Haul Firewood to the House - Easy, every day!

A note just arrived from our very first customer who is in her 60's and still gardens actively...

"Jeri,
Thanks for sending the video. It is so cool. We're still using the originals every day to haul wood to the house this winter. I hope they will be available in the stores around here soon because I have to loan mine out all the time.
-- DS, IA"

Hey DS -

I'm so happy you liked the DIY Network Cool Tools video - that was from the National Hardware Show, and...Thanks for the positive feedback!

Until we get into retail...Just let your borrowing friends know to call me at 713 459 0660, email info@bigslider.com, or order online at BigSlider.com

I appreciate your support and letting all your friends know about us!

Jeri

Moving a Broken Dishwasher

Last week our dishwasher broke! It should not have surprised us, since I think it was probably 20 years old, but who knew?? Anyway, it was a disaster, with water running all over the floor and us unable to stop it until we finally got the water shut off outside the house. We called for help and our contractor came over (this was about 6:30 in the evening!) and helped us out. He took the dishwasher out from the cabinet and then we had to get it into the garage and out of the way.

There were two of us at that point, so I think we could have handled it, but it did not look like any fun, getting it through the kitchen and breakfast room and over the sill at the door into the garage where it would be out of the way. Then I remembered my Bigslider that I keep stored in the garage next to my washing machine! I ran out to the garage and brought it in and the job was a snap after that.

It was easy to tilt the dishwasher up to get the Bigslider under it. Then I took the handle and dragged it through the house while my contractor assisted with a little pushing from the back. We got it over the sill with no problems and into the garage where you see it on the Bigslider.

Thanks goodness for the Bigslider!! I pulled a muscle in my hip fighting the water, which really flared up a couple of days later. I can only imagine what I might have done wrestling that bulky machine without my Bigslider! I am so glad to have it and it is so convenient to store that I almost forgot it. I know I would have felt terrible if I hurt my back and then remembered this great tool after the fact!

Construction Debris Defeated by Bigslider!

Bigslider came to my assistance when I needed to remove all these materials left over from construction projects and swimming pool maintenance. This junk had collected in my garage and my back yard and was becoming an overwhelming problem. There are two heavy doors with glass insets, two broken sinks from a bathroom countertop, and old pump from the swimming pool, and a trash can full of heavy debris.

The trash can had sat outside for so long that the plastic deteriorated and came apart whenever I tried to drag it to the curb. With my handy Bigslider, I was able to manage all this alone, without the back strain that would surely resulted from having to pick this up and carry it out.

The doors were a little tricky, because they were larger than the Bigslider, but, using the pull cord looped around the corners of the base of the door, I was able to pull from the upper end and get each door out separately without lifting.

What a handy and flexible tool to have in my toolkit!

Moving a Hot Water Heater Alone!

Can a single woman move a 165 lb water heater all by herself?

We set out to test this for ourselves and documented the technique.

The people at the store loaded it into the car, so there is no problem there. The problem begins when you get home with the big, heavy item and have to get it into the house for installation.

The pictures on our site illustrate all the steps that it took for one small woman to get the water heater unloaded and onto a BigSlider™ utility mover where it could be easily dragged into the house. With a little maneuvering, it was all pretty easy, with no back strain and no injuries. Without the BigSlider™, it would have been an entirely different story.

How would you have done it?

Pulling Weeds: Efficient Weeding with BigSlider™ utility mover

There are two ways to use BigSlider when you're weeding. First, if you are fortunate enough to own two, you can put one in the bag and pull your 'instant trash can' on the other one. Also, I like the combination of my lawn bucket with BigSlider™ utility mover. It holds the lawn and leaf bag open, and the Easy-Go (which I bought at Lowe's) is like a tall bucket with a handle and two wheels. Easy-Go is sold under a Black & Decker license by Keter Plastic. It's not as stable as resting on another BigSlider™ because the Easy-Go is a little top-heavy. But once you get some weeds down into it, it'll stay upright.



Second, you can use BigSlider™ as a weeding sit-upon. Just put the weeds at the tail, move along the bed, then dump into the trash. This way you touch the weeds only once -- very efficient! And, if you end up with lots of full bags, you can use BigSlider™ utility mover to slide up to six 39-gallon lawn and leaf bags to the curb in one trip. You can see it in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jm7Wr9xuZQ

Moving a Gun Safe

I just received an order from a customer trying to move a gun safe. He looked all over the internet and couldn't find any professional sliding mats except ours. His gun safe is about 20 in x 30 in x 7 ft and weighs about 1,000 lbs. He'll have to get help to lay it on its side just so it will fit though the doorway.

