Dolly with big wheels (pneumatic even better to cushion bumps), and a couple of ratcheting tie-straps.

Friends.

Definitely going to need an appliance dolly of some sorts if it's steep. Being a widebody too is going to cause you some heartache. I have DM in my basement, and I dread ever moving that thing out of there. Make sure you measure the width of the stairs, as well as the landing if there is one. Might save you some aggravation.

Contemplate taking off the head if possible.

I had the same situation. It was a stairwell that had about three steps up, then a turn of 90 degrees. I had to take a Taxi's backbox off to do it. I maybe could've done it without taking the head off, but I woulda banged around the pin a TON and scuffed up the walls.

I'd seriously think about removing it if after you try a couple attempts up and don't succeed.

EDIT: if it's just a straight shot up the stairs, take the legs off and fold the backbox down and ratchet it down. Then move up with a friend. MEASURE doorways up there just to make sure the backbox fits thru.

And someone at the top and bottom...never do it with less than 2 people; and 3 is better.

Robert

I only had 6 stairs to go down, but an appliance dolly made ALL the difference. +1 to that idea. Oh, and having 2 friends there made it a breeze!

How narrow? Can it fit with the back box attached? A hand truck with treads on the back is essential. The treads roll on the steps as you move it up. Strap the back box down securely so it doesn't flop. You will need at least2 people to be safe. Stronger on the bottom probably to push and hold. You can rent the hand truck at home depot if you don't have one. You might want to cover the machine with something to prevent dings. Nothing much to it but brute force.

I installed a hoist in my stairwell. It works well.

I actually shot a video of moving a game up the stairwell.. I'll try to dig it up and see if it's worthy of posting. But it allowed 2 people to effectively move a widebody machine up a very narrow staircase. I think if I had a longer remote on the winch, it could actually be moved upstairs with just one person.

HA.. I found the video.. I guess I can show you..

In the video, I'm out of breath because I had just finished moving the game up 3 steps to a lower platform. It was actually harder to move the machine up the three large steps than it is to pull the thing all the way up to the top.

I've now moved 7 machines using the system and have it figured out better than what I have in the video. There's a specific way I have to attach the game to the dolly and the sling to the dolly, and I now use two custom-cut 1x8"s over the stairs to make the game roll up without bouncing on the steps.

What you don't want to use is a standard "winch" like what you might get for an ATV. Those things just don't have the power. An actual "hoist" made for lifting vertically works best. In the above setup, there's virtually no strength needed to move the game.. the hoist takes care of everything and all I do is guide the game as it goes up, then when it's hanging in the air, I turn it 90 degrees and slowly let the hoist down as I push the game onto the landing at the top of the stairs. It's pretty scary to have the game underneath you while doing this.

If you worried about it, take the head off. Cab is light. Easy two person lift, or one person dolly.

Only thing I can ad is go slow and always stay in control -never 'bounce' a pin up or down a set of stairs,
also open the coin door and get a good grip on the lower frame helps give a rock steady feel

Good idea. Never tried that before

The dolly can be used quite easily if you have a friend sitting on the stair below it. Just have him push up a stair at a time using his legs to push upward with his back against the machine. The guy on top just steers the dolly and pulls a little bit as well as holding it steady for when the guy below has to shift positions (every two steps or so). Its quite easy, and many people forget that your theigh muscles are the strongest muscle in your body. And it certainly makes it easier on the back of the guy on top.

If you can't use a dolly on your stairs I recommend getting some big straps to wrap around the machine so the person on the top has some leverage and something to grip on. My stairs suck and everything that has to be moved up or down has to be with brute force. Down is not a problem at my place but up is very difficult and last 3 machines I moved up had the heads off which made things super easy. If you do remove the head I would suggest you buy these Marker Cable Ties from monoprice that you can label the connectors. I know most are keyed but for how little these cost it will take no time hooking everything back up.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052001&p_id=5792&seq=1&format=2

Good luck on the move!

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I've got a pretty ugly set of steps too. Pinster helped figure it out....but the two things that have saved my bacon:
1) take the head off. May seem like a ton of work but it beats bumping things and the extra diameter and weight you save are worth it
2) we got a set of the "forearm forklifts" at lowes. I was skeptical but they made a big difference. There are two things to be aware of with them though...get genuine ones. There are knockoffs floating around that may fray and break. And on stairs they reverse the roles and the person on the top winds up carrying the weight.

Good luck!

Tip: Wrap the machine with stretch wrap. Won't help if you drop it down the stairs, but will save you the little scratches that you get banging it on the door jams.

