Nice mod. IM about to buy one of these and I think ill do exactly this

1000% better than the modified motorcycle lifts.

Nice job!

I will be 100% copying this. thanks for the great mod ! Do you recall the sizes of the threaded fitting and the pipe ?

Nice mod

Cart reminds me of ape hangers. I cut the bars all the way down. Works great.

Very nice! That will work tons better.

Very clever!

Wizzardz I tried your mod and one thing I did not like was that it had to be in that position or removing the mod to put it back to the normal one. I came up with an adjustable mod that I can lock in at any angle. I only had to drill 2 holes in the actual lift handle. Otherwise the only modification I did to the machine itself was I rerouted the cable for the release to NOT be in a couple of the little loops that hold it in place. The cable was too tight\short without doing this. I also removed the spring where you adjust the release cable because it was just in the way.

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I started with 2 different sizes of Aluminum tube, 1" & 3/4". I flattened the end of the tubes so that I could stick a bolt with some washers and a lock nut on them to hold them together.

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The 1" tube will go into the part of the lift where the origional hand went. I had to hammer it in a bit, remove it and file it down and then hammer it in again to get it far in. No modification to lift here, Just drill a hole in the aluminum tube after it is in using the current hole as a guide. Only drill through the front side of the aluminum tube and use the original bolt to secure it.

The 3/4" tube will fit inside the original handle, I drilled a hole through the aluminum tube and out the back of the handle (the only real non-reversible modification of the project) using the original hole in the handle as a guide. Used a bolt,washer & nylon locking nut on each to fasten.

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I used a small bolt with some washers (lock washer between the flattened tubes) and a nylon locking nut to fasten each piece of flattened tube to each other. If you need/want to adjust you just loosen nuts, adjust and tighten again.

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I did the Stanley Hinge version of this mod (Lowes item # 902-6 2C) that someone came up with.

Been a long time since I assembled it but IIRC, the only extra parts needed are two bolts & two nuts. Super easy mod.

Folds up nicely and stores underneath a pin.

No cable re-routing needed--just loosen the release wire from underneath (at its termination point) to give it more slack so it'll be able to fold.

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I just got a penguin dolly the other day, really like it (but I havent used it too much yet). Anyone having issues with a penguin?

Thought I'd add to this in order to help the next guy in completing the hinge type conversion.

Started with the Harbor Freight table
I bought a set of EB (Home Depot) 6" Heavy Duty Strap Hinge Zinc Plated
A couple of notes that may help:
1) I had to drill the factory handle for the mod, I just used a 5/16" bit to drill using the same hole that was already drilled in the handle at the factory as a guide (that hole is only drilled thru one side of the handle) - I just drilled all the way through. NOTE: with this hinge, I needed to run the 5/16" bit thru each of the holes in the hinges that I placed a bolt thru as the bolts were just a tiny bit too large to fit - maybe the Lowes hinge fits "as-is" . . . don't know
2) Use a titanium bit as the metal is thick and tough on the handle
3) I used a set of nuts and bolts i had in my hardware drawer to attach the hinge (see pics) to the handle (sorry I don't have the size but any bolt that fits through the hinge snugly and is 1 3/4" long will work (pick up the 2 bolts and nuts while you are in the HD or Lowes store getting the hinge)
4) Like everyone else, I used the existing bolts to attach the hinge to the cart itself - note from the pics that I had to stack 2 washers just inside the hinge or the bolt would not tighten completely
5) I absolutely HAD to re-route the cable as it was simply too tight to raise from the flat (folded) position. I also HAD to flip the handle around the other way which brings the cable from the right side of the cart to the left and brings it more in line with the release mechanism . . . thus providing just enough slack to allow the handle to be placed in any position.
6) To reroute the cable I was prepared to "knock off" the cable loops that are welded onto the cart frame, trust me . . . you will not want to do this, the weld and metal is very strong.
7) To re-route cable, loosen the cable retention bolt under the cart and then unscrew the cable sheath from the release mechanism, then pull the cable itself out of the bolt AND out of the sheath end.
8) This allows the cable to be pulled out of the metal cable loops and moved to the other side of the cart

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I have this table and use it more than my dolly by far. But have yet to mod the handle, great stuff, thanks for the ideas

Thats a good one. I just cut mine down to 24" and curled the cable. It's like dorf

I like the storage of this cart better than mine. And those must be the largest ape hangers I have ever seen.

Mine was modified by a Florida collector (Kbvette) and it absolutely kicks ass. Kevin welds in a joint and has a sleeve that goes over the joint so you get the best of both worlds with the cart- a full tilt on the handle or a locked up position. Totally bad ass!

