She has a new lair....

[Dirt_Dad]

You're welcome. Mine must be 12 years old by now, and still going strong. If you decide to get one, here's a couple maintenance tips that might come in handy.

If you use it on a concrete floor, the wheels tend to become caked with concrete dust over time, which increases the rolling resistance of the wheels and makes it harder to move the dolly around freely. Every so often I take the wheels out of the casters and slip a 5/16" bolt through the axle hole. I tighten the wheel onto the bolt using a 5/16" nut, chuck the whole thing into a power drill, and spin it against a file until it knocks all the dust off and makes a smooth surface on the wheel again.

The casters have bearings in them, and they're shipped dry. Every once in a while, when it seems like it's getting harder to spin the dolly around, I lubricate the bearings. Because the casters can't be disassembled to get at the bearings, I've used bicycle chain lube (the kind that comes in a bottle, not a spray). Just drip some in the gap between the bearing races, and the carrier evaporates and leaves the lubricant behind. When it's time to renew the lubrication, I just spray brake cleaner into the bearings, let them dry, and then replace the lubricant.

The dolly is very strong. At one time I had my Harley Road King on it, and that beast had to be in the 800-900 pound range. Very easy to move around when it was on the dolly.

It appears the metal block front and rear go to the ground to lift the dolly wheels off the ground to stabilize it while loading and unloading the bike. I'm making the leap based on your satisfaction with the dolly that it's stable while loading/unloading the bike, and not too much force to get it off the block to roll around. If I do get DM the other bike, I'd need two dollies. Each for a bike under 500lbs.

 

[RCinNC]

Yep, that's how they work. There's a lever attached to the front and rear blocks (the blocks are like the lobes of a cam). I push the levers down, and that lifts the dolly up so it's resting on just the blocks and the dolly wheels aren't touching the ground. The end blocks also act like little ramps, to help get the bike onto the dolly. Then I push the bike up onto the dolly, and the sidestand rests in that little outrigger. After that I reach down and pull up on the front and rear levers, and that flips the end blocks up so the dolly wheels rest back on the ground. It does take a little force to pull up on the levers, depending on how heavy the bike is that's on the dolly, but I don't find it to be any trouble with the S10 (I'm 60, if that's any frame of reference). Once it's back on its wheels, I roll the dolly to wherever I want. When it comes time to roll the bike off, I just push back down on the levers. They are easy to push down with your foot when the weight of the bike is on it. Then I just roll the bike off.

I've found the dolly to be very stable when loading and unloading the bike, even when the dolly is sitting on a smooth concrete floor.

Here's a video of the dolly in use, in a pretty confined space. It should give you an idea of whether or not it's right for you.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Thanks, that should allow me to add several more bikes to the garage.

Appreciate the info.

And congrats again on the new abode. Best of luck to you in the adjustment phase.

 

[Dougbug]

I just bought a house, and although the new place has an enormous carport, sadly it doesn't have an attached garage like the old digs. However, it does have this:

A 12' X 20' utility shed that will be the perfect new lair for the Super Tenere. The shed's big enough to roll the bike up on its dolly and then spin it around so it's facing out again. The previous owners even built a workbench inside the shed so I won't have to (though naturally, I already have changes in mind for it).

Can't wait to start turning this into my new workshop!

Nice, does it have power? Best thing I did to my shed(s) was burying power to them. Great to have lights, outlets for battery tender and a small air compressor.

 

[RCinNC]

The previous owners wired the shed itself, but never brought power to it from the house. That's Project #1.

 

[Fennellg]

Given your proclivity for doing most of your own bike work power is every thing. Then climate control and light. Keep us in the loop lots of pics and your plans. Some of us live for this stuff

Before I did my Patio, I walked the neighborhood several times and looked at the other patios in the neighborhood. Some were wooden, most were stone. A lot of them lacked imagination and were done with no plan or thought. A simple square or or rectangle. The builder specials were too small and many had added on to them.

