I'll be moving in a few months (6 - 9) and I want to take the 8 by 12 shed I built with me. The frame is 2 by 4 by 8s on two 4"x6"x12' with 3/4" plywood floor on top of all these for a reasonably good strength, so I'm thinking about just attaching an axle or two, or maybe a subframe with the axles, a hitch, wiring and lights, and tow it away that way. Would this be legal, I mean, do I have a good chance to get a permit for smething like that?

Shed is standing on concrete piers about 1 - 2ft above ground already, so attaching an axle would be fairly easy.

TIA

 

It's probably built better and stronger than mobile homes you see.
When those things get into an accident they explode.

 

aurgathor, You didn't say how far you needed to move it, but you might want to have it moved. There are guys that haul storage buildings for local and chains. Tow trucks can haul them on their flat decks.

That way they own all of the liability for moving it. IMHO

John

 

Is it nailed or screwed? I would be nervous about nails. Also kind of depends on how sturdy it is. Also what kind of roof? How well attached is it? The shed will take a good wind beating so you don't want stuff flying off on the freeway.

I would be nervous unless I was going a short hop at street speeds.

Not sure about legalities. I bet a cop with a slow day might want to take a closer look.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

If it was me, I would build a trailer and put the shed on it. Then once you get it to your new place take it off. So now you've got your shed moved and a new trailer...can't beat that deal.

Tim

 

OK, to answer a few things:
a) it is all screwed except the shingles on the roof
b) I definitely want to have a permit since it would be an unusual sight
c) moving would be local with no or very little freeway, and if I do it, I'm thinking of the early hours (4 - 6 AM) on Saturday or in Sunday.
d) I do need a trailer, but not *that* wide

 

If its not that far i say go for it if the cops stop you... witch i dont think they would. plead ignorance. if possible. have someone drive a little ways behind you with the hazzard lights on.

Good Luck!

 

You don't have to make the bed of the trailer 8 foot wide.....If you make the bed of the trailer about 6 feet wide, the fenders will be out about a foot on each side, so overall the trailer will be about 8 feet...Put several 8 foot post across the trailers rails/sides, and then put the shed on, strap it down good and go.

Tim

 

You might want to check to see if you need a over size load permit.. In my State you would need one.

 

Good one

 

You would need an oversized load permit to haul something 8 ft wide?

Tim

 

I think the wide load limit is something like 10 or 12 feet. My travel trailer is 8 feet wide and I did not need a wide load permit and I bet they would have a tough time selling them all over the country if this were the case. But like I said earlier, I really don't know the legalities.

Wood shingles or asphalt? Are they just nailed or nailed and "glued"? I think you could probably get away with it if you keep speeds down and not make any stupid(Attention grabbing ) moves.

I have seen a few licensed campers and trailers that looked like a quaint country shack or shed, so appearances might be OK.

Good Luck,

Jim Henderson

 

My students build backyard sheds as the class project in my building construction class in my high school.
We build one per semester. They are built using the standard western platform framing style, which is used nationally for wood framed houses.
They are nailed and sheathed in T1-11 plywood then painted or OSB then vinyl sided.
Standard nailed shingles are used and often have not been cooked in the sun enough for them to really seal to one another yet by the time we are ready to send the shed down the road.
We use a local rollback driver. The largest building he has hauled for us was 20' long by 12' wide. As long as the roof of our building is 10' high or less, he doesn't need any special permits (the overall height on the truck must be less than 13')
He only charges our customers between $50 and $100 to take the shed from our school to their properties which usually are between 5 and 15 miles away.
We build the sheds on 5 4x4 skids running the length of the building. When we move the building out of our shop and out into the parking lot, I just hook a pallet puller to the center skid and pull the building out chained to our 30 hp tractor. I used to use my truck, but since they remodeled our school, my truck is too long to make the turn out of our shop quick enough to avoid the fence that was installed at the edge of our parking lot.

So, in short,
Your trailer idea will work fine-the building won't fall apart but there is significant merit to having a rollback service to taking it where you want it: liability being the main, and the other is he can set it down exactly where you want it without dragging it across your lawn.
Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

I measured the height -- it's about 11' tall at the ridge, and that's one of the reason I want to have a wide axle underneath it without any extra lift (so a sudden burst of wind, or passing semi will have a harder time to flip it over). Also, I forgot to mention, the roof extends a bit in all directions -- it's dimension is roughly 10' x 14', and that's around the 9' mark and above. The shingles are nailed, but should be very well fused by now. (3 years) . And if I could find for someone hauling it for $50 - $100 -- I wouldn't hesitate to take that offer. In any case, I still got plenty of time before I need to move.

 

Call around to some of the local rollback drivers. If they aren't busy, I'd think they'd do it for a reasonable amount. They aren't making any money if their truck isn't hauling something!