I have an Escalera that I bought from Pinsider Kitch. Touch base with Larry Kitchen (Kitch), here is his website:

http://www.flipnoutpinball.com

It's also nice if you can find a used one for sale.

Just brought a WOZ downstairs. Escalera type. Works great.

I am going to offer some advice from a guy who has every pin on the 3rd floor of his house, so everything goes up and down two flights of stairs. I have taken 8 pins up and down in the past year, quite a bit of moving. I own one of these

http://www.lowes.com/pd_498412-929-79480_0__?productId=4765249&Ntt=hand+trucks&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dhand%2Btrucks&facetInfo=

It is well worth the $140 for a nice hand truck. It still takes 2 people, but the dual handle makes it east, just like doing a dead lift, get both feet two steps up from wheels, pull with both hands instead of one, have someone pushing from the bottom, I am almost 40 and not in the best of shape, my relative who helps is over 40, we can move a pin up the 30 steps in less than 5 minutes, that is with a hallway and a 180 degree turn.

I have an Escalera. I just took my Getaway up the stairs all by myself, it's nice to have the flexibility.

Some of the guys around here have the Lectrotruck which works as well.

However, the Lectrotruck is a lot heavier and harder to lug than the Escalera.

I've had all 3 sizes of Escalera, 60" - 72" The 60" is great for pins, the 72" was a pain because it barely fit in my car.

It takes practice though, you still have to be very careful.

I'm a bit biased since I sell the Escalera but its definitely the way to go. I move games by myself constantly, along with lots of other heavy items. Gun safes, appliance, etc. Tomorrow I will be moving a pair of Hydro Thunder video games up a flight of stairs by myself.

When I first started buying games 25 years ago and collecting I did the "call my buddy to help me" and after hundreds of games and back surgery I got smart and now its not a problem.

I moved a Twilight Zone today up a flight of stairs by myself. Check out my videos on my site or look at the videos on the Escalera site.

I will be at the Louisville show and the Texas show in March with the Escalera. If you get a chance stop and try it out.

Get a Escalera like everyone is saying. They are definitely spendy, but look at what we spend on games/pinballs. I just picked up mine last year(got one used with forklift option) and I am glad I did. I have moved multiple pinballs, arcades games and even cabinets up my basement stairs with ease. Should have bought it earlier and I am glad I got one.

Also, Larry is your best bet to get one or even to get parts for a used one(if you find it).

I'm actually seriously considering installing an elevator. :/

Dang shoot a vid of that and post please. Just to cool.

I highly recommend Larry. Great guy and the Escalera is awesome. I'm definetely getting one. It's just a matter of when.

If you have a place to install it, a hoist will work better than any hand truck. Got mine in the garage joists adjacent to my side door/stairs to mancave. Wife operates hoist with remote as I steer the attached handtruck up or down the steep staircase. Can also lift Pin from truck bed to garage floor. Harbor freight has em for around $100.00 on sale

Take a picture of that.. I am can't seem to picture what a hoist attach to a door would look like..

I would have to mount in the kitchen. Some folks have all the luck.

Here's how I did it...I had the bracket that holds the winch fabbed up. Installed 4 hanger bolts into studs next to the door opening. The studs protrude about 3/8" when the bracket is removed. Had the sled fabbed as well, and covered the bottom with a sheet of industrial peel and stick teflon. This obviously only works for a straight up staircase, but it is so good, I sold the Escalera.

http://s298.photobucket.com/user/jgrenuk/library/JoesPinballEscalator?sort=6&page=1

Badass Joe. Badass.

They don't have to be. I've been through four of them now. The latest pickup was about a month ago, I got a MS-60 (60") for $350 and that included the cost of a brand new battery and charger direct through Escalera. If you are looking for an Escalera used, one great tip is that the first two numbers of the serial number is the year it was manufacutred. Currently, my MS-60 is from 1995, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy an older Escalera. Previously I bought an MS-72 with a big wheel attachment for $900 (72"). At 72" it barely fit in my SUV, I had to move the passanger seat all the way up so I couldn't go on pickups with a passanger.