We decided that the cheapest, fastest way to get his project done was to send two 2 ft x 5 ft Professionals and tape the tail holes together with duct tape (to cover the 7 ft length). The handle will easily bear the pull of 1,000 lb loads on tile or wood (about a 200 lb pull), but to move the gun safe on carpet he'll need a second person to push from behind. The drag on carpet will create about a 300-500 lb pull, depending on the padding underneath and the pile of the carpet; and the handle tears out at around a 400 lb pull -- something you can only achieve with two very strong guys or a pickup truck hitch!

Best of luck to JB in Mississippi.

Moving a heavy old TV out...

I recently upgraded my old TV to a new 42" flat screen model. My Bigslider was used to get the new unit into the house, but the old TV was so bulky I couldn't get it out of the house by myself. When I had a contractor around to help with it, we were able to move it off its stand to my Bigslider so we could drag it out to his car to carry off to the recycle depot.

If Bigslider just came with an extra set of hands, I could have done this job all by myself!

BigSlider and the Japanese Moss Garden

Sadly we lost our beautiful oak tree several years ago. Since the tree protected our moss garden and west-facing sliding glass door from the sun and heat, we needed to replace it with shade. We read about the bamboo fuji-dan (pronounced WOO-gee-don) as a wisteria vine pergola in the Journal of Japanese Gardening and decided to adapt it to our needs. Tip and I put the bamboo structure together on the first day, and Manuel and Grandpa came over the second day with 10 ft cedar posts. They used the BigSlider™ Heavy Duty Tray to distribute the excess post hole soil in the low spots around the yard. They also used it to remove bricks from around the posts and bring back the beautiful river rock from its storage location in the farthest corner of the back yard. BigSlider™ Heavy Duty Tray made it easy to do in one trip! We topped the structure with two layers of 6 ft x 16 ft reed fencing from the hardware store to emulate the deep shade of the oak tree (one layer shown here). Now...we water and wait! PS Do you know how to feed moss? Warm, flat beer!

Laying Garden Pavers

We just got some photos of a client laying garden pavers using our heavy duty tray to move these heavy stones around. These photos really illustrate the ease of using our tray to ease the burden of garden work!

After unloading the stones from the trailer, the tray serves as a platform to hold the stones conveniently for placing them around the edges of the garden.



Look at this next picture and tell me how hard you think it can be to get this work done!! Really!!!





You see how Bigslider can reduce the workload for those big gardening jobs!

First Usage Report on Heavy Duty Tray!

We just received a note from a client who breeds deer for stocking leases. He bought one of our heavy duty trays for some of the heavier lifting jobs required in his business, like moving a piece of spraying equipment around the property to control the ant population on his grounds. He sent the following testimonial and photo:

"Sorry this took so long. After I unhooked the rope from the mower, I dragged the HD tray back toward the barn with the spray rig on it. Then it dawned on me that I didn't really need the mower. It was easy enough to drag by hand. Spraying ants just got a lot easier.

Thanks
Tom"

We are always happy to learn about how our products are making life easier for people. Send us your stories and photos so we can share them with others!

Introducing our Heavy Duty Tray in Field Test!

We just got our newest product delivered and tested in it our garden this past weekend. It performed beautifully!

Tip stars in our field trial to plant some new dogwoods plus a potted, rooted Japanese maple. We used the tray to handle the dirt as we moved from place to place in the garden putting in each plant.

We also found that the combination of the Tray with our original Professional model and our newer YardPal made the job that much easier.

See our field trial description on our site and learn how you can benefit from having a variety of these tools for your spring gardening chores! We also put the pictures up in a little larger format for a quick overview of the project.

Thanks Tip! You've got real "Star Power"!!

Back-saver, Re-carpeting project, Help Moving Woodworking Machinery

People buy BigSlider™ utility movers for many reasons...from birthday presents to woodworking machinery...here are a few from this week.

