Shaky dolly on hard floor!

jgastelb

jgastelb

Well-known member
I built my own dolly a while ago. It works great when on the carpet. But if I put it on a hard floor (even floor) it shakes a lot. It's a skateboard dolly on pvc pipes.

Q. If I cut long strips of carpet and place it under the pvc track would that work to smooth things out on a hard floor? Or, outside? Has anyone tried this?
Jgastelb
 
snodart said:
Did you use chepo skateboard wheels? My guess would be the wheels.
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I used the regular Walmart skateboard wheels, yes. But, I have heard people in this website say that those worked great for them even outside. What is great for one person is crappy for another and so on.

I'm using 1 inch pvc pipes and I'm thinking that the plastic is sort of bouncing a little bit as the wheels go on them. The carpet is making a sort of wedge, cushioning the pvc from swaying. Thus the issue at hand when on solid ground.
Jgastelb
 
From your description of the problem, it indeed sounds like your track (PVC) isn't in contact with the surface underneath it and it is being deflected when the dolly places force over the portion that is elevated. The carpet shims would work (but would require additional time to setup), but you could also consider placing a sandbag or two on the dolly to increase the downward pressure to preload the track and force it into contact with the substrate surface (floor).
 
Could be the PVC, but I'm still putting my money on the wheels. I've build three dollies (or had 3 versions at least). Version #1 was with Walmart skateboard wheels... too bumpy. The wheels are not perfectly round. #2 used high quality roller blade wheels. These worked great and rid the dolly of the bumps. #3 dolly has RoweCine wheels (I won them). They are the same as the roller blade wheels as far as smoothness goes, but are a little better because they fit over a wider range of track sizes.

[SIZE=+0]You might want to try using some "top rail" for chain link fencing just to see if it changes anything.... If not, I would get some quality wheels. [/SIZE]
 
id second what snodart said. its either the track, or the wheels. the surface shouldnt matter as long as its relatively smooth and flat. pavement ,a sidewalk, or a smooth lawn should be no problem. if your on cement, chances are youve scrathed up your PVC track. if the track isnt countertop like smooth to running your fingers up and down it where the wheels make contact, its not going to be a smooth dolly ride. and of course, if your wheels are junk the ride will be as well. it seems finicky to worry about little scratches and dents in the track, or slightly out of round wheels, but consider that when you are on a skateboard, rollerskates, or even rollerblades sometimes, the tiniest little pebble on the ground can completely stop a wheel. and if your on a skating rink surface, youd feel even a grain of sand if you roll over it. things really need to be kept as clean and smooth as possible. one of the things i love about PVC is that its so cheap that i dont bother cleaning it or trying to work around scrathes and dents.. i just buy new stuff and toss the old. as far as wheels, of course id go with one of our kits. as snodart said they are nice and smooth. they additionally offer more track width choices, smoother track section transitioning from a longer staggerd contact area over connections (with our 32 wheel kit especially), the ability to hold alot of weight, and are made of high quality materials that offer great functionality, durability, great corrosion resistance, and a finished professional appearance. but whatever you do, id check your track for smoothness, and then replace the wally mart wheels when possible.
 
Thanks for all of your help! I'm going to start by trying the sandbags first.

Q. How much weight should I put on there? Can you get sandbags at a sports store?
Jgastelb

I did put the dolly up on cement once but it's still pretty smooth on the carpet. My kitchen floor which is really flat, however, makes it too shaky. I'll keep you updated.
 
You don't have to use real sandbags, you can use any source of mass. Try something as simple as a few 1 gallon "zip lock" bags filled with water first, if they help then purchase the real thing. I would think that 20 - 40 pounds worth would be a good starting point.
 
khmuse said:
You don't have to use real sandbags, you can use any source of mass. Try something as simple as a few 1 gallon "zip lock" bags filled with water first, if they help then purchase the real thing. I would think that 20 - 40 pounds worth would be a good starting point.
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Yes! Thank you. I do have some weights I can use. I'll try that!
Jgastelb
 
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For some dolly setups 1.5" track may be too large a diameter, but in my experience this size is ideal... what's more it's the only size PVC that I've found in schedule 40 (thick stuff) which can be linked. I've read tips about cutting a slot out of same sized pipe and slipping that piece in the end to join sections. I have found that this does NOT work unless you're using pipe that's too thin anyway.

