How to Move Heavy Objects With Simple Tools

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The human race is industrious, but we don’t like to work any harder than we have to. The details are lost to history now, but somebody, somewhere, noticed that sliding a mammoth haunch was less tiring than carrying it. (In fact, I’m willing to bet that he noticed it slid even better fur side down.) Whether you’re bringing home dinner or tearing up a concrete sidewalk, easier is still better. And while some jobs might require a backhoe or a winch, you can do a lot with basic levers and rollers, built in a few minutes using some hand and power tools. The crummiest 2 x 4 stud, properly applied across a fulcrum, moves a 150-pound rock with about 10 pounds of force. The improved version of this lever is even more capable. We’ll take brains over brawn any day, and the basic methods we show here will help you easily move the rocks, slabs, stumps, rubble and tree branches that you’re likely to encounter.

Sleds and Ramps

Slippery Slope (top): Sure, you can buy nice ramp hardware that mounts to construction lumber, but you can easily make your own from steel flat stock. Use carriage bolts to attach it to 2 x 12s.

Problem Solver (bottom): Somewhere between ramps and steps is the step ramp. Just face-nail short pieces of 2 x 12 lumber to create a versatile load mover.

Sleds and ramps are simple to build, and they are often the best way to move heavy stones. A stone sled is a plywood platform bolted and screwed to a pair of 2 x 4 runners. Its low stance allows you to easily roll or pivot the load onto it. To get big stones off, pivot a bar against the side rails.

Good-quality aluminum ramps are widely used to get ATVs in and out of pickups, but rough loads can wreck them. After all, they weren’t designed to withstand tumbling rocks, stumps or chunks of concrete. Instead, consider building stout ramps from 2 x 12s. The lumber needs to be a minimum of 10 feet long—this will produce an angle of about 17 degrees, for a typical pickup-bed height. That doesn’t sound very steep, until you push a loaded wheelbarrow up it. Improve traction by applying some paint to the ramp surface, preferably stuff you would have otherwise thrown away. Sprinkle dry sand on the wet paint or use antiskid paint additive ($7 to $15 per container). Improve traction by stiffening it with a 2 x 4 spine nailed vertically on edge to its bottom surface.

A “step ramp” sounds oxymoronic, but it’s well-suited to its name—a hybrid between ramps and steps. Build a pair. Each consists of extremely shallow steps made from 2 x 12 chunks face-nailed together. They nest together nicely and tuck unobtrusively into the corner of a shed.

In rare instances, a load forms its own transport. Years ago, the owner of a tree company showed me an old-time Yankee trick. To move a big pile of brush, place a Y-shaped branch on the ground, curved side down, and stack the brush on it. The branch’s stem forms a convenient handle, and the curved trunk acts like a sled runner.

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1. Sleds and Ramps	2. Rollers	3. Levers

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