"I thought it was a great idea for a B-day present for my husband who just turned 68 and has a habit of moving large objects when I'm not around. I think it's a great idea that might save his back." -- PR, California

"I'm totally re-carpeting in three weeks and will have to move every piece of furniture in the house!" -- AR, Virginia

"I'm getting the Wider model to move woodworking machinery around the garage and also to move appliances." -- BB, Ontario

What are you planning to use yours for? Let us know at info@bigslider.com

Moving Boxes during Spring Cleaning?

What is your most challenging spring cleaning project?

Whatever it is, it will surely involve moving some heavy stuff around. For me, it is my garage. If I were smart, I would park my cars in my garage, and there would be no room for all the junk that accumulates there. Periodically (not every Spring, I have to admit), I have to get out and clean it up just so I can get through the garage to my car! It is never a happy chore. I still prefer it to doing my taxes, but the government encourages me to get those done!

Anyway, when I get into the task, it always consists of throwing things into boxes until I get them full, at which point I have to move them. It is surprising how heavy they can get in such a short time! With a little thinking ahead of the curve, I can have the boxes set up on my handy BigSlider™ so when the boxes fill, I don't have to lift them to move them. That makes the chore a lot easier on my back and helps me get it done sooner!

Think about how a BigSlider™ can make your springtime more enjoyable and easier and get yours today!

Announcing The Newest BigSlider: the Heavy Duty Tray!

BIGSLIDER™ Heavy Duty Tray Field Test

Ever since we first designed the Professional model, people have wondered about moving very large loads of loose materials like soil, mulch or sand. Today we are happy to report a new addition to the BigSlider line: the Heavy Duty Tray. We received some last week and had a chance to field test it this weekend with more tree planting projects. We were thrilled with the results! Hear all about it in our Field Test story of planting the dogwoods and Japanese maple. 

BigSlider Heavy Duty Tray is made in the USA of UV-stabilized, #2 recyclable HDPE, so it's tough and slick like all the BigSlider models. We'll have it for sale at www.bigslider.com soon.

Repairing a Brick Patio

The corner of Jeri's brick patio had collapsed, so she decided to remove the sunken area and re-sand it.

This project involved moving a heavy Pennsylvania bluestone stone paver around in her yard, as well as bricks, and getting a 50 lb. bag of sand (the only way it comes!) from the store to the patio to level the patio bricks and paver. She lifted it just once from the store floor into the shopping cart's child seat. From then on it was BigSlider to the rescue.

She draped it over the cart handle and slid the bag into the trunk. BigSlider also kept sand from getting all over the trunk. She used the rope threaded through the tail to pull it from the trunk to the driveway and drag the 50 lb bag to the patio.

This can become quite a chore for someone working alone, but the Bigslider family of gardening tools really paid of in making it possible.

Moving the 50 lb. bag of sand out of the trunk of the car was probably the toughest part of the job, but the Bigslider Utility Mover worked great to help her avoid lifting and possible back strain. All it took was a little creativity and maneuvering, and the job was done!

After finishing the job, Jeri had a great looking patio at her home to enjoy.



You can read the whole story on the site at "Repairing My Brick Patio by Myself".

More Testimonials From Users!

“Doing a search on the net for tools, I came across an article in Popular Mechanics that mentioned it. Currently I’m doing major renovations at my home a little at a time and this has been perfect for moving furniture and appliances over and back as I work in certain areas. Thanks for a great product.”
-- Mr. A, Illinois

“I use mine all the time due to my bad back. We moved a huge armoire last week with it.”
-- JH, Texas

"We used the slider to move furniture this week (including an armoire) - worked like a champ!" -- JM, Texas

"I sold some furniture on Ebay before my move....had assistance from a company in town...Sellabay. I asked if she had heard of the Bigslider and she said she had one...and loves it. Nice affirmation."
-- SB, Kentucky

Planting Italian Pines Made Easier

Gardening projects are easier with the Bigslider at your side. Recently, Jeri put in some pines in her garden and describes the project in detail, showing how she used the Bigslider and the Stacksaver to simplify the operation.

Bigslider can be useful in so many different ways. We will continue to bring you examples of how it can help, and would love to hear your stories of how it has helped you in different situations. Send us your stories and include pictures to share with other users.

Tax Tips Save Money!

Doing your taxes is another form of "heavy lifting" that we all encounter this time of year. Since our business is helping people avoid "lifting heavy things", we thought we could offer some tips on how to reduce your taxes.

Since Jeri is an engineer, she takes an analytical approach to these kinds of things (and probably everything else she does, as well!

