I have a Bridgeport Milling machine and a Colchester lathe (and a couple of other large but not too heavy machines) to move from old workshop to new premises. We are only moving about 7 miles. I have use of a big car trailer, but I have no idea how heavy the mill and lathe are.

Anyone know? Or any good educated guesses?

We have fork lifts both ends of the journey and lifting slings, just not sure if the trailer is upto the job. And would a Merc Sprinter pull it? We may have use of a Nissan Navara as I think they can pull more weight.

We could possibly take the head off the mill (would rather not) to reduce weight. And we can make as many journeys as we need. Even under cover of darkness if needed.

Or does anyone know how much this will cost to get a machinery movers to do it? Or suggest any companies? Obviously being 'low cost builders' we would like to do it ourselves for free. Would hiring a 7.5 tonner with tail-lift be cheaper? Or an open bed with Hi-Ab arm?

The new workshops are looking so promising, just the thought of leaving the machines behind is stopping us move out just yet.

And the new place would have extra room which means my Haynes Roadster could actually make a start

no educated guess, but i'd be VERY surpised if it weighed too much for the van and or trailer

then i found this
http://www.colchester.co.uk/brand_comparison.asp?BrandID=3

I pulled my 600ish kg Harrison back home on a 5x3 trailer with my Rover 45. No issues at all.
Consider how heavy a car is on the trailer and the 3000kg? pulling capacity of the Sprinter.

I think I recall our Myford 7b(?) at work weighed 700lbs with the stand if thats of any comparable size?

my first thought was really f*ing heavy...

my dad and and me used the big trailer on the back of the landrover, the old 200tdi was working very hard to pull that....

but some quick google searching suggests:
~1250kg for the mill
and ~800kg for a student (the big ones are nearer 4000kg )
you should get some better info if you search using your model name/number

I'd say damned heavy - serious lumps of cast iron involved.

Nothing to lose by lowering the first one onto the trailer and seeing how much it squashes it though

How much is a days 7.5 tonne flat bed hire?

I would get shipley quote for this.
Its like moving yachts Its doable but if you get it wrong you can do a lot of damage a to yourself b to the machine and c the risk of a large fine for overloading + points on the licence.
We moved several yachts a season or two ago and after costs of crane hire there wasnt much saved. last quote was 250 for a large truck driver and hiab to shift a three tone load 50 miles.

My Colchester Student is approx 600kg (1250 lbs rings a bell) and very top-heavy when it's being moved. I wouldn't want to put it on a trailer!

Mine came from a school about 15 miles from home - I got a machinery shifter from Colchester to move it from A to B, which cost me around £100. I thought that it was a good price, especially as he had a hoist on his lorry, plus the special little "roller skates" for moving it through my garage to its current location.

I decided to turn the lathe through 90 degrees last year - without any gadgets (just a big lever and some steel tubing for rollers) and it must have taken me at least an hour.

I hired a flat bed trailer with ramps and a winch to move mine. The Bridgeport weighs one ton and my Colchester Master 12CWT.
They both move easily with heavy wall tubes as rollers, get them to the foot of the ramps, connect up the winch with a strap and just pull them on using the rollers.
Stap them down well with ratchet straps on the trailer, and lower the miller bed and head to lower the c of g.
Trailer cost £25 for a days hire. Not a difficult job at all.

We use a lot of HIABs for local loading/unloading. At the moment, if we can work it around them, we can normally get up to half a day for about £180 (invoice) when they have nothing lined up. Could probably do better for cash. Worth ringing around at the moment. They load, secure the load, drive and unload so it takes a lot of the mither out of it.

Thanks all for the replies.
Seems like its going to be cheaper than I thought to get someone to do it for me. I was expecting upto £400 or £500 so it seems like its a no brainer.

THINK FARMERS!!!*
Get your local yokel to pop round with his tractor, trailