Collection: Piano Dollies and Moving Equipment

Piano Moving Supplies and Tools

Before you can wheel your piano out the door or onto a stage, you need to make sure you have the piano moving tools and supplies on hand to safely and successfully get your instrument onto a cart or dolly and then secure it in place for the move. There are several handy items you may want to consider.

Lifting Tools

First and foremost, you’re going to need tools on hand to help you lift a heavy piano up onto a cart or dolly. If you have two to four people willing to help, you can certainly lift a piano manually and slide a cart underneath, but what if you’re on your own? With tools like a piano lifting bar or a hydraulic jack piano raiser, you’ll have a much easier time safely lifting or leveraging your instrument for transportation.

This will not only minimize potential damage to your piano but spare your back, your fingers, and other body parts that could easily be harmed trying to lift such a heavy instrument.

Moving Straps for Pianos

Once you’ve got your piano positioned adequately on a cart or dolly, you’ll want to secure it to its rolling conveyance to ensure it doesn’t slip out of place or fall off entirely at the first bump or slope. Piano moving straps are the appropriate supplies for this particular need. These straps made from durable cotton webbing are extra strong but soft on delicate piano surfaces.

They should be at least two inches wide and feature positive locking roller buckles to ensure that they are strapped in place. Your piano won’t go anywhere without the cart. Straps come in a variety of lengths for different piano sizes and can be joined together for extended length if needed.

Moving Boards

Getting a piano on and off a dolly during the transportation phase is made easier using a piano moving board, also called a skid board. You don’t necessarily want to leave a piano on a rolling dolly while it’s in a truck being transported, and a padded skid board with a lip on one end not only protects your piano and keeps it from sliding around but allows for easy lifting on and off the dolly.

Once the piano is placed on the moving board, it can be strapped in place for easy lift or leverage on and off the moving dolly, with no damage to the down-facing edge of the instrument.

Piano Moving Rollers

If you’re not moving a piano far, robust piano dollies may not be necessary. Instead, you might simply add rollers under the legs of your piano to move it around in a relatively small space, such as between a backstage and onstage area or to different areas in a showroom.

Piano Specific Moving Dollies

Dollies are basically wheeled platforms designed to move heavy objects, those that are typically too heavy or bulky to carry by hand simply. When moving a piano, you certainly want a setup hardy enough to handle the weight of this unwieldy instrument. Still, when you choose piano dollies, specifically, you’ll find they’re also designed to manage the unique dimensions of an upright or baby grand without tipping, breaking, or otherwise failing during the moving process.

Some piano-specific dollies are fully adjustable to work with a wide range of instrument sizes and shapes; others are made specifically for grand piano configurations, digital instruments, or spinet and console styles. Many have targeted features to protect legs or other delicate parts during moving. While plenty of average dollies might work just fine, depending on your particular instrument, you know a piano-specific moving dolly is going to offer the best protection and ease of use.

Moving Carts for Pianos

In addition to piano-specific dollies, there is a wide range of simple, flat dollies that will also do the trick, especially for smaller uprights or digital models. A flat, padded piano moving cart is designed to be a quick, easy way to get your instrument on a truck or into another room without any damage.

Dual Trucks for One-Person Piano Moving

Find yourself in the unenviable position of having to move a piano on your own. Even a relatively small one, lifting or leveraging it onto a dolly simply may not be possible. Luckily, you can find the right piano moving equipment for the job when you choose dual trucks.

All you have to do is place one truck at either end of the piano, strap them in place, and then raise the piano to get your move underway. You can lock wheels with a spring-loaded plunger for easy, one-person maneuvering.

If you’re planning a major move with your piano or you move it around frequently, Jansen Piano Benches has the equipment you need to complete a damage-free move successfully.Contact us today with any questions about which products are right for you.