Transporting a Table Saw

Get a piece of 3/4” ply about 6’ x 2’ wide. Lean one
end against the tailgate. Tip the saw onto its back
onto the ply. Lift up the end and slide the sheet,
with saw on it, into the truck.

Take off the wings and fence rails before moving.

A contractor saw may need the motor removed to
do this. Anther approach is to unbolt the legs
and slide the contractor saw cabinet off the legs
and into the truck.

I bought a Ridgid 3650 a few months back. Have the same vehicle you do with a bed topper. Took along a friend . The saw wouldn’t fit with the bed topper.

So the saw had to be removed from the base. 4 bolts and it was off. Hopefully the seller will be able to help you lift it into the truck. Getting it into your shop is another story.

Surely there is someone you can enlist to give you a hand ?

I’ve moved my contractor saw several times using a Ranger.
1. Take motor and fence off
2. Lower or remove blade
3. Place moving blanket in bed so as to cover lowered tail gate
4. Place saw (on its feet) behind tail gate, with back of saw several inches away from the tail gate
5. With a helper tilt the saw (so the back of the table is hanging over the edge of the blanket covered tail gate), and lift up the front feet rotating the saw so it ends up lying on its back on the blanket.
6. Slide blanket into bed and secure the saw.

-- Joe

I’ve fit contractor saws into my minivan so a Ranger shouldn’t be a problem if you remove some of the basics and flip it upside down as others have suggested.

-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....

take loren’s advice, but add a ledger (a 2X4) screwed to the bottom of the plywood sheet. rest the saw on ledger, that way, when the plywood is lifted and slid, the saw goes along for the ride into the truck. teh buyer of my refurbed unisaw did it this way, and the two of us handled it easily.

-- there's a solution to every problem.......you just have to be willing to find it.

take the table off and it will be a lot lighter the above all sounds good

-- Stevo, work in tha city woodshop in the country

A tilt trailer, the type for hauling mowers, makes the job easy.

-- Jim from Doniphan

Apparently I was up a little late for thinking spatially—I just never see a table saw in any position but upright, so I guess I wasn’t considering laying the silly thing down.

Loren/Joe/toolie: So the saw just rides in the bed lying on its back—wouldn’t that put all the weight on the back of the table?

RonInOhio: Yeah I have a fiberglass tonneau—I thought I would love it, but nothing fits under it, so I end up taking it off damned near every time I use the truck.

knotscott: so roll it onto its back in the bed, then flip it all the way up onto its top for the ride home?

Straightbowed: my current saw is an 8” direct drive benchtop—taking the table off means disassembling the entire saw. Is the table on a “real” saw typically easy to remove (and reattach accurately)? I can see it might not be too bad if it’s a cabinet mount saw.

What I do when I need to move my Unisaw. I roll it to a couple feet from the back of my trailer with the left side facing the trailer.
I put carpet in the bed of the trailer.
On the ground behind the trailer I put a couple of two by boards parallel to the bed for finger clearance.
I roll the saw sideways to the ground on the two by
Continue rolling the saw so it’s upside down in the trailer on the carpet
Slide the saw towards the front of the trailer
Tie down to prevent sliding, at this point it’s so bottom heavy it can’t fall over
Drive home, reverse process

If you have a ways to move the saw to or away from the trailer, put the saw on the handcart with the top against the handle.

I have a ¾ ton pickup, but it’s easier to use the trailer because my tailgate is about 36 inches off the ground

Anyhow that’s how I do it. It works for me, and the only disassembly I do is to take off the rip fence. The guide rails stay on.

If you figure a way to get the saw in your truck standing on it’s legs, tie it down very well!!!

I was behind a guy that went around a corner with a saw in back and the saw rolled all the way out of his truck. The saw was totaled, and the car that hit it had a lot of damage. It also dinged the side of his bed where the saw hit it.

Be safe, if you don’t feel comfortable doing it. Hire a flatbed tow truck. The bill is cheaper than your back.

What Joe says – I’ve moved mine three times with the same results.

-- *Arachnoleptic Fit*: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidently walked through a spider web.

The cast iron table won’t be damaged by laying the
saw on its back. It’s way too strong to be affected.

You can lay a saw on any of its sides, but with a cabinet
saw the back usually is easiest because there isn’t stuff
sticking out of the cabinet on the back.

I put the carpet down so the top won’t get scratcheed.

Just to be clear, I meant the final position in the truck is upside down.

Taking the top off a contractor saw is major surgery, so I wouldn’t do that. (Taking the top off of a cabinet saw would not be a big deal and would be ok.)

-- Joe

“RonInOhio: Yeah I have a fiberglass tonneau—I thought I would love it, but nothing fits under it, so I end up taking it off damned near every time I use the truck.”

@ Odiferous: Actually I have a cab high top very similar to this…

I really like it.

Thanks for all the info—this seems much more doable now.

I missed out on the deal, of course, so filing this away for the future. Back to debating the big three options for a saw <= $500

• Buy and rehabilitate a 30 year old Emerson saw
• Catch a deal on a decent saw on Craigslist within 10 minutes of posting
• Play the Ridgid 4512 quality roulette