videos: how to move a fridge by yourself
April 25, 2015 2:23 AM   Subscribe

Part of Gershom Hyldreth's job involves moving fridges in his truck by himself. In these two short (and charming) instructional videos, he demonstrates how one person can load a fridge on and off a pickup truck with just a hand trolley, and how to secure a fridge with just a couple of straps.
posted by paleyellowwithorange (33 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
These are great. I expect that in time, they'll make it to my list of "how to _____ YouTube videos that without which, I'd have been fucked".
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:37 AM on April 25, 2015


I wish I had known of this several moves ago.

Sadly, it doesn't tell me how I might move a fridge by myself up or down multiple flights of stairs.
posted by Mezentian at 3:10 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Refrigerators are bulky and awkward, but not really that heavy at all. And yeah, getting them up and down stairs--stairs with turns to them--is the hard part.
posted by zardoz at 5:25 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Does he have videos on how to move sleeper sofas?
posted by TedW at 5:50 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Also, if you're really serious about moving some appliances spend ten bucks or so and rent a proper appliance dolly. Among other advantages they have rollers on them for going up and down stairs and getting in and out of trucks that are too tall for this guys loading method.

(As the owner of a pickup truck I have far more experience helping people move than I should.)
posted by TedW at 6:01 AM on April 25, 2015 [7 favorites]


I'd always just resigned to get it in sideways and then let it sit a while so the gasses get back to where they're supposed to be before plugging it in. A lot of things will ride surprisingly well upside down btw. Table saws, large console radios, things of that general size/shape. The trick there is to have some carpet scraps (or in my case some scrap Schluter Ditra underlayment) to keep the edges from getting all dinged up as you rotate the thing onto the bed. The ditra is also great for getting under the truck for oil changes and mechanic's work.
posted by mcrandello at 6:07 AM on April 25, 2015


His method works great on an old two wheel drive Toyota that is low to the ground. I'm pretty sure no truck with a bed that low has been sold in this country in at least a decade. Good luck pivoting the fridge up like that on a modern 4x4 pickup, which is about 95 percent of what I see driving around.

He also tightened (and misspelled) that ratchet strap to the point I thought he might dent the fridge. I dented a chest freezer once that way -- they aren't really very heavy, nor very strong, so more gentle strapping is appropriate and safe.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:32 AM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


This is humanity at its best. I loved how when he was strapping the fridge to the truck, I was thinking "whoa dude, don't you need a third strap for the other side of the fridge for when you get the brakes?" and then he addressed my concerns with all of the shaking and tackling and truck lurching. I want to watch this guy move airplane carriers with his pickup truck, is what I'm saying.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:59 AM on April 25, 2015


I've moved fridges, washers, dryers, and dishwashers this way.

However, it helps to: Be tall, reasonably strong, and have a truck with a low bed.

Otherwise, get a damned friend to help!
posted by The Giant Squid at 6:59 AM on April 25, 2015


I wish I had known of this several moves ago.

Do take your refrigerator with you when you move? Just curious, houses that I've rented or bought have generally come with a fridge included.
posted by octothorpe at 7:03 AM on April 25, 2015


My fridge?
Dated 1982-ish.
Has travelled everywhere.
posted by Mezentian at 7:35 AM on April 25, 2015


how I might move a fridge by myself up or down multiple flights of stairs

Having done this with various large appliances, a proper dolly will help you navigate stairs as well. Approach the stairs backwards and guide the unit up the stairs while letting the dolly's wheels roll up and over the lip of each step. Corners and curving stairs will make this much more difficult, but, depending on the dimensions of the appliance and the width of the stairs, it's still doable. A measuring tape helps with this immensely.

Bring a towel. You will be sweaty.
posted by dazed_one at 8:13 AM on April 25, 2015


Oh yes, and being 6'5" helps too.
posted by dazed_one at 8:14 AM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


I used to maintain vending machines in college, so ditto on the idea of having a good appliance dolly... but if you don't, at least consider investing in ratchet fasteners. They are perfect for getting things attached solidly on to even cheap hand trolleys or carts, but they are also a great way of attaching things to your car or truck, so they don't move in transit.
posted by markkraft at 8:21 AM on April 25, 2015


Wearing sandals. Haha.
posted by Ghislain Bellec at 9:44 AM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Squat, grab, deadlift. They really aren't that heavy.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:47 AM on April 25, 2015


Octothorpe: most houses only sell with one fridge, now how are you going to keep all that beer cold in the garage? Also upright chest freezers (I'm not sure why they still offer these as opposed to door-on-the-top exclusively,) and sometimes that old fridge just blows up and you gotta craigslist one because of circumstances...
posted by mcrandello at 10:00 AM on April 25, 2015