The good ones had curves and a round fire pits. The really good ones were almost as wide as the house not square and had a bump out for grills and smokers. This would help the the walking traffic flow and the look. I sketched out what I wanted... Had to for the home owners association. The wife had no stomach for a cheap renegade operation. Hired the company the builder used. That's why my patio looks like it came with the house. Kept the fire pit away from the door, and the bump out close to the door. So bad weather cooking is more manageable keeping the fire pit smoke out of the house.

So a good plan is everything. The patio is 14 years old now. And gets used almost every day. Sure others did theirs for less but sometimes that is short sighted and the item struggles to deliver.

 

[RCinNC]

The previous owners took really good care of the house, and the carport addition was done properly; unfortunately, it blocks access to the shortest route between the house and the shed, so trenching is going to be an expensive pain in the ass (and I don't want to run surface wiring across the ceiling of the carport).

For now, things are going to be a little bit ad-hoc. I picked up a shore power outlet for an RV, so I can do the redneck engineering of running the shed electricity off a 12/3 extension cord. I have an exterior outlet on the front porch that makes for about a 45 foot run to the shed. It'll be plenty to run the LED shop lights I have, which pull about a half an amp, plus a fan for ventilation. That'll get me started.

I've never had either heat or A/C in any of my workshops, so they aren't priorities for me. The long term plan for permanent wiring would be to be able to accommodate some climate control, but not having it has never stopped me from working in a shop.

 

[Fennellg]

I understand.

We are not getting any younger. Heat, cold and humidity take their toll on us and can also affect your work. Future proof it. You will be happier able to do what you love longer.

use to use a 12 pump to change my tires. I now use a compressor with a tank. Night and day for ease of use and time spent. But I did not go crazy got a harbour freight.

 

[Checkswrecks]

The previous owners took really good care of the house, and the carport addition was done properly; unfortunately, it blocks access to the shortest route between the house and the shed, so trenching is going to be an expensive pain in the ass (and I don't want to run surface wiring across the ceiling of the carport).

For now, things are going to be a little bit ad-hoc. I picked up a shore power outlet for an RV, so I can do the redneck engineering of running the shed electricity off a 12/3 extension cord. I have an exterior outlet on the front porch that makes for about a 45 foot run to the shed. It'll be plenty to run the LED shop lights I have, which pull about a half an amp, plus a fan for ventilation. That'll get me started.

I've never had either heat or A/C in any of my workshops, so they aren't priorities for me. The long term plan for permanent wiring would be to be able to accommodate some climate control, but not having it has never stopped me from working in a shop.

It's more expensive but I'd highly recommend making your own extension cord using 8 or 10 awg. The voltage drop and heat build-up with any reasonable distance can quickly burn the plugs of a 12/3 cord.

 

[Fennellg]

Red neck solutions can cost you dearly in the future. A fire comes to mind. A lapse of judgment by yourself or some one else, with a little bad luck is all it takes. Think motor cycle helmets . You need to crash for them to be of use but we strive never to crash...... You can get away with not wearing one till you can't.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Making your own extension cords is hardly redneck and RC certainly is capable. And if it really bothers you, you can buy 10 AWG extensions but they are expensive.

Using a 12/3 at longer lengths either means insufficient current is delivered to whatever is to be powered, or that the plug may heat till a breaker trips.

 

[Fennellg]

Checkswrecks, code is there for a reason. My Friend with the monster high IQ the weapons designer got lazy and was running a plug in pressure washer. He had cut off the ground fault plug because it was malfunctioning. Put a regular plug on it. He thought no problem I will just use the ground fault plug in the garage. He was out back forgot or was rolling the dice.

Well his wife found him on the ground stuck in an endless loop of involuntary mussel contractions. He figures that went on for 10 mins. Who knows. He was real sheepish about it all. I had warned him.

A lawn mower or running over all the time comes to mind. Years of UV and weather. What ever, code is there for all the stuff we don't see coming. I found a repair in a wall done by the electrician because of a fault tripping the breaker. I had been 10 years since the house was built. I took pics and sent them to the builder. The line hade been badly pealed with a knife and it was taped up poorly. They tried to tell me that was within code. I said BS would not pass muster in Mexico. I repaired it proper.. Burning to death is not on my to do list. The wood was charred a bit.

