Moving Inoperable Vehicles

What is a good way to move inoperable vehicles around inside a garage. Back when vehicles had steel bumpers I used a compact 4x4 tractor to push or pull them. This worked real well. The problem is, today's vehicles do NOT have steel bumpers. So, how can cars and trucks with urethane / plastic bumpers be moved without causing any damage?

Using a set of wheel dollies seems to work well. My friend uses them and can push cars around his garage by himself without a problem. I've seen them as cheap as $55.99 a pair at Menards after rebate.

I use thy old tires to the front of the tractor and be real careful pushing.

Those dollies you put under each wheel

Wheel dollies - not the cheap ones where their wheels bend under or don't easily change direction - or a floor jack placed centrally (diff or ft crossmember).
Depends somewhat on vehicle weight.
Floor jack requires steering unlocked - turning ft wheels makes pivoting the rear easier - and trans in neutral.
In either case, a smooth shop floor (no craters) is pretty much necessary.

To clarify the situation. I'm currently attempting to move a 5,000+ lbs vehicle.. It has wheels and tires on it and was driven to where it is sitting several months ago. Now it won't start. It has 4 wheel disk brakes, so the brakes probably are not stuck.. The goal is to move it straight back. The problem is, the concrete floor in this garage is extremely smooth, so my feet are easily sliding on it. Would it be easier to push a vehicle on the wheel dollies than on it's own wheels & tires? (I've never used wheel dollies.)

The second issue is moving vehicles that can not be driven into this garage. Outside of the garage there is an incline leading up to the garage door. Unfortunately, it is to steep for one person to push a vehicle up it by hand. I had been thinking some type of mechanical assistance would be needed. Of course, I'm open to anything that works!

Would using an old tire as a cushion be enough protection when pushing a vehicle up an incline also? (I would obviously try this on a "junker" the first time!)

If it ran when you put it in there then try to get it to run again. Couldn't be that hard unless you tore it apart.

Well, another option is an electric winch; or one of those electric pushers that some shops have.
I'd be concerned about the paint on a plastic bumper cover.
The tire-cushion idea might work if the tire was secure on either the pusher or the vehicle being pushed, but you'd still have to be very careful.

The tire idea is a bad one, especially if the bumper cover(s) don't have a solid backing, like aluminum or iron. Most with foamcore will crush and/or crack, making for a costly repair.

Most vehicles have recovery points front and rear, so you can put a chain hook on the loop or strap, or simple hook on the frame, but check for good clearance to the front air dam/splitter. Many times you can put the strap through the lower bumper cover opening. Also, look on the front and rear bumper covers for small round or square removable plugs; take the plug off and there is a threaded receiver behind it that a threaded rod with a loop will screw into. Some cars come with the rod wherever the jack/spare are kept.

Wheel dollys, I have two sets. Move cars around all the time with them.

Wheel Dolly

How well do the electric car pushers work that "Topside" suggested. It appears there are several different models being made. I have never seen one of these before.

The electric winch idea may work as well. Where or how is the winch mounted. I am assuming the winch is held stationary in some manner.

Thanks Jer for mentioning the recovery points. I have seen the plugs in bumpers, but had no idea why the plugs were installed in the first place!

I vote for wheel dollies as well. Of course you'll need a good floor jack to put
the dollies under each tire.

On the floor being to slippery, try a rubber backed mat, a piece of carpet or sand.
For the other car, get some helpers or use a come a long and chain if needed LINKY Might also be able to rent something at home depot etc.

I have a set or two of those steel 4 wheel car dollies with 4 steel casters on ech one, they are not easy to push
I am older now, the last time I tried to use them by myself 4 yrs. ago I was 75+ yrs. old back then

I know people love to slam Harbor Freight but I have these and the car glides effortlessly. They are the next ones up from the cheapest ones they sell.

https://www.harborfreight.com/2500-...e-58394.html?_br_psugg_q=car+wheel+dolly

If you have to do this a lot, mounting a cheap electric winch may be a great idea. As long as the disabled car still rolls on the wheels, the winch capacity wouldn't have to be too big, and how its mounted wouldn't have to be hugely substantial. You are not dragging something that doesn't roll up hill (unless you want to use it to pull a vehicle up an approach and into the building). Access to a solid wall, a building support beam (or post), or being able to anchor something into a cement floor along a wall would be required, or you could mount a winch to a trailer hitch on a vehicle and have a movable option. The concept would be to make a winch mount at the location(s) that will best serve your needs, create a base mount where the winch could be removable when its not needed that the winch can easily be attached to (and removed from). Then you just need a power source for the winch you get.

