Constructing a longer ramp for getting a 32BB up a couple stairs

[Bunji]

I’ve scheduled delivery of my KK for this coming Monday, and started to map out the route that I will have to take it to get it to the concrete pad in my back patio area. It’s relatively circuitous, going around the side of my house through a not-quite-flat yard to my side gate. From there it will have to go up two small steps in a row, before being rolled through a small flat mulch area and up one or two more low (but much more widely spaced) steps. 
 

For the initial roll through the grass, I plan to use the leapfrogging plywood method. But when I get to the two small steps, I think I will need a longer ramp than the pallet lid. Ideally I would place the ramp on the first step and it would allow the KK to roll from ground level up onto the second step. Has anyone constructed a longer ramp for a use case like this? If so, what materials and thicknesses did you use? 
 

I will almost certainly be doing the transport with the lid removed and with some helping hands, of course.

[tony b]

Yes, I built a ramp for moving my 23" KK up the 8 steps in my house to get the KK from the garage to the deck where it lives now. I used 3/4" plywood. I made support brackets out of 2x2's for the top step, so the ramp was flush with the floor. The ramp itself lay on the steps for support. Because of the steepness/angle, it took 5 of us to push/pull it up the ramp (3 pulling with moving straps and 2 on the bottom pushing). And we took off the lid first to lighten the load. Your KK will be heavier than mine, but you don't have as difficult a ramp to navigate. 

Good luck and send pics!

[Bunji]

Thanks a lot Tony! Turns out a neighbor of mine has a set of utility ramps for a riding mower, so I’ll be borrowing those and maybe putting a sheet of plywood across them. I’m hoping that those, in conjunction with the pallet lid, should be enough to get the KK where it needs to go. I will absolutely be taking plenty of photos to post!

[Wobster]

I cheated and used a forklift to move my crated 32BB but your plan seems reasonable. the Crate is heavy and FYI once you remove the top the crate is less stable. 

[jonj]

@Bunji, any update? How was the moving?

[Bunji]

I had a few volunteers come over to help, but hit a snag getting the lid off! I have since figured that out, but between work and some travel, haven’t been able to get a group together to re-attempt the move! This of course means I have a beautiful KK taunting me in my not-quite-flat-enough-to-cook-on driveway. I am itching to get it to where it needs to go!

[Bunji]

After much waiting and anticipation, I finally got a crew together to move the KK out of my driveway! A local relative of mine has “a guy” for just about any service you could need, so when I had trouble getting a group of friends together on the same day, I went to her. The very next day she brought a man over to take a look at the KK and the path it needed to take, and the next morning he came back with his two sons to do the deed. It ended up taking almost 4 hours. Instead of leapfrogging on plywood through the whole yard, they took a pallet Jack and dragged the whole pallet onto the road and around the corner, so that it would be a straight shot to the side gate and the first set of not too steep stairs. That straight shot, with myself and the 2 sons pushing and the man pulling the jack, was pretty smooth. When we got to the stairs they constructed a ramp with some bricks, a couple 2x4s, and more plywood. Another round of pushing and the KK, pallet and all, was up the steps and through my side gate. 
 

I didn’t take any further progress photos, because that’s about where the simple parts of the process ended. From there, we needed to make a tight 90 degree turn, take it through an old playground set that came with the house, then approach the second, steeper set of steps at another tight angle, before pushing it up to its final destination. The plywood was still useful, but much harder to maneuver here due to the tight quarters. The approach to the tight turn into the stairs took several attempts, because one wheel of the pallet jack kept coming off the plywood platforms and getting stuck. Perseverance paid off, and we were finally in the home stretch, the big push up the steps. Again with three pushers and one puller, we went for it. Once, twice, three times we pushed, making a little progress each time. As the first wheel of the jack finally crested the top, the pallet itself stopped, having hit the lip of the step due to uneven elevation. We tried again, same result. We tried using 2x4s as levers to elevate particular corners of the pallet and get it over the hump. No luck. Eventually we carefully rolled the kk back down the ramp to strategize. The stairs were out unless we could get at least a couple more sets of hands. Instead, my crew suggested an alternate approach: remove the quarter-wall of decking next to the stairs, smooth out the dirt to form a hill, and roll it up that until it stands even with the concrete pad, and then roll it right over.

Pretty soon there were scraps of wood everywhere and one less section of decking in my back yard. Those wood scraps became shovels to take out the sharp elevation difference in the dirt on either side, and then the plywood came back out. We needed to do some creative maneuvering to get one of our 2x4 levers out from under the pallet where it had gotten stuck, and then it was time to push again. Again we got close, but had to reinforce the top of the ramp with more bricks. Finally, another round of pushing and we made it to the concrete pad where my KK will sit until the end of time, because I swear if I have to move this thing again I will go insane.

Photos attached (including up to the present, when I am lighting her up for the first time).

One final note. You might be thinking “why use a pallet jack when the KK itself is quite maneuverable?” And you should be. I am convinced the job would have been much easier without the jack, which got stuck on ever lip and corner and tight turn. But I wasn’t going to tell that to the generous men who spent their morning toiling with me.

 

[jonj]

A great story of perseverance!

[C6Bill]

Congratulations !!!!!!!!

 

You have excellent taste in KK’s. You got the best color and style of tiles. Everyone knows blue tiles cook the best food 😀

[Tyrus]

Perfection, a trek you won't soon forget.

[Bunji]

I didn’t end up firing up the KK until about 6:00 last night. I fiddled with it for several hours  trying different vent settings and seeing where they put me temp-wise before bringing it up to burn-in temperature. A few hours there and decided to do the all-important First Cook before shutting the vents down. At this point it was about 2:30 am and I was struggling to stay awake. It sure was delicious though.

I did have one scare when I looked at the probe I was using to monitor grate temp from inside was showing 600+. I ran outside only to realize the dome temperature hadn’t budged. The fire had simply shifted to right below the probe so it was getting direct heat. 
 

Photos are the coal basket just before closing the lid, after about 35 minutes, after 2 hours, after 4ish hours, and finally The Cook.

[tony b]

All's well, that end's well, as the saying goes! Good job. Now sit back with an adult beverage and enjoy the results of your hard work! 

[MacKenzie]

WOW, what a first cook.   

I hope you shared it. 

[Bunji]

Thanks all for the kind words! Absolutely adore my new toy. Spending time out with it has me itching to upgrade the back patio to get it on a matching level!

@MacKenzie much to my cat’s dismay, I did not! I think he did sneak some licks of the plate as I went out to cover the KK though

[CaptMorg82]

I mean if you're going to get a hot dog cooker, might as well go for the best hot dog cooker out there! 😃

Edited February 13 by CaptMorg82