hand.  My husband has reminded me numerous times, not to mention wmccall!  But if they didn't give me a hard time, I would think something was wrong!!!  

[dazedandconfused]

Lori,

Sounds like an interesting day you had!

Did the straps from the crane cause any damage on the spa, ie, did the straps squeeze the unit?  If you do not mind, how long did it take them?

Last, I assumed HS delivered the spa to your driveway still on the pallet?  How did they get it off the truck?  I guess the crane people just ran the straps under the spa thru the pallet?    Once the spa/pallet was in position, how did they get the spa off of the pallet?  Am I missing anything?

Wow, for $72 an hour, this service could be really helpful!  Save my back!

Thanks

[wmccall]

Doodoo,

Yes, the story is funny, now  .  But at the time I was desperate.


It was beautiful.  I took lots of pictures.  The delivery crew were thankful, they didn't have to do any hard work except taking the packaging materials off, setting it up, assembling the steps and cover lift.  They did have to break up the pallet it was on, they didn't think to have the crane lift it back over the house!

Lori's pictures

http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/hottubowners/lst?.dir=/Lori%27s+great+crane+adventure&.src=gr&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//briefcase.yahoo.com/

[dazedandconfused]

wmccall,

can you post another link to those pics?  i am getting a yahoo error message.

thanks

[wmccall]

wmccall,

can you post another link to those pics?  i am getting a yahoo error message.

thanks

It works for me, but you probably have to have a yahoo groups membership to get that far into yahoo groups.  (I apologize for not considering that. )

[Lori]

Lori,

Sounds like an interesting day you had!

Did the straps from the crane cause any damage on the spa, ie, did the straps squeeze the unit?  If you do not mind, how long did it take them?

Last, I assumed HS delivered the spa to your driveway still on the pallet?  How did they get it off the truck?  I guess the crane people just ran the straps under the spa thru the pallet?    Once the spa/pallet was in position, how did they get the spa off of the pallet?  Am I missing anything?

Wow, for $72 an hour, this service could be really helpful!  Save my back!

Thanks

Yes, it was quite a day!

Ok, in answer of your questions.

1.  The straps did no damage to the spa.  It was still in the shrink wrapping from the factory.  Hence the reason it was still on the pallet.  They put foam all around the spas to protect them.

2.  It took him a total of 20 minutes from the time he drove up until the time he drove away.  That includes paying him and everything.  After watching, it was well worth the $72.  Of course, be sure and call around.  He was the lowest bid.  I had one company come out and survey the site and they came back with a bid of (I think, I can't quite remember exactly) of $175/hr-4 hour minimum.  So, be sure and check around.

3.  Yes, they delivered it to my driveway on a tiny (I say tiny, but it was tiny for a trailer) trailer.  Almost looked like it was built to deliver my HotSpring spa, of course, it probably wasn't.  

4.  Yes, the straps went under the spa, through the pallet.  

5.  They set the spa down on some firewood I had in the back yard.  Then the straps were taken off the spa.  The delivery guys set the spa on its side and kicked the pallet off.  Then they carefully set the spa down in the desired position (with the control panel facing my back door) and began tearing off the packaging material around the outside of the spa.

6.  I don't think so.

It went really smoothly.  It was the talk of my neighbors.  When they heard the noise of the crane, they all came out to watch.  Of course, the first thing out of their mouths, "You bought a hot tub!"  I felt like a kid at Christmas or on my birthday!!!  I was dancing around, taking pictures, asking questions.  The delivery guys probably thought I was nuts!!!  Their boss was even on hand to witness, since they had never worked with a crane before.  One kid said he wished they would do the crane everytime.

Anything else you want to know, let me know!

[dazedandconfused]

thanks lori!

what yahoo group do i need to belong to to see her pics?

[tony]

dazedandconfused

My spa was delivered by crane also.  As a matter of fact, the dealer I purchased from delivers all spas by crane.  It would most likely do the least damage of all the delivery methods.  It's worth checking into.

[dazedandconfused]

OK - Just saw Lori's pics!  Wow!  Neat.  Thanks