Piano Dolly – Why Is One Important Anyway
People ask me the same question all of the time. Whenever I am at a cocktail party or out with friends and they ask me what I do, I tell them I sell – A piano dolly. I get a pretty odd look right back at me. Give me a a little bit of your ear and I will tell the whole story for the world to finally know what a piano dolly is and why it is one of the most best pieces of equipment for anyone who moves pianos.
Piano dollies, in layman’s terms, are tools used to move a piano. They take lots of different structures and configurations and can vary quite a bit in their actual function but the general concept is the same for all piano dollies – they move pianos.
A grand piano dolly in the shape of a spider is likely the most widely purchased kind of piano dolly that exists. Most grand pianos at a church, club, music hall or hotel will will be transported to another location during their life. The grand piano dollies are spider like and extend from a central point out to each leg of a piano. They are attached by raising the piano around the leg of a grand piano, typically with a hydraulic lift, then by placing the dolly and the piano dolly typically remains on the piano for life. The new undercarriage is easy on the eye, is out of the way of most of the people looking at the piano and makes it very easy to roll the piano to any new destination you desire to take it. The wheel can be locked when there is a desire to have the piano remain stationary for a time. The wheels are easily unlocked with a simple press of a toe against the clip on the wheel to free the brake.
Many schools have upright pianos that have a dolly permanently attached to the piano to make movement in the classroom much more manageable. Most pianos do not come with wheels so the upright piano dolly sets are important to allow teachers to have maximum control in the area of classroom configuration.
For a professional mover of pianos, a piano mover is a necessity. Pianos can weigh up to half a ton or more and they are large enough to cause injury if not moved properly. Piano dollies can help a single piano mover to drive to the pickup location, pick up a piano and move it out of the house, down steps and into the moving truck. The piano dolly not only eases the strain of a piano move much easier, it makes it much quicker as well.
Piano Dolly sets also are developed to be easy-to-install caster wheels in hard plastic cups that are placed over the end of each of the legs of a piano. These type of dolly sets are much less expensive and can accomplish the same task of helping to roll the piano to another part of the room or building.
