How to transport an upright piano?

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Hokiefyd

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My in-laws want to give us their Yamaha upright piano in their living room for our budding 6-year old composer. Question is, how to get it to our house, 200 miles away? I have a 5x8 utility trailer that this piano could lay down flat in. But I'd be uncomfortable trying to strap this piano upright in the middle of the trailer, afraid that it'd still tip over if provoked.

1) Is it safe to transport an upright piano laying on its back?

2) Given enough ratchet straps strapping the piano down hard, will my fear of the piano tipping over in the trailer go unfounded?

I would much rather lay it flat on its back, but don't want anything to fall apart inside, if keys and hammers just sit in their places simply because of gravity.

Thanks for any advice.
 
1) Have the pro's do it.

2) Really, have the pro's do it.

Good luck no matter what...
 
Best to transport them upright. If possible in something that is high enough to stand it upright, and against a wall inside the trailer if possible. Pad behind the piano and all around it then strap it into place being careful not to strap the legs, they can break. Figure on tuning it once its in the house. If the piano is very valuable have a pro move it.
 
Originally Posted By: tpitcher
1) Have the pro's do it.

2) Really, have the pro's do it.

Good luck no matter what...



Been there. Call the pros and avoid a lot of grief. Pianos are more delicate than you would think. And have the tuning checked after the move.
 
Rent a small U-Haul truck. Do not transport a piano on it's back-you'll never again get it into tune, and you risk doing a lot of damage. Most U-Haul centers have piano dollies designed for different types of pianos-a large framework with large tires that make the piano easy to roll.

You can strap the piano upright in the U-Haul; since you're going a fair distance strap it to the right side of the box. Cargo tends to shift right because of the crown of the road and you want put as little stress on the piano as possible.

A small trailer does not have enough suspension to cushion the ride for a piano, but a U-Haul does. Riding that distance on a small trailer will beat the daylights out of the piano and you'll risk doing irreparable damage. The ramp on the back of a U-Haul makes it fairly easy to get an upright piano in and out; it's wide enough to accommodate most uprights.

Once the piano is at it's final location you'll need to have a piano tuner put the piano in tune.

We have and have moved two pianos-a baby grand on the main level of our home, and an upright on the lower level. I, along with two friends, moved both into our home exactly as described above without any problem.
 
I was involved in moving a piano one time. Never again. Do you realize how many people are required to get a piano down a flight of stairs? I cannot believe those stairs did not collapse.

Have the pros do it.
 
You need at least 2 big guys, and a truck that can stand it up right, and to be able to strap it to the side so it wouldn't tip over, and a huge blanket to cover it to avoid scratches, and the dolly for moving.

If it is for 2/F? forget about it and hire some pros.
 
An upright strips down very easily with no tools - keyboard just pulls out,lid,sound board, etc...but the frame is the heavy part. A friend of mine had a 2nd hand business and moved pianos with just one other guy and a dolly.
 
Many years ago I moved a couple of upright pianos. You've already been given the best advice- hire someone who knows what they're doing. Even if I was as strong & able as I was back then, now I'd hire it out. It'd be worth every cent too.

If you absolutely insist on moving it yourself, do *Not* lay it on its back, it isn't built for that. Remember that if something goes wrong, it can get expen$ive fa$t, whether it's the piano, other furniture or walls- or injury to the DIY movers. Even if everything goes right, you won't save as much $$ as you think. That 400-mile round trip ain't free.

Hire some pros.
 
About 18 years ago, I worked with a very large (solid as a brick outhouse, and tall) Certificate 10m Boilermaker, who had issues with authority, and a security guard who also had his own issues with his own authority...he was a twerp.

Anyway, boilermaker comes on site one day in his Hilux ute, with an upright piano in the back, which he found at the side of the road (literally, Oz bush, people dump stuff).

He hit security, and immediately drew the attention of chief guard.

"Do you realise that there is a piano in the back of your ute ?"
"Yep, pretty hard to miss, especially seeing as I put it there"
"Why do you have a piano in the back of your ute ?"
"Radio's broken".

We were in stitches.

Asked him how he got it up there.
"I picked up that end, put it on the tray, then went around, picked up the other end, and slid it on"...
 
Many years ago I worked for a guy who bought a house lot of stuff from a deceased estate...and in it was a Chicago pianola. He rung up a removal company and they said $100 to shift a piano - ''It's pretty big''....'No,we'll do it for $100'. It was in a small house that had been added on to,and the pianola couldn't get out,but they did it...it took 6 guys to move it. We put it in our hire centre shop,and later it was sold. He rung up the removal company to get them to move the pianola again. ''It's $100 to move a piano''. 'It's pretty big,and you've done it before'. ''No,it's $100 to move a piano''. The guys on the truck groaned when they saw they had to move the pianola again!
 
If it were an el-cheapo $400 piano I might be tempted to try it myself, but Yamahas are very expensive pianos. Hire a professional

You got BITOG's biggest score this year
 
I paid $450, including tip, to have an upright piano moved about 200 miles from my deceased grandfather-in-laws to my house. They only had to move it up two short sets of stairs (5 steps to my front door, 3 more in the foyer), I tell you what I'm glad I paid somebody. They made it look effortless but they were clearly professionals.

If there were no stairs in your route I'd consider doing it yourself. Now that mine's in place I can actually roll it around the room without much trouble by myself. Once a couple stairs are in play, forget it. It's not about the risk of damaging the piano, it's about the risk of seriously injuring yourself. If you're on the low side on the stairs and something goes wrong, you're in major trouble.

jeff
 


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Last month, I had to give away this big, old and heavy upright piano from my sister's house who passed away. It was upstairs and the ramp had been removed. Prospectors took a pass after assessing the trouble and cost to get it out of there.

Finally, a cousin had specialists take it downstairs and in his pick-up truck bed for $230. It's now living a new life 250 miles away...
 
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