bgrant3406 Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) First things first, I can’t say enough good things about Geo, the gentleman I purchased my KK from. He ran me through the ins and outs of use, shared stories and overall was a pure pleasure to deal with. On top of it all he kept adding items, an unused pizza stone, the spare parts kit, the torch and hairdryer he used to light the KK. The “few” boxes of charcoal turned out to be 9 boxes of regular extruded and 9 boxes of extruded coffee charcoal. To give you an idea of his generosity, the roti motor and spit were packed away (Geo is in the middle of a move) and should be found in the next couple of weeks, Geo offered to have Dennis ship me a new motor/spit combo, rather than wait. The nice thing is I will get to visit some more with Geo when he finds the spit and we meet up. You could tell that Geo really loved his KK and was happy (hopefully) to recognize that he was sending her off to a new home where she would be much loved and well taken care of! On to the saga of the delivery: Items needed: Truck and Trailer with long ramp Two 4x8 sheets of 1/2” plywood Misc wood scrap to make stand with (more later) and Pry bar / block of wood to lift KK (slide stand under KK) 3 ratcheting tie down straps and minimum of 2 people to load/unload Adult beverages for after everything is in place. My wife was pretty adamant that she did not want two grills on the back patio, I had to agree with her, so the old K #7 was going to a friend, so out with the old: The beauty of having to move the old K #7 out was it gave me a chance to test the strapping down and what to watch out for when hauling something like this. If the K #7 got damaged, no big deal, if the KK did I would have cried like a baby! While most people get to track boats across oceans, I only got to plot the drive from my home to Geo’s, a quick 75 mile trip to Granbury Tx. I hadn’t driven out that way and it was a really pleasant and beautiful drive! When we arrived Geo got to see that backing a trailer is not one of my strong suits, he shared a quick tip on putting your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and then moving your hand in the direction you wanted the trailer to move in. Probably everyone knows this, but first time I had heard it and it worked like a charm when I had to back the trailer into my drive way. One thing Geo had reminded me of was that when you transport a KK you want to take the weight off of the legs by putting something under it. So I built a quick stand out of some scrap lumber I had. Pretty simple, 3 2x4’s and an 11 x 16 piece of 3/4” plywood, net result is a stand that easily slid under the KK and provided a reasonably stable base for the KK to sit on. The KK has 4” of clearance, so you will need something slightly higher than that, the stand was ~ 4 1/4” tall and worked great. To lift the KK, you place a block of wood by one of the front legs and carefully put a pry bar under the leg and using the block against the pry bar, use leverage to lift the KK. Be sure you are far enough under that you don’t damage the tiles/pebbles (I hear Pebbles cook better BTW :)). When I strapped down the K #7, I was able to simply loop the ratcheting straps around the K #7 and attach fore and aft crosswise, as is obvious from the diagram below I”m no artist, but I think you can see how I strapped it down on the trailer. Black line is the first strap and the green line is the 2nd strap. The straps attached to the side of the trailer at grill height, so around the K #7, ratcheted tight and off we went. This worked beautifully on the K #7, not sure if it was that the finish was rougher so the straps had more purchase, or if the body was wider, but no slippage at all during the 20 mile ride to drop off. I think the KK is more tapered and the finish is significantly better, so of course 5 miles down the road from Geo’s, when we stopped to check, the straps had slipped a little. We adjusted them and headed down the road, a few miles later we hit some railroad tracks and the trailer hopped a little and I noticed a new wobble, so we pulled over and adjusted again. You know how they say 3rd time is a charm? They lie! Just before we got to the highway (say 25 mile from Geo’s house, 50 miles to go) we pulled over and checked and again the straps had slipped, so we had to figure out someway to hold up the straps! What we came up with was using a 3rd ratchet strap to hold up the two main straps. We attached one side to the bottom middle left tie down on the trailer and passed that over the top to the right side and down to grill height, we then looped back over the top to the left side, created a loop and then back over the top to the right tie down. We passed the two straps (shown in the diagram above) through the loops in the 3rd strap and ratcheted those down tight. On the looping one we only ratcheted it down snug, it is not intended to keep the KK from moving, only to hold up the other two straps. I didn’t want to put undue pressure on the lid of the KK, as I didn’t want to mess up the gasket, hinge or anything else. And voila, 75 miles later safe and sound at the house! \ Next we had to get it off of the stand and then off of the trailer. We were able to lean the KK off of the stand onto it’s back wheels, we then placed a couple of 2 x 4s under each front wheel and pull the stand off. Pulled the 2x4s out from under the wheels and then it was the typical moving via plywood around to the back yard and onto the patio. Luckily my side yard is pretty flat with only a slight downhill slope right to left, so it was put down a piece (be sure to overlap slightly), roll on to the next piece, rinse and repeat 8 or 9 times and just like that the KK is on the patio. One person could have rolled it across the plywood, but it was much easier with two, one to push and one to guide it. Be sure to push from the base and not from the lid or pull via the handle. It was a hot day, so once everything was unloaded off we went for some ice cold libations and a quick bite to eat where we regaled our wives with our feats of derring do! (they didn’t buy a bit of it). So lessons learned, KK folks are some of the nicest folks around, Geo in particular is a true gentleman and a pleasure to meet and work with. The KK is more stunning in person, pictures truly don’t capture the true essence of the KK. Two reasonably mobile older gents can move a KK up a ramp (on plywood) into a trailer. Secure the ratchet straps so they don’t slip down and avoid large bumps in the road! Once I clear a little more space on the patio, I will be able to put the side tables on and begin to enjoy the new KK! Edited June 4, 2019 by bgrant3406 Move picture/correct text 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Good story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Fantastic experience and it is the perfect colour for you home too. Can't wait to see the in place pixs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alohapiggy Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Congratulations. I’m never that lucky to find great deals like a awesome KK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted June 2, 2019 Report Share Posted June 2, 2019 Hope the new addition does you well, it sure looks nice. Enjoyed your adventure through the badlands of Texas and meeting up with Geo,,hats off to ya Geo for being so generous. Oh by the way, the pebble thing is a misconception but, for the time being will let you run with that, you know, since it's your first day and all. That you'll have to prove with evidence...pictures of fantastic cooks will do 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Congrats! The loading and unloading is only the beginning of your KK adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 That was a great story all in all. I remember Paul did a similar trip kind of close by to his, should I say ranch. Well anyhow the passing of the torch and how well it was taken and transported was a good story. I liked that. Again 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted June 3, 2019 Report Share Posted June 3, 2019 Wow, you are so lucky! Great story and what an elegant looking KK. Pebbles definitely cook best and that colour looks great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stile88 Posted June 4, 2019 Report Share Posted June 4, 2019 Congrats great story indeed and what a deal on a stunning looking KK you are going to love cooking on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