Also, the other issue with 72" is if you are picking up a game and they have a wall at the top of the stairs, it's doable but a pain. For pins, I'd go with the 60"

Maybe someone can chime in on how good a 60" is if you have arcades as well.

Some of the REALLY old models I wouldn't buy only have one foot for lifting to the next stair, but I've never even seen one of those but I'd avoid them.

These things are built like tanks, used is the way to go.

^ nice bit of info, thx.

I rented one and was less than thrilled with it. There is a lot of trust put on those two rubber feet. Go out too far on the edge, it will slip off. Too far back in the step it will cause it to almost lay down. The other one out there have the roller blade wheels that drop off the edge locking the truck from going any farther forward. In essence, putting it at the optimal distance to move to the next step. I haven't tried that one.

I'm going to build a sled similar to the one in this thread. My stairwell is exterior so I plan on building a track with 1&1/2" PVC and sled runners made from 2" PVC split in half to ride on the round PVC rails. I'm going to use my utv and winch as the hoisting mechanism.

saw this thread and thought of you! (ac/dc still rocks!)

any chance of being at MGC in april?

I bought a M60 from Mike about a year ago. I pulled 40ish arcade games out of my basement by myself including a full size skee ball machine... with a blown out left knee.

It handled a pair of Daytona Twins with no problem. We did have a problem getting them out but it was because of a steel beam.. and not the dolly. Dropping them in the new basement was real easy.

On the actual moving day my buddy pulled all 16 pins out of the basement by himself with the Escalera...and a few days later put them in the new house for me (stupid knee).

I actually configured the basement to put in a small elevator in the future. But with the dolly I probably won't do that. The elevator certainly won't help me removing a pin somewhere else

The Escalera was a life saver for me during my recent move. There's no way I could have made the move it without it

any chance of being at MGC in april

Sorry but won't be at the MGC show in April. I've been to that show and like it a lot. Wish I could make it again.

Larry
flipnoutpinball.com

So the MS-60 would work well for hauling a Gauntlet Legends? It would be good to know, I just figured I'd sell the game with the house

The MS-60 is the same price as a MS-66 or a MS-72. I would suggest a taller one for vids but you know what will work for you. Let me know if I can help.

Larry
flipnoutpinball.com

I don't know I fell into a MS-60 and I was looking for feedback.

That's awesome! I need one of those at the top of my stairs.. Now I just need to find someone to make me one.. Lol How much do you want for yours?

I bought the escalera MS 60 from Larry with the magnum handle option and the big wheel accessory. Both are a must for pins. 66 inch is too tall to maneuver a pin. When I first moved a few pins I had a friend help me steady the pin because I was worried about sliding off the step with the 2 little cam wheels. After moving a few pins with help I can now do it alone. I moved my TZ out of my basement myself no problem. It takes some practice to get the right angle. Once you got it it is simple. Literally you only need to hold the truck with a few fingers. Well worth the money compared to an injury. Larry's the best to deal with. Good luck. You won't regret the purchase.

That's awesome. I was imagining something very similar for my basement stairs except using my regular appliance dolly as the sled. Seeing your flawless execution of the idea is very encouraging to me.

Any down and dirty welding shop can put one of these together. As I recall, the sled and bracket cost $150-$175 and the HF winch was under $100.

The good thing about the sled vs a hand truck is that the sled is very smooth, spreads the load over about 5 or 6 stairs so it doesn't jack up the carpet. And once at the top, you can just slide it to wherever you want it. The teflon makes it very easy.

If you do try this, you want to hang the winch at a height that results in the cable being just about an inch above the treads of the stairs. If too high, it will bounce it's way up, if too low, the cable will damage the stairs.

The problem with the wench is that it doesn't work when you go to pick up a game

In Canada there are a couple of distributors selling Escalera. I bought a 72" one, works great, & yes they can be a little tricky to operate. After so many years of asking friends to move pins, not many volunteers as we get older & wiser! So now I move everything myself. If you can score a used one cheap get one. I paid almost $2.5k CDN to get mine in Canada since our dollar is poor, high taxes, & shipping.

