Customer Reviews

Shoulder Dolly LD1000 2-Person Lifting and Moving System

5 star:		(160)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I used the Shoulder Dolly system to help my son and his family move. At first there was a lot of resistance to the new gadget, but by the 3rd heavy walnut chest of drawers, it was get the "strappie thing" and let's move this beast. A simple system that works extremely well. Lift with your legs/thighs and carry the weight evenly across your shoulders and not your arms and biceps. Everyone who tried it said "where do I get one, I will not move heavy furniture without it ! " Highly recommended. Follow Up: (Sept '05) bought my second set, my son would not give up the set he used to move with. I will not move furniture without one again !

Used this to haul a very heavy TV out of the basement (which we had to slide down the stairs it was so heavy). Worked great. Also moved all our furniture. We didn't have it for the move out but bought it before we moved back in and the different was huge. Makes going around corners or up and down stairs much easier.

I give it only 4 stars because for the price the shoulder straps should be padded. It should also have clips or some mechanism to secure the extra strap so it is not a tripping hazard.

When going up and down stairs make sure you get the item lifted as high as possible.

We were able to use this product successfully to move a heavy TV set. When we first got the TV, we moved it "by hand" and one of us got a bad muscle strain when the TV started slipping out of our grasp. This time, with the Shoulder Dolly, we were able to move it across a room, out a door, down four steps, and set it on the ground, without much trouble.

Sounds great, right? The problem is, the main carrying strap -- the big 5" wide one that passes underneath the big object -- was too long. To perform our move, we had to fold that strap over and pass it through one of the two harnesses at double thickness. It worked, but it is NOT described in the manual.

Instead, the manual suggests that you contact the company to BUY MORE STRAPS of differing lengths if you face the situation we did. Gee, that's helpful advice to get when you open the package ready to perform a move. And where in this product listing does it mention the need for extra straps? Nowhere.

The strap included in this "Light Duty" kit is 12 feet long. If you follow the directions, you'll feed that strap once through each shoulder harness, and it will be gripped in place. And it does work like that.

But any excess will just hang down toward the ground. If you and your partner only need six feet of strap to pick up an object at an appropriate height, you will have three feet at each end dangling down. Who needs a big cloth strap around one's legs and feet, risking a trip?

By the way, I don't think you should worry about the size of this thing unless you're really small or really huge. Our lifting team is average in size, and the harnesses on us looked pretty much like they do in the photos here (and in the manual).

The manual spends a huge amount of time explaining how to put the harness on your body -- which is pretty much a no-brainer -- but not much time explaining how to position your feet, or how best to raise and lower an item vertically.

So the good news is that the "Shoulder Dolly" will indeed help to move a heavy object while not putting a lot of strain on wrists, elbows and arms. Also, IF you plan ahead with the precise length of the strap, and the height off the ground to which an object has to move (and where it starts), you can move it vertically without much trouble, too.

But it's not self-explanatory, and it takes a lot of thinking to get something that starts out 30" off the ground, carry it laterally, then deposit it directly on the ground. The instructions seem to think that all your moving will be picking objects up from the ground and putting them back down at the same height.

Also Note: the Product Description here says "Heavy lifting capacity: Up to 400 lbs." and "Helps you lift objects that you cannot lift comfortably on your own." Well, the "400 pounds" refers the weight rating of the fabric strapping! It does not give YOU a 400 pound "lifting capacity!"

Right in the manual it says that the product does NOT increase your own inherent lifting ability. So don't expect to lift 400 pound objects if you can't bear that much weight on your back, or by any other form of lifting.

The TV we carried weighed way less than that. So we knew we could lift it -- we just knew that it would be bulky and awkward because of its size and shape. That's what this thing is good for. If you keep that in mind, you can make a better decision about the purchase. It does not give you any more strength, and it does not provide any means for balancing the object being moved. You do have to use your hands for that.

PRO: I'm glad we got it, since we accomplished our immediate goal, and we might be able to use the Shoulder Dolly for other tasks in the future.

The product seems well made, it does have safety tags and warnings in the manual, so the manufacturer does seem safety-conscious.

CONS:

We had to ignore the instructions in order to use the product, which I hate doing, and I did not like the sneaky marketing of accessory products (like different length straps).

My lifting partner was bothered by the lack of padding in the harness straps. I didn't notice it in this one-time move, but in a bigger move with more trips, I might. They could include pads without having to bump the price, seems to me.

