Let’s face it: car dollies are not really that convenient. From safety issues to inefficiencies in your auto shop operations, there has to be a better option, right? Let’s take a look at several of the problems with car dollies in an auto shop, and why you’d be better off ditching the car wheel dolly for a more efficient alternative.
5 Reasons You Should Ditch Your Car Wheel Dolly
Common problems with car dollies usually arise from workplace safety concerns, inefficiency of use and increased chance of accidents and damage in your workplace. Here are 5 of the reasons why car dollies are a thing of the past, and why you should switch your auto shop over to something better.
#1 Car Dollies Create Extra Work
Car dollies are supposed to make your vehicles easier to move, so you can rearrange vehicles according to size, type, or repair needs. However, even on car wheel dollies, your workers still have to push the cars, which takes energy and can put strain on your employees — which means you’re not only making your employees work harder but keeping them from other work they could be doing.
#2 Car Dollies Can Be Complicated to Use
The advantage of a car wheel dolly is that, when used correctly, it can make a vehicle very maneuverable, able to rotate sharply and be guided anywhere. However, this is only possible if you can maintain careful control of the vehicle at all times, which could require many hands at a time to guide the vehicle where you want it to go. When you need several people to move each vehicle, this doesn’t make your work easier, it just makes reaching a simple goal more complicated.
#3 Car Dollies Reduce Shop Efficiency
In addition to the extra manpower and labor hours required to move each vehicle around, you also spend a lot of extra time getting the vehicle on and off car dollies. Even if your team has pit-crew efficiency when raising and lowering vehicles with jacks, this is time that could be more productively spent on other work tasks.
#4 Car Dollies Increase Your Liability
If your car dollies cause a rolling vehicle to collide into another vehicle, or damage shop equipment or the shop itself, you are likely liable for those damages. Hopefully it’s just your own equipment, or you may be the one to foot the bill for damage caused to other people’s belongings or damaging the vehicle you’re trying to move.
Even if the vehicle you’re moving is already damaged, you don’t want to make it worse by using the wrong equipment. If you have to bring in other towing alternatives such as two-wheel tow dollies, towing wreckers, and rollbacks, they will be expensive to hire, difficult to maneuver and further decrease your auto shop efficiency.
#5 Car Dollies are Can Be Dangerous
When you have workers pushing the vehicle around on car dollies, this is asking for an accident to happen. If one employee loses control or slips under the vehicle, if a car wheel dolly meets an uneven place on the floor and causes the wheel to roll off, if other objects get in the way and pins your employee in the middle, if, if, if…. You don’t want to have to deal with any situation that could cause serious harm to your employees and your bottom line. Stop putting your employees and your shop at risk and ditch the car dollies.
So what else can you do? You don’t have to make the best of inefficient, unsafe equipment. Instead, you can use an alternative which will offer you increased efficiency by requiring less labor, less investment of capital and time, and greater results and safe operation to benefit your workers and your business.
Best Alternative to Car Dollies: Forklift Attachments
The Forklift Wrecker is a safe, cost effective alternative to the car wheel dolly and other inefficient towing options. Here are 5 reasons why a Forklift Wrecker would be a better option for your auto shop operations.
The Forklift Wrecker is Easy to Install
The Forklift Wrecker can attach very easily to equipment you likely already own. It’s small, compact, and easy to connect to your forklift and start using right away. And when you need to use your forklift for something else, it detaches quickly to be stored in a compact space.
The Forklift Wrecker is Maneuverable
Even in small spaces, the Forklift Wrecker is very maneuverable. It can get in the same places you would use a car wheel dolly, and certainly more than you would be able to use a tow truck or other large towing vehicle.
The Forklift Wrecker is Affordable
As a quick towing solution, this is one with a relatively low up-front cost. This one-time price will save your auto shop money as you keep using it for both simple and complex towing jobs around your business, and certainly beats the alternative of having to call a tow truck every time you need a vehicle moved.
The Forklift Wrecker is Efficient
One of the best reasons to switch to a car wheel dolly alternative is for efficiency. When you use a Forklift Wrecker, you can move vehicles faster with less labor or the need to call a tow truck. You’ll be surprised how much more gets done when you have the right equipment to move vehicles quickly, and can free up your employees to complete other tasks.
The Forklift Wrecker is Safe
The Forklift Wrecker is much safer for employees to use than other towing options. It doesn’t require multiple employees to push vehicles around like a car wheel dolly. Instead, it’s operated by one employee using a forklift who isn’t anywhere near the danger of the moving vehicle. If your employees are properly trained for how to operate the Forklift Wrecker safely, there’s no reason you should anticipate any accidents or problems in the shop when moving vehicles again.
Using car dollies is a thing of the past. Ditch the cumbersome and dangerous car wheel dolly and switch to an alternative like the Forklift Wrecker, so you can get vehicles where you want them safely, efficiently, and affordably. For more information about switching to this great small business solution, reach out to our team today.
Legal Disclaimer: The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. You should not rely upon the material or information on the website as a basis for making business, legal or other decisions.
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