GoJaks on RaceDeck Flooring??

[DanEC]

Anyone using GoJaks to move their Cobra (or other car) around on RaceDeck flooring tiles? Recently installed RaceDeck and my Harbor Freight jack up dollies - while they worked well on concrete - are a real struggle on the RaceDeck. Tried larger, new Phenolic caster wheels but I think they are worse even though they appear of higher quality. Heard several reports that GoJaks somehow cope well with RaceDeck flooring but looking for a few first hand accounts before I drop $900 for a set.

[Ron61]

Dan,

Is your flooring smooth? I made the mistake of getting the Race Deck with the diamond pattern and nothing including my floor jack rolls well on it. I have two of what I think you are referring to as Go Jacks and they work on the rear end but on the front where the weight is they don't work well at all. Mine you open up and a big roller on on each side of the tire and you step on a pedal to bring the rollers together and lift the wheel. They have pretty good size wheels but as I said, moving the front of the car with that diamond patters is impossible. On a smooth floor I think they would work great.

Ron

[CSX 4133]

I have a set of GoJacks and used them on my prior garage Racedeck flooring. Mine was smooth so moving was not an issue, if you get the Gojacks, spring for the stand that holds the four hydraulic lifts, it's well worth it and makes storing them far easier.
I will say moving a car into a tight area requires two people. On my present garage I have finished concrete so moving a vehicle is even easier, you will appreciate the quality of Gojacks should you buy them.

[DanEC]

Hey Ron - these are the coin top tiles. I thought they might accept caster loads a little better based on comments from a few suppliers. RaceDeck said they didn't think there would be much difference.

Where did your jack up caster dollies come from - do you know. Most of the GoJaks are some sort of light purple color I think.

[Ron61]

Dan,

I got mine from Griot's several years ago. They are heavy and if the floor was smooth I could easily move any of my cars with them. In fact I have thought of taking the Race Deck up so they can roll on the smooth concrete but it just isn't worth the work.

Ron

[Chilibit]

I tried them for a while. The dolly wheels definitely have a mind of their own as to direction. And getting 16 wheels to agree was way harder than I expected. Your mileage may differ. And that was on a polished concrete floor.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Dan,


I got mine from Griot's several years ago. They are heavy and if the floor was smooth I could easily move any of my cars with them. In fact I have thought of taking the Race Deck up so they can roll on the smooth concrete but it just isn't worth the work.

Ron

Someone on the Corvette forum mentioned the Griot jacking dollies and said they worked well - but they don't stock them anymore.

Tried a $40 experiment this after noon and bought 4 sheets of 1/8" tempered hardboard and laid down in the garage for the dollies to roll on. Although the stuff is hard as heck and the casters didn't make any marks on it, I swear it rolled harder than ever. It took me about 10 minutes to shove it inch by inch back to the wall. At this point looks like I either give the GoJaks a try or pull up at least part of the RaceDeck flooring.

[Gaz64]

I wouldn't expect any small castor to operate well on a floor like that.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by CSX 4133

I have a set of GoJacks and used them on my prior garage Racedeck flooring. Mine was smooth so moving was not an issue, if you get the Gojacks, spring for the stand that holds the four hydraulic lifts, it's well worth it and makes storing them far easier.
I will say moving a car into a tight area requires two people. On my present garage I have finished concrete so moving a vehicle is even easier, you will appreciate the quality of Gojacks should you buy them.

I assume the smooth RaceDeck was the wood grain stuff? I considered it but wasn't sure if it was a good move.

[CSX 4133]

Originally Posted by DanEC

I assume the smooth RaceDeck was the wood grain stuff? I considered it but wasn't sure if it was a good move.

I was mistaken when I said I had Racedeck, it was actually the Swisstrax smooth finish tiles. I checked their website and they don't even offer it anymore, they seem to have all gone to the more non slip variations.

https://www.swisstrax.com/garage/

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by Gaz64

I wouldn't expect any small castor to operate well on a floor like that.

I don't know that 4 inch casters are really small, but anyway I was skeptical also. But I have run into posters on various forums who say, oh yeah, GoJaks work fine on RaceDeck. But typically when I start asking questions I don't get any further response. Putting bits of information together - I think GoJaks do use a phenolic-type caster wheel but they have managed to find one with axle bearings and I have only found bushed or direct contact axle phenolic casters. I also suspect they have a bit more caster radius built into their casters, which would assist them with spinning into alignment. But hard information is difficult to find.

[Gaz64]

I'd like to see what this type of floor is like to clean up after a spill.

Anybody that needs to move a rollcab that weighs 500kg plus would know that a smooth floor is much easier to negotiate.

[Ron61]

Gaz,

If you mean the Race Deck flooring mine is easy to clean. I have spilled oil, gas, and about everything I could manage to drop on it and I just take a rag and wipe the biggest part up then use some 409 and another rag and it comes right up. My floor is about 14 years old so it doesn't have the high shine it used to any more but that is from wear and use more than the spills.

As for casters for my jacks I have looked everywhere up here for some large ones that I could make work and had no luck at all. I wish they had some that were about 6/8 inches in diameter and were pneumatic and I think they would work OK on this darn diamond plate finish.

Ron

[DanEC]

Ron - I did find these. Not sure of the wheel size but suspect it's around 6 inches. I hate to loose the self loading feature but I guess they are an option.

https://djsfabrications.com/product/...CABEgJuYvD_BwE

[Ron61]

Dan,

Those look as if they might work OK on your floor. I couldn't find the height they stand at but they do have replacement wheels for them and the wheels are 6"" ones. It would be hard for me to use that type in my garage as I don't have room on one side of the car for the floor jack to work. But I do like those larger wheels.

Ron

[Chilibit]

The tendency is to focus on the rolling resistance of the small wheels. In my case that was minor. Changing the direction of the 16 wheels (i.e., the pivot) was the killer. Same as the front tongue wheel on your car hauler. The wheels will roll once you convince them of the direction. A lift is a much better solution if you have the space. IMHO of course.

[Ron61]

Chilibit,

I couldn't agree more about the lift but I don't have the space or ceiling height for a lift. I have had several companies look at my garage and it would take a major rebuild to get enough clearance for me to have a lift. But I would sure love to have one.

Ron

[DanEC]

I have one lift in my garage and I considered putting a second one in. But even with an 18' door it will be crowded. Plus one vehicle I keep in there is a Lightning pickup and it' s too tall to stack another vehicle over it with a 10-1/2' ceiling. I just have too many cars and will probably need to cut back in a few years.

[DanEC]

Finally gave up on the idea of being able to use tire dollies on RaceDeck. Here was the final solution. Took up a square of tile, installed transition stirps and put spare tile up in attic.

[Ron61]

Dan,

Are those transition strips a tile that snaps together or how are they put together? I am sure they are smooth form the looks and where did you get them from?

Ron