We have an article on our site now demonstrating how you can use information from your annual credit card summary statement (usually known as your Year End Statement, or "YES") to reduce your tax payments.

Take a look and let us know if you find it useful. We are always happy to hear from our readers!

How Strong is BigSlider anyway?

I often get asked how much weight BigSlider can handle and how strong it is.
Take a look at our tear test conducted by a third-party service. We connected the tail by threading the rope through the PVC extension handle, then through the corner holes. The handle was connected at the other end with a webbing strap.

The handle pulled out a 402 lbs force -- that's equivalent to 800 - 2,000 lbs on the sheet, depending on the surface you're pulling over. In other words, no one's gonna rip the handle out without a pickup truck hitch attached to it -- like the guys who pulled the huge stump (see blog 9/26/08). Interestingly, the tail configuration was still going strong after the handle tore out. So if you've got something REALLY heavy, pull from the tail with the pipe and rope. --- Jeri

NOTE: we rate BigSlider to a 500 lb load, just to be safe! And of course, NEVER pull more than feels comfortable for you.

BigSlider and the Hoyer Lift for Wheelchair-bound Husband and his Wife Caregiver

One customer purchased BigSlider to help maneuver her husband so she could use the Hoyer lift to get him back into the wheelchair.

She came home from the store yesterday and had to use BigSlider for the first time. Her husband had fallen out of his wheelchair into a place where she couldn't reach him with the Hoyer lift. He rolled on his side, she slid BigSlider up to him, then he rolled back.

She was surprised at how easy it was -- and how much easier it was on him, too. It slid right over the Hoyer lift legs, and she easily got him into position. Now she wants to keep it in the car so that when they go to physical therapy, transferring him from the car to the chair will be easier and safer.

Which side goes up?

Q: "Received it and I'm ready to use the bigslider, however I'm wondering which side (the shiny or the dull side) is supposed to be facing up to put your boxes on? On the picture it looks like the label is supposed to be facing you -- that would be the shiny side up. However, that means you can see the screws in the handle, which I thought perhaps would mean it should be flipped. Which side is up -- shiny or dull??? Thank You!" -- JH, Delaware

A: Both sides of the white HDPE Professional model are equally slick, so don't worry about which side to use. Even after being scratched on driveway concrete for over 2 years, the original prototype still works great. (Mine looks like the one in the photo above.)

For YardPal the gray recycled HDPE is slightly less slick on the label side, so the label side goes "up" while pulling.

Above is a photo of another customer who's been pulling his loads through rocks and mud. You can see it's all scratched up. He keeps BigSlider in the pickup because it still works great! FYI - His is the third story about moving limbs and logs after hurricane Rita in the August 2008 archive.

Home Office and Gardening Combined!

Reviews Written by M. Gollwitzer, Thank you, BigSlider™!, August 31, 2008

I work at a home office and must shred reams of confidential documents each month. The BigSlider™ makes this so easy! I just place a rolled-up BigSlider™ inside a trash bag, which transforms the bag into a free-standing receptable for all the shreddings. I can empty the shredder into the bag without the struggle of having to use one hand to keep the bag open. When the bag is full, the BigSlider™ easily and cleanly slides out of the bag and I can then just haul the bag (placing it on the BigSlider™ if it's too heavy to carry!) to the garbage can.

I use the BigSlider™ in the same manner to collect leaves in the yard. In addition, we have found the BigSlider™ to be useful in hauling heavy objects around the house or from house to car. BigSlider™ has made many tasks so much easier!

Using Bigslider in Tight Spaces

One of our clients recently had some questions about our products that we want to share with our readers:

• I would like to know if it would be useful in a storage area of our basement (which we call a crawl-space) because we have to walk very bent over to bring out and take in items which we want to store in that area?? (It is hard to lift things up off the floor and at the same time bend over while walking.)
• Is the only difference between the "Basic" and the "Professional" an attached handle? For my purpose (see above) would I need that?
• If ordered, how soon could I receive it?

Thank You for your time.

Here are our answers:

• BigSlider will be great for your crawl space because its just 1/16" thick, so your items will have the maximum clearance possible and you won't have to carry them.
• You will still have to bend over to move your items, of course, and the Professional model with the attached handle is the best for the tightest turning radius and the most control. Reason: the rope to extension handle in the Basic model has more "play" between your pull and the movement of the sheet. So the Basic is better for garden applications where tight turns are not as much of an issue.
• We ship out Priority Mail, and you should receive it in about 5 business days.