If you can't use a dolly on your stairs I recommend getting some big straps to wrap around the machine so the person on the top has some leverage and something to grip on

I bought a shoulder dolly and it's really worked well for me. My stairs have a horrible little landing at the top so that I have to turn the pins 90 degrees after they go through the door but before they go down the stairs. On a regular dolly it's a bitch. With the shoulder dolly it's not bad at all since the two of you can use major muscles to do the work and spin the pin pretty easily.

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I couldn't use this for my pins (I have a wicked 180 degree switchback in the middle of my stairwell), but believe me--you NEED to buy a shoulder dolly set. My wife and I moved almost of our furniture into our new house with one of these. Yeah, it looks kind of goofy, but it makes moving even the heaviest dressers and armoires much, much easier than trying to lift them the normal way.

I second the suggestion to remove the head. It sounds like a pain but it's really not too bad. Moving the cabinet alone is much less awkward.

I'm looking at that shoulder dolly and while my brother and I, big boys, usually heave the pins up the stairs to a landing and then a 180 switchback....that thing looks pretty dangerous!

I"m already worried about getting that heavy wide body Woz upstairs....the base on that shoulder dolly looks a little thin?...

My first idea involves a cold suitcase of beer (not the cheap stuff!) and phoning several freinds over for a little project.

You probably won't like this, but ...

The other idea is:
Take the machine apart. Remove the back box, back glass, speaker panel, and remove the play-feild.

Now you can take the play-feild and cabinet up on a hand truck with the cabinet up-ended (coin-door facing up).

It'll be a several trips, but probably safer and less likely to damage walls or the game. (the beer and Phone calls also work well for this part too).

I'm thinking I'm calling some professional movers for WOZ...no sense in killing yourself

I lay a shipping blanket on the stairs, then lay the pin on top of the blanket and run some water skiing rope (with handles) around the back of the machine, using the blanket to keep the rope from touching the cab directly.. One person stands behind the machine to keep it from sliding back, then other pulls like hell using their body weight as leverage. I can get pins up my stairs in two-three good pulls and it's by far the easiest method we've found.

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Great tip

I call a local removalist company and wave beer money infront of their eyes - better than stuffing up my health.

Yes, NJGecko's steps are ugly ... Super ugly. He is now a pro at decapitating pins.

Escalera (or one of the other well regarded brands of powered stair climbers) is the only way to go. If you are in this hobby for the long haul, it's well worth the price in the long run. I thought it was crazy to spend that much on a dolly, but when I really started thinking about how easy it would be to hurt myself or worse yet my wife (who is usually my helper), it started making sense.

Even if you never have an accident, moving these heavy beasts around regularly is eventually going to take a toll on your back, knees, etc. I finally broke down and bought mine just before MGC this year, and it made life way easier. It is the only way I'd be able to continue taking machines to the show.

I will say what pushed me over the edge was when my dad and I brought down my early '50s jukebox...that thing made the pins seem light, and about half way down, the decision was made. I'm still not sure how we got it down there without killing ourselves..

That or movers.
There will probably be more pins. Mine go in the basement (down not up,thank goodness). But its still all the way around the house on grass and then down a long set of stairs and into the house. I listened to another pinsider and bought a good appliance dolly with a strap. 5 pins later, all by myself without any problems. All because I had the right tool.

All of my games aee in a 2nd floor room in a traditional suburban home built in the 80s. Its a standard stairwell with standard hallway at the top (not pin or arcade easy). Over the past few years I have moved about 6 arcades and 6 pins up and down. Here's some of my methods and notes.

1. Self with friends only. Bad idea. Very heavy. Awkward shape to get a hold of from above.

2. Self with friends and furniture dolly. Not bad but hard. Need the squared off kind with a strap and the small moving belt at the bottom rear (made to reduce friction on stairs). No go if you have a bad back etc.

3. Hire movers. Expensive but very nice. Point and it's there.

4. Escalera stair climber. Awesome. Amazing to see it work. My op friend brought one over and we moved a pin down the stairs like it was a pillow.

I'm currently out of room and considering an stair climber as my next purchase.

Number 2 is the most practical for a budget. The dolly I refer too is available at lowes etc for less than $100 from my memory.

You can rent a furniture dolly for $10 at U Haul, FYI.

Haven't seen this mentioned yet, but make sure to wear utility gloves of some kind! Especially for the guy pulling on the dolly from the top. Nothing like sweating and beginning to lose your grip near the top of a steep and narrow staircase. Almost killed my friend that way!

Ultimate solution: by a 1-story building to move everything into