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I also did the hinge modification. The nice thing about it is the handle lays flat in either direction, so you can have a game sitting on the cart with it all the way lowered. This means you can get the cart centered under the game and not have it unbalanced towards the rear. It also makes it easy to rotate the game up onto its end, or lower it from the its end onto the cart as there is no handle in the way. It also makes it easy for storage under a game, just rotate the handle flat and roll it under. Some pics here: http://kcpins.com/archives/91

Install the largest wheels on your cart that will not hit each other when you swivel around to back up.
I laid my handle down flat so it will slide completely under the play field for a balanced load.Also stores nicely that way. You can also lift it up on the front two wheels for better mobility in tight spaces.

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And mine....

Wow I love the wheel mod. how much height does that add? My truck is about 5-6 inches too high for easy loading/unloading. That might be just the ticket

Where did you get the parts to do this? I like this mod.

These wheels are 10" in diameter. Check with your local Harbor Freight, or go online and shop for used ones on Ebay. There will be some minor cutting and welding involved. You'll have to come up with some thin plate steel for pads to mount the wheels to and then weld them as far out on the edge as you can get. Check for rotating clearance before you nail them down...I've used this cart for unloading heavy objects out of the back of pick-ups and with the larger wheels it will go right up most porch steps.

Interesting idea MM; curious what the fully-extended measurement is?

Stock HF cart fully extended is 28"; the tail gate on my GMC pickup is 32" (perhaps slightly smaller wheels might work in my example...now how to do it without welding ; another non-welding option would be to build a 4" platform).

I'll try this again. Argh.....

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Yet another way to go. I just cut the handle down on mine. I've been using this table for over 4 years, I have more than got my money out of it.

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LMFAO, I like that Marc... if I see that at TPF I'm gonna start calling it the Gimp Cart.

Getting some great ideas for my lift table.

My future build so far; Stanley hinge fold down handle, big ass wheels, neon orange tie down strap. Sweet.

It will be there and we will use the piss out of it. When setting up 25-30 pins it comes in quite handy! I could actually use 2 at TPF!!

Yeah, I really can't believe anyone else didn't think of just cutting the handle like that. I didn't want to have to deal with all the modification but I can cut a freakin' pipe and redrill it...

IF I can get Rollergames, Shuttle and Time Machine all dialed in I will be trying to bring all 3...but I'm not doing it without a lift table.

This thread inspired me, I whipped this up last night parts I had on hand.

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How is your hinges attached to your handle, and cart?

Looks like bolts to me but that may be just too obvious.

Was at harbor freight today, this is on sale for $160 until 10/31/12

I had a 20% off coupon, got my cart for like $130 or something yesterday.

That's a steal!

i just got that coupon and am off to HF tomorrow.

Anyone else have an issue with the release valve staying open?

Mine seems to be messed up. Guess I'll have to make a trip back to HF...

Sounds like the release cord needs to be adjusted from the bottom. The release wire is held down by a nut and if you plan on modding it with latches you will have to adjust that anyway to allow the bars to go fully up and down but still tight enough to release when handle is at a 45 degree angle and triggered. The hinges makes the bar lay flat across lift when lowered so you can store it under a pin thats what I like about it. Here is an old thread that I got the idea from:
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinball-movers

Thanks, dude. Tried that. I have since removed the cord, but it still doesn't work properly.

Gotta spend some time monkeying with it OR schlep it back to HF for a replacement I guess.

I wouldn't be in this hobby if...

1. I didn't have a walk in basement
2. I didn't have my heavy duty orange lift

Sidenote: My kids have a ball playing on that lift

Same here, underspin.

Fixed the issue, the part that releases the valve wasn't seated properly.

All is well.

J37 on the pic...

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Just picked up my cart yesterday and unboxed it today, gonna cut the handle down shortly.

Cut my handle down like Marc did, I like it this way. It's nice and compact.

I took the handle off mine and tossed it.
I made a release lever out of an old shooter rod.
The handle is useless and in the way and after a couple of different configurations I realized it wasn't needed.

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Did the hinge mod to mine yesterday, but I think tracelifter might have the right idea.

thread should be called, human mouse traps.

I have that problem when I take mine "4wheeling" check the cable seating under the deck. Mine connects to the release lever via a notch that holds the cables barrel termination. My cable sometimes catches on stuff pulling it slightly out of its seating, shortening the cable and holding the lever open.

Thanks, johnda. Never thought of looking for that.

Did fixt it, though. See pic a few posts up...