I would probably mount a 2" bumper style trailer hitch receiver to the floor with 4 anchor bolts into the cement floor, then mount a 12 volt trailer style winch onto a male receiver so it can be removed or installed by removable the hitch pin. Then you need a battery (or other 12 volt power source) to connect to the winch. I would probably have a battery on a two wheel cart for that purpose. The size of the winch would depend on if you intend to pull a vehicle up a ramp approach or not. If only used on a flat surface, I would probably get a 3500lbs winch, but if you think you might us it for other stuff, maybe a 7,000bls or even a 10,000lbs unit might better serve you. If you need to pull something out, connecting the winch to a vehicle with a 2" receiver would do the job (and lots of other jobs).

^^^ Yup, that's what I was thinking: 12V winch, spare battery, mount to floor via bracket.

Another thought, maybe a bit nutty:
If both vehicles have trailer hitches, a length of bar or tube stock pinned to each receiver.
Probably undersized - as in 1.5" for a 2.0 receiver - for a little articulation.

call your buddy's that owe you favors !
i'm too old and feeble to do this myself.
however, my charger rolls pretty easy when it's inside the garage, so i'm able to push it back and forth a couple feet when i need to.

I can say first hand the floor jack deal just stinks and will wear a guy out if the car has a spool. Also too easy for a minor accident that could cause un needed headaches. Best thing I ever ever bought was the HF type and they are pretty decent.

My 49 is on a Dakota 4x4 chassis, I can barely push that in a straight line on my level garage floor more then a few feet. The truck just doesn't roll very well. The tires are up, the truck is in neutral, and everything is free, it takes huge effort to get that 4800lbs rolling and keep it rolling by myself, unless its going down hill.

the trouble with going downhill, is it can be hard to stop...........

Since you're only going straight back it'll be easier to move it on its own wheels then with wheel dollies.
If you're slipping on the floor put your hands on top If one of the tires and try rotating it that way and it'll make it move. Make sure you're not in park or gear of course.

Back when I lived in a condo I had a one car garage but room on one side for another car but it wasn't accessible via the garage door . I used to put my Dart or one of the project cars I had there , I just jacked the car up front or back and move it with my floor jack and push the car , it only took a few shots with the jack to get the car in place, Dollies sure would have been easier if I had them back then.

I traded a friend for these Dolly set
He is not a car guy and got them from his father in law's estate I gave him some ammo for it.
They work great , easy to push cars around and put in the corner.

those seem to be a top tier dolly set, and if i really needed a set to use very frequently, i would seriously be considering a set of those.

I've got a couple sets of the Harbor Freight version of the "Go Jacks". They work very well for moving a car around on a smooth garage floor. A person can do it pretty effortlessly by themselves! But it sounds like you need to climb up an inclined apron to your garage. These roll movers are not cheap but are very effective for moving VERY heavy rolls or spools (or heavy vehicles on wheels) They are available in electric and pneumatic versions. I used these in my years of paper making (large heavy paper rolls) perhaps you could search for a used one in your area for cheaper. Just thought I would share another potential solution to your problem since it hadn't been mentioned. Car/roll mover

another linky to pusher

So what does one of these cost? I'm afraid it's another one of those, if you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it.

My previous house had an incline just outside the garage. I would jack up my truck and put 2x4s under the front tires and push it off those into the garage. It was much easier than pushing it up the incline.

Ya! I'm not sure what they cost...... I'm sure they are pretty spendy, being used in industry! They seem to nick industry pretty hard due to liability issues and the fact that ADA laws can require tools like this to accommodate employees unable to perform certain tasks. I see a used one on eBay missing the handle for $750