Trust me... you want 1.5" pipe if your wheel assembly will allow it. Then you can get 1.25" pvc and cut a slot out of that... about .5" wide... then cut that into 12" sections and put a marker line at the halfway point on each 12" section... this piece WILL perfectly compress and join the 1.5" PVC and unify the lengths better then any other system I've seen.

If your dolly wheel assembly will not accomodate 1.5" PVC then I suggest the largest diameter that it will accomodate. Even 1.25" diameter offers a better ride then 1" in most cases.

As previously noted, try to keep your PVC and wheels clean and free of debris. I check my wheels and pipe with a rag... some pros apply lemon Pledge to the track (you can do the same thing with Armor All)...

If you have a decent dolly setup then adding as much weight as practical will only help you smooth things out... I'd consider up to 50lbs even (this is obviously for a case where nobody is riding the dolly... in that case I would expect a body to stabilize the dolly enough and if it doesn't then you have a crappy dolly indeed).

Another option for the weight is to put an "eye" on the dolly deck and use a ratcheting tie-down to firmly anchor your pod to the deck (but don't over-tighten and break something)... I put an eye on my decks and crank the pod down and then sometimes ALSO use weight.
 
MattinSTL said:
For some dolly setups 1.5" track may be too large a diameter, but in my experience this size is ideal... what's more it's the only size PVC that I've found in schedule 40 (thick stuff) which can be linked. I've read tips about cutting a slot out of same sized pipe and slipping that piece in the end to join sections. I have found that this does NOT work unless you're using pipe that's too thin anyway.

Trust me... you want 1.5" pipe if your wheel assembly will allow it. Then you can get 1.25" pvc and cut a slot out of that... about .5" wide... then cut that into 12" sections and put a marker line at the halfway point on each 12" section... this piece WILL perfectly compress and join the 1.5" PVC and unify the lengths better then any other system I've seen.

If your dolly wheel assembly will not accomodate 1.5" PVC then I suggest the largest diameter that it will accomodate. Even 1.25" diameter offers a better ride then 1" in most cases.

As previously noted, try to keep your PVC and wheels clean and free of debris. I check my wheels and pipe with a rag... some pros apply lemon Pledge to the track (you can do the same thing with Armor All)...

If you have a decent dolly setup then adding as much weight as practical will only help you smooth things out... I'd consider up to 50lbs even (this is obviously for a case where nobody is riding the dolly... in that case I would expect a body to stabilize the dolly enough and if it doesn't then you have a crappy dolly indeed).

Another option for the weight is to put an "eye" on the dolly deck and use a ratcheting tie-down to firmly anchor your pod to the deck (but don't over-tighten and break something)... I put an eye on my decks and crank the pod down and then sometimes ALSO use weight.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I often thought about wider pvc pipes as well. I was disappointed when I took the dolly for a music video shoot and the location had hard wood floors and all of the smooth shots that I was able to accomplish at home in my carpet were nowhere near. I was pissed but you learn from these things. I want to be able to use it just about anywhere possible.
Jgastelb
 
Another tip is that I like decks that are 28.5" square (up to 29.5" square) if you do not usually have a crew... meaning if you must PUSH or pull the dolly YOURSELF then there's no point in making a 28.5" x 48" ride-on platform. If you want to easily go through 95% of the doorways out there then make it 27.5" square.

The reason I suggest 28.5" square is because this is the most narrow width that will still allow you to use track spacing of 24.4"... which is the industry standard.

In all fairness there's probably no reason to hold onto that standard track spacing... but I build my own dollies to that spec just in case I find myself in a situation like that. Of course I'll be mad at myself if one day I need to do a doorway shot and my dolly won't pass through it. :)
 
I carry cedar shims and a couple of sandbags formy home-made run and gun dolly. It is quite smooe and the weight is what makes the difference. The wheels are from walmart 10 dollar skateboards. That being said I would love to own a rowecine but just don't have need/space for it in my type of work.
 
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