Thanks, yeah that makes sense about the cables..

I'm going to assume that you are saying that the tread is sticking out an inch or so from the riser.
That will not cause a problem. The feet on the Escalera is designed to land on top of the tread above the riser so it puts the pressure of the load straight down onto the riser for maximum support. Otherwise you stand the chance of breaking off the lip that hangs over the riser.

Hope that helps explain it.

Larry

I think he's saying the stair nosing overhang is not perfectly parallel to the stair riser. In essence, one rubber lift foot could be in perfect position while the other one would be at the edge or not on the tread at all.

So the treads are more like the "pie" shaped treads? Just not as dramatic an angle?

Its hard for me to say on that since I can't see them but if you were using a furniture dolly the weight of the load would be on the lip of the tread and not further back like the Escalera does so I would think even if one of the feet is not over the riser but the other one was you would still be better off.

Ok, so I have one of those stupid homes with the 90° bend in the stairs (enclosed stairway on all sides) the Winder bend, not a nice curve (like this picture). So I have to deal with those triangle shaped steps (grrr) - suggestions? I don't imagine the Escalera works all that well on these.

2030_Winder_Stairss.jpg

Nope it doesn't. I've seen guys that have made temporary steps that go over the pie shaped steps. However then you have a double step and the Escalera only climbs a 9-10 inch step. It won't reach any higher.

It does make a sort of landing and I suppose you could make a temporary step to square it up for each pie shape but that would be a pain.

I don't have a good answer for those except call a stair guy and have him fix it.

I think those, while they look cool, are dangerous even for people just walking down. If you step to close to the narrowest part your foot can slip and you will fall. I've seen it in person. I hate those type of stairs.

Its one of the things I look for when I go to someones house to look at a pin.

I will say that vids are actually easier to move than pins with the Escalera. Pins require just a little bit of muscle to lean back once the climbing feet hit the stairs...due to a lower center of gravity. It's not much...but if you had to moved 25 pins...you'd probably feel it by the end of the day. With the vids it required virtually no effort to move them. My M-60 (bought from Larry) moved 3 Punchout cabs (dual upper monitors) like butter up my basement stairs..by myself..on one leg

The m-60 is already taller than any dolly I own including my appliance dolly.

Just a warning though..you'll get super lazy (some could say smarter though) with the Escalera around...damn near everything comes out of the basement with it now.

I use an Ultra Lift dolly which is similar in operation to the Lectrotruck. I've never used an Escalera, so I can't comment on ease of operation between the two. However, one thing the Ultra Lift style of dolly can do that an Escalera can't, is take the place of a lift gate for my truck, as it can bring a machine from the ground all the way up into the bed of my truck.

When I'm transporting a machine, I usually just leave it strapped to the Ultra Lift and then secure the Ultra Lift to the truck bed. Very easy load and unload.

Downside is the Ultra Lift is a beast at about 140lbs.

How about going *DOWN* stairs? Does the escalera help at all with that? Usually going down isn't that bad, but still requires two people to do it safely.

If you get the forklift version of the Escalera you can lift the game into your truck. I use it that way all the time. There is an accessory that goes into the receiver hitch on the truck so you can carry the Escalera on the back once you get the game into the truck. The forklift comes on and off in about 30 seconds. Very handy but adds about $550 to the cost.

Its a very useful accessory however and I use it for lots of stuff besides pins.

Larry

Down works just like going up.

Escalera seems to be the way to go when trying to move games by yourself.. On the fence about buying one.. Almost think I might have to sell my house instead and buy a house with a walkout basement..

I have a walkout basement, so I didn't have an escalera. I have one on order now since the basement is full and the arcade is now on 2 floors.

I just carried a Countdown up a set of "winder" stairs with a 50 year old from work. im 30, we both were fine.

Two floor arcade! That's hilarious! You must be a single guy or going through a divorce.. Lol

If he was going through a divorce you would see the machines for sale by his EX wife