I prefer this one.
posted by aleatorictelevision at 10:02 AM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


"Next time pull the tail gate down!"
posted by growabrain at 10:35 AM on April 25, 2015


Seconding Dip Flash's concerns about the strap-tightening. The sheet metal on fridges is really thin, and not meant to support much of any load. I notice the fridge he was moving already has a pretty good dent near the bottom of one side, so maybe he doesn't care that much if it gets more. Or maybe he put that one in getting it out of the house...
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:40 AM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


My fridge? Dated 1982-ish. Has travelled everywhere.

The average 1982 refrigerator consumes about $100 MORE energy per year than a new refrigerator. The average refrigerator today costs $500, so you'd have that paid off in savings in five years, and then it's just money in your pocket. Plus, the environment 'n stuff.

Like that 1982 refrigerator because it's bigger, or some other neat feature? There are lots of models to choose from, and the above math gets even more compelling for larger refrigerators.

Many power utilities will pick up your old refrigerator for free, and give you money for it. Mine offers $50.

Old refrigerators really are power hogs.
posted by intermod at 11:33 AM on April 25, 2015 [5 favorites]


I think that the guy in the first video must be seven feet tall, because he casually leaned into the truck bed and pushed the fridge sideways with the tops of his fingers.

--
I would commend to everyone the outstanding 2004 book "Moving Heavy Things" by Jan Adkins. It uses whimsical pictures to explain basic principles of leverage and knots, and then several "case studies" -- appliances, stone blocks, a sailboat -- demonstrate the principles at different scales. It really is a wonderful book, both informative and attractive.
posted by wenestvedt at 2:15 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Your real friends are the ones that show up on moving day.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:16 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


There's a product called the forearm forklift that's great for moving heavy stuff. I was extremely doubtful at first but they work great once you get the hang of them. You need two people to use them, but me and my teenage sons moved a lot of very heavy furniture when we moved last year. It was a lot easier to carry a dresser up the stairs that way than heaving it up by hand.
posted by double block and bleed at 2:26 PM on April 25, 2015 [3 favorites]


I think that the guy in the first video must be seven feet tall, because he casually leaned into the truck bed and pushed the fridge sideways with the tops of his fingers.

Look at him standing next to the fridge at the beginning -- he's not a hobbit, but he is barely taller than the fridge. He might be what, 5' 9"?

It's the truck that is tiny (by current standards), not him. The truck also has one of those plastic bed inserts, which are super slippery and make it effortless to slide something in the bed.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:37 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


HILUX FTW.

also Mazda B series.

also Ranger, jeez.

the shit are you people driving?
posted by dorian at 2:51 PM on April 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


Small fridge. If I did that with my fridge it would destroy the machinery on the bottom.
posted by blue_beetle at 4:39 PM on April 25, 2015


Lots of apartments in LA lack refrigerators, meaning you need to buy or move one.
posted by feloniousmonk at 5:34 PM on April 25, 2015


I've seen a guy move an upright piano sort of this way. Actually he had a dolly with springs. He would slide the piano halfway off the truck, tip it down, and let it drop maybe 6 inches onto the springy-dolly, on its side. From there he could wheel it anywhere.
posted by beagle at 6:11 PM on April 25, 2015


Nephews.

Preferably semi-professional rugby players.

I recently moved some furniture a few hundred yards and out of the gloom they appeared, wearing armchairs as hats.
posted by fullerine at 9:35 PM on April 25, 2015 [2 favorites]


Really, the best part was at about the 25 second mark, where he's got the edge of the fridge over the lip of the truck, and then he crouches down to heave-ho the thing up, and just for a second he holds the fridge up with only his head while he repositions his hands.
posted by soundguy99 at 11:06 PM on April 25, 2015


Double block, do the lifting straps work well with people of differing heights? The pairs of people in the commercial are all the same height.
posted by concrete at 10:29 AM on April 26, 2015


Oh man, those forearm forklifts are like magic. Grip strength is usually the limiting factor in how much you can deadlift. Using wrist wraps takes enough stress off the forearm muscles that the limiting factor turns into the lower back and leg muscles in the posterior chain, some of the biggest, strongest muscles in the body. Those straps do basically the same thing. Suddenly things that were really hard to move are super easy.

They work just fine with people of different heights, you just need to get the hang of figuring out where each of you needs to put your hands to keep everything upright.
posted by VTX at 1:26 PM on April 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


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