When I first saw "shoulder dolly" in an Ad, I told my husband we needed it! I'm only 5'1" and 105lbs, so my ability to carry heavy objects is pretty much non-existent. My husband said don't waste our money, it'll never work. So far...we've moved 2 big sofa's, 1 big chest of drawers, a washing machine and a big big old fashioned heavy TV (that we go rid of). We also recently purchased a sofa and saved ourselves $85 in delivery fees. I love this item and my husband is now a believer.

The shoulder dolly is definitely a bonus when moving heavy furniture. The problem is moving up and down stairs. It was on the verge of being dangerous moving heavy objects up or down the stairs because there is not enough clearance for your legs. Therefore, the person higher up on the stairs has to straddle the object being carried which is difficult since there isn't much room to do so. We tried lifting the objects higher, but the person lower on the stairs then has a face full of furniture and really has to hold it with their head!

But on flat ground, this dolly was a life saver.

I purchased the Shoulder Dolly because I was moving with my 65" big screen TV. Movers wanted me to pay $270 just to move the TV across town, and that was only partly insured!! Believe me, without the Shoulder Dolly, I couldn't have moved the TV without professional help.

The shoulder dolly (SD) works just like it claims to! We just moved my mother-in-law from a house to a second floor apartment with just my husband and I using the SD. My husband is 55 and I'm 44 years old.

The SD worked great manuevering on the staircase that included a 180 degree turn in the middle of the stairs. I liked having the freedom to use my hands/arms to open doors and turn the objects we were carrying to manuever thru doors/stairs.

I fully expected to be sore the next day, but neither my husband or I felt even a twinge in our backs, legs, or arms. My neck was a little stiff was all. I do not recommend someone with bad knees hauling heavy items because it does put a lot of strain on your knees as most of the power of lifting an object is coming from your legs.

The one 'con' I have to list is that there is no padding on the shoulder straps. If you don't have your t-shirt pulled up next to the edge, I found they would rub on your neck. For heavy objects, I slid a couple 'knee pads' under the shoulder straps to give my a little cushion and keep the straps from rubbing my skin.

I am so impressed with this product, I have been telling everyone in I talk to about the SD. I even bought a second SD and gave to my brother-in-law who is getting ready to move. It is very durable, simple to use, and does what it claims. Two thumbs up!

I bought both the Shoulder Dolly and Forearm Forklift and decided to keep the Shoulder Dolly and return the Forearm Forklift. This enabled me and the wife to move some heavy furniture down stairs.

The design of the product is farily simple but it could use some minor improvements:

1) Pad the part that goes near your neck - as others have mentioned it can get painful if you are wearing a t-shirt with your neck exposed

2) Change the color to orange - moving through hall ways and dark areas the black did not exactly stick out.

Other than that I really liked this product and for under $35 you really can't go wrong.

I have a 1989 36-inch Sony trinitron. Its a great tv, but at over 200lbs, a back-breaker to move.

The first time we moved it, I used the forearm version (uhaul-branded) that I borrowed from a friend. I thought it helped, but the guy on the other end who was helping me carry the tv was never comfortable with it. No adjustment could make him NOT feel like it was digging into his arms. So we ended up carrying the TV without it.

The second time we moved it, we had 2 flights of stairs to carry it up. I bought this hoping it would better, and boy was it better! Its a world of a difference compared to the forearm version. Carrying the tv was a breeze this time - no sweat. The strap is VERY wide and feels very strong and sturdy. Just make sure that your back is always straight, that you only bend your knees, and that the shoulder straps are pushed back and not digging into your neck - and you're all set.

My spouse generally can't lift over 40lbs by herself, so I've always called one of our friends when I needed to move the tv. With these straps, she and I carried a wooden bed-frame package weighing 160lbs up the stairs to our apartment from ikea. She's been bragging about it to everyone we know ever since :)

This is a great product. I do wish that the strap was a couple of feet longer though. We first used it to move a queen-size mattress and box spring, and it was hard to get down low enough to hook up the strap and take out the slack. I would have liked to have hooked it up while halfway upright, then squatted to take out the slack. We had to do both operations while squatting, and that was not the easiest thing to do!

The shoulder straps could use some padding. The webbing is a bit rough on the skin at sides of your neck, but wearing a collared shirt helps a lot - just make sure the straps are resting under the collar. Something nice and thick like a chamois cloth shirt would be best. In hot weather, I suppose you could put a folded towel between the straps and your skin.

If we ever have a really big move, I think I'd invest in the professional version for $295.