Hi everyone -

I have two Honda EU3000 generators that I got for free some years ago and as some of you may guess, they each weigh a ton (well, a lot, not an actual ton). I was good about getting them out and starting them regularly, but their weight and my back just do not see eye to eye on the matter.

As a result, they have sat for too long and need work done on them. I do not want to repeat that mistake. I would have been SOL on both of them if an emergency required that I have power.

I want to make or buy a cart for each of them to put in my shed so I can EASILY move them out and use them or test them. I want it large, ergonomic and stable enough for the generator, power cord and a small tool box.

I had planned on buying a new, two wheeled wheelbarrow and replace the container with a flat platform or buy a large garden cart.

Anyone else have a suggestion? What do you use?

Thank you.

I got a cheap mechanics creeper to use

Shed on lawn or paved surface?  You can make carts with wood and wheels from HF or TSC for pretty cheap.

Garage sale wagon, head on over to lowes and pick up a rubber mat of some sort, like a fatigue mat. cut the mat to sit in the wagon bottom. grab some 2x4s and partition the wagon into two separate portions to keep the genny's from banging into each other.... use the middle portion of the wagon to keep a small tool box and you can attach cord reels to the sides of the wagon to keep a couple hundred feet of dedicated cords handy.








 

I have found those two wheeled wheel barrows difficult to use on any kind of uneven ground.  They jerk around and beat you up.  

Can you bolt one to a dolly?  The leverage with a dolly will make the weight easy to handle and they don't really add much to the footprint of the genny, just height.  I used to have an old small army generator bolted to a dolly and it worked great.  I used it when I built a couple of rental houses, so would have to be able to load and unload by myself.  I don't know how big yours are.

https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahonda%20eu3000is%20wheel%20kit

I bought a generac 7500 that the guy put two small diameter castors on the front to make easier to move around. I pulled them off and put the peg foot on. it "runs" better and stays in place but it is a bear to move. the little front wheels made it much easier to move.

WSS

Buy one of the heavy four wheeled garden wagons from TSC or somewhere.  Expanded metal floor and sides.  Pick generator up once more, put in wagon, pull wagon to wherever needed, including up a ramp into your trailer or truck bed if needed at a remote worksite somewhere.  Plenty of leftover storage space for extension cords, a fuel can, quart of oil, spare spark plug, etc.

Sell a generator if the cost of the wagon is too much.

I would just get a dolly with a removable handle and mount a box to the frame for your supplies.

wagons take up too much space

You already have your answer.



ETA: Find some non-pneumatic tires for it - You don't want to have to air up the tires every time you take it out of storage!

If you are wanting 2 separate carts then it might be worth signing up for the northern tool membership or some of the other memberships and waiting for a sale on the 4 wheeled garden carts like what is pictured above.



If you do not want to deal with tires going flat in a few years consider looking for solid tires.



I was looking hard at a hose reel cart that holds a huge amount of hose, 300ft or so maybe?, but it was not priced all that high and it had 4 of those wheels that were solid.



I was going to steal the wheels off it and use it on the porch.  I have 3 or 4 hoses and could wrap around the house with that setup.



But the 4 wheels for a garden cart caught on sale would be worth it.



I hate the cheap rubber tires that dry rot in a few years.  I am lazy and hate airing them up as they age after a couple years.





Alright, with all that said there are other options.  I have a couple push mowers where the engine needs work.  Yes I could get em going again but I have 2 working push mowers.  Don't really want a couple more and don't want to sell em.  I got em for free and need to pull the engines off and using some wood make the mowing deck a flat platform for a generator to sit on.



Another thing you can do with northern tool is watch for casters to go on sale.  Want 2 swivel and 2 non-swivel.  I like heavy duty stuff cause I don't have nice flat perfect anything for them to roll on.  You can use something like a hitch hauler rack and add the swivels to that and figure out a handle.  You can make a wood frame and go from there.



Go to tractor supply or northern tool or something and just look.  Put your hands in your pocket and look.  



Someone asked about the terrain you will be rolling on, that is important.



To some extent a couple moving dolleys would work as well, might work ok for you or might not.



I have taken those cheap lawn tractor trailers that eventually get rusty and yucky and a lot of people toss out and I stuck a piece of plywood in the bottom to firm it up.  I took the axle and wheels off and took the axle to machine shop.  I had some front tires off a riding mower and they took a rod and drilled the ends for cotter pins and I went from little wheel barrel wheels to the front tires off a riding mower.  No more flats and no more rolling tires off the rim with a tiny load in it.  Yeah I overloaded it a tad I guess.



If you look around a lot of stuff can be found free or cheap.  Amazon always seems to have odds and ends on clearance but it can be a pain searching it out.



If you run a search in this section, might be in the archives, someone has a yard cart setup with batteries and maybe something else setup with an alternator and mower engine for charging it.  I figure it sounds like something expy did but I forget.

Honda does offer factory wheel kits: http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/accessories

Pricy, but guaranteed to work.  Like others have pointed out, you can go with a garden cart from TSC or HF too.