Move a Piano

What is the best way to move a piano?
This is a studio piano (not a grand, baby grand, or huge upright). It will be rolled to the driveway on a piano dolly.

I'm interested in advise on:

• How to get it into the bed without using brute force to lift it in (preferably use ramps - if so, what kind of ramps and what to watch out for.
  
• How to place it in the bed (the bed liner tracks may be an issue because of Piano and/or piano dolly wheels).
• How to secure for travel (balance and such).

 

Used to do this for a living as a student, and without proper dollies and some additional muscle, it can be a bear. Best thing would be an enclosed trailer, but if you're using your truck, try to find a single ramp that the dolly can roll on easily. If your driveway has some slope to it, position the truck near the bottom. This makes the ramp from the driveway to the truck bed less of an incline. You'll need a couple of helpers to push the piano up the ramp and steady it side to side. Once you get it into the pickup bed, take it off the dolly. Center the piano between the sides of the bed and push it all the way to the front. Use multiple straps and strap it with equal tension from side to side (i.e. Right front to right rear and left front to left rear) on the lower part of the piano. Then use additional straps with equal tension on the upper part of the piano, about keyboard height. Then use side to side straps over the top, and finally, use cross straps over the top. The more straps the better.

 

Save your back and rent the smallest uhaul that has a ramp. Center the 4 wheel dolly under the sound board of the piano where all the weight is. (Number 3) There are usually 2 wooden handles built into the back of the soundboard on either side so that 2 people can have a handle to lift it. When 2 guys lift it, get a 3rd person to center the dolly under it. When your roll it to the ramp, make sure the side going up first has clearance (isn't going to bottom out on the ramp and drag) and have 2 people push it up while one person pulls/guides it up the ramp. If the piano is going to bottom out, have the person going up the ramp lift their side until the dolly wheels reach the ramp, and the piano can syart being oushed up, and is no loner in danger of bottoming out on the ramp. After that just strap strap strap against the wall like BKill said. Tie around the soundboard, not the wimpy legs. Doing something like this in a pickup is going to be more trouble than its worth to rent a u haul.

 

Hire a piano mover

 

From someone who does this for a living, this is honestly the best advice in this thread.

 

Hire a flat bed tow truck. Winch it up, tie it down. Deliver. Done.

 

Thanks for all the replies!

I need to get the right tool for the job it seems.

- * -​

 

Yeah I just gave a quick description of what we do, but we also have piano boards, humpstraps and more importantly the know how. I do stair carrys of 9' concert grands with guys that weigh 150lbs soaking wet. You're completely right about strength not having much to do with it. Know how, and the right tools are the most important things. It's going to have to get tuned anyway after being moved. I'd honestly just call a piano company that can both move and tune it. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches in the end and it shouldnt cost much.

 

Joe is absolutely correct. Save yourself a lot of headache that way.

 

I've participated in a successful project to move a large upright in a pickup
bed, up a skidder road to my cabin. It was extremely complicated moving, nudging,
small dowels as rollers, pieces of 4x8 plywood on the rollers....took time but
was doable. for holding down, a metric f**kton of rope and sailor knots.

truck on slope ...w/ come along pulling piano up roofing staging planks onto bed,
2 people pushing, two on sides as tip patrol, one on come along

 

Seeing how I did this and moved it in my truck. Don't just freaking don't. Your truck, and your back and the piano will all thank you. Hire a mover and be done with it.