I hope this helps! Thanks for your inquiry, Jan.

With a new product like ours, we get a lot of questions about how and where it can be used to provide the most help for you in different situations. We welcome all these questions and will happily answer them, and we look forward to hearing creative uses for our product that we can share with other users.

Working with leaves with BigSlider™

Moving heavy stuff around is what we built BigSlider™ for, but it has more uses in a variety of ways.

Take a look at how BigSlider™ can help you picking up and bagging your leaves. It makes a great scoop and is handy for holding the lawn bag open for you while you fill it with the leaves you just scooped.

After you have filled several bags, you can use your BigSlider™ to move multiple bags at once to the disposal area.

Moving heavy things by yourself

Shop owners of all kinds have heavy things that they have to move around the shop constantly. What a relief to have a BigSlider™ in the shop to make your life easier!

Here is a short movie of one man moving an engine block around in his shop without strain. Not everyone needs to do this, but imagine what kind of heavy stuff you have to deal with that you could move with this tool.

Another example of heavy stuff being moved is this video of someone moving a barrel of chains through his workspace. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to have to move something like this without a BigSlider™ to help me out!

Moving multiple heavy objects

One way that the BigSlider™ saves effort is by allowing you to move several objects at once, saving you trips when you have a lot of moving to do. The rope and handle that comes with the BigSlider™ is used to help hold the objects, which could be boxes or coolers or lawn bags, in place while you drag them from where they are to where you want them.

In this clip on Youtube, the founder, Jeri, demonstrates how you use the rope to move three coolers at once.

As simple as the BigSlider™ is, it is also very flexible and adaptable to different uses. Write us and let us know creative ways that you have found to use our utility mover and we will put your stories up where others can see them and learn from them how handy this tool can be in widely varied situations and circumstances.

Moving firewood without back strain

The first time I really screwed up my back I was carrying a sheet of plywood up a three-run staircase. I’d heard that putting a piece of plywood between my box spring and mattress would ease the aches I felt every morning from sleeping on a too-soft mattress. Since then I’ve spent many days in bed, waiting for one back spasm or another to cool down so I could walk pain free again. I know to lift with my knees, and I have a two-wheeled hand truck that I use when I move heavy stuff, but anytime a new product comes along that will keep me pain free, I try to check it out.

My hand truck doesn’t do very well on the lumpy lawn but my new Big Slider works great. It’s a heavy duty, five-foot long by two-foot wide strip of super slippery HPDE plastic with a handle on one end. I used it on Sunday to tow firewood from the edge of the woods to the front porch. Dragging the wood on the Big Slider was an almost friction-free experience, and I was able to traverse the yard, then across the macadam driveway, then up a slope right to the steps with ease. I was amazed how easy it was to move the wood. Dirt brushed right off when I was finished. I can see using the tool to move the sleeper couch, the freezer in the basement, and just maybe I’ll use it as a sled and take the baby for a ride down the hill when the snow comes.

Posted by Jefferson Kolle to ThisOldHouse blog, November 18, 2008

Moving logs from the mud up a rough slope

"We had trees downed in hurricane Rita that we'd cut up in fire wood length, and they were laying in a boggy area. I'd started carrying the 5- to 100-pound logs uphill to the trailer by hand for about 30 minutes, and my wife reminded me to use BIGSLIDER™.

My productivity went up at least by a factor of four or more.

I would dig the logs out of the mud roll them on BIGSLIDER™, and my wife would pull them up to the trailer for me to load later.

BIGSLIDER™ worked great in the mud and rough slope where we couldn't use a wheelbarrow or place the trailer any closer. We effectively loaded an 8 x 16 foot trailer with approximately 3 tons of fire wood.

I had always heard "He who cuts wood is warmed twice over." Now I can say he who cuts wood, hauls & loads,and burns it is warmed three times over. I use BIGSLIDER™ for various jobs and it is always handy in my toolbox.

A big thanks to BIGSLIDER™.”

-- SDS, Texas

How BASIC BIGSLIDER™ was born

One customer preferred to thread the rope through an extension handle, then through the tail holes, and knot a second extension handle for pulling.

BASIC BIGSLIDER™ was born, with no attached handle, and the extension handles are now in BIGSLIDER™ red, of course!