Told them I wanted $1000 or I would send the Pics and story to the local TV News stations. They are a national builder. I got my check.

 

[RCinNC]

I originally planned on a 10 gauge cable, but then I did some voltage drop calculations based on the 45 foot cable run to the shed using 12/3 stranded copper wire and the items I expect to use in the shed.

The maximum load I'm projecting for the temporary hookup is around 9.7 amps. That takes into account the two LED shoplights at a combined load of 1.7 amps (650 mA each), and my highest load tool, a grinder, at 8 amps. I'll round up to 10 amps.

The voltage drop over a 45 foot span for that size conductor and 10 amp load would be 1.3% or less. From what I've been reading, 3% is the maximum allowable voltage drop over the course of the circuit. At the maximum allowable voltage drop with that load and that distance, a 14 AWG conductor is the minimum allowable conductor size. Using a 12/3 cable with a 10 amp load, and staying within that 3% allowable voltage drop, a maximum circuit distance of 103.68 feet is within that standard.

Since house current fluctuates and 120V is nominal, I ran the numbers as low as 114 volts. That reduces the allowable circuit distance to 98.49'. Taking into account the actual wire runs inside the shed (also 12 gauge), I'm still within the allowable circuit distance at those voltages and load.

The one unknown is the length of the cable run of the circuit inside the house, which I'd guess has to be added to the overall circuit length. I'd have no way of knowing that, but I imagine I could measure the voltage output at the breaker on that circuit and then measure the output voltage at the end of the plug, and if the output voltage exceeded a 3% drop, then the circuit run would be too long and would be unusable.

 

[Checkswrecks]

As I wrote, RC is fully capable of knowing how to do it right.

I said nothing about cutting off pins or otherwise not making an extension which complies with Code. I personally made a 25 ft extension with 8 AWG to be able to use a charger on the car when it is behind the van. While the outlet has a 50A breaker and is on the end of 6 AWG, I never run the extension at more than 16A.

 

[Fennellg]

Perhaps I don’t understand. Not concerned with wiring but rather how the line is run. Is it going to lie on the ground?

 

[RCinNC]

Perhaps I don’t understand. Not concerned with wiring but rather how the line is run. Is it going to lie on the ground?

It'll be on the ground until I'm done working in the shed for the day, at which point I'll coil it up and put it back in the shed. I don't plan on leaving it connected all the time. Essentially it'll be no different than when I'm walking around the yard with my electric weed whacker and dragging an extension cord behind me. The plugs at both ends will be well above ground, and sheltered from the elements, along with cable strain relievers to keep stress off the outlets and to prevent the line from being accidentally disconnected.

 

[Fennellg]

Have not seen a weed whacker or mower corded in years. Decades actually. I rv a lot. I know what can be done with the wiring and that does not concern me. I know you are smart enough to build in a margin of error.

My points and I will shut up.

1. This is a temporary fix to buy time and to use your work shop.
2. This is a temporary solution. To save money
3. Temporary solutions have a way of becoming permanent
4. Some asshole dimes you out to the powers that be.
5. Some one cuts your grass, air rates, trenches for cable, gas , fibre optics………..
6. You are tired and forget to bring the line in

The permutations are endless. The line gets old and rain electrifies the ground. My friend and his pressure washer he put a regular plug on it. Yes it will work and is probable safe for the sort term. Most table saw accidents had their safety equipment removed. It’s a rare event but happens enough to make the internet with regularly. This is not an rv park people won’t be looking for the line. You see Xmas lights you know to look for a cord.
We have had leans placed on homes for not cutting the grass. Sure some push things. Like Dr Phil says take the high road it’s less traveled. Said my peace I only wish you the best

 

[Fennellg]

Oh If you have finished applying for loans lock the credit of you and anyone on the house. Remove the low fruit first. Lock all 3 bureaus.

They now fake being you and apply for credit or try sell your house while you are in it. This will stop most efforts.

Notify the agency that collects property tax that you want to be contacted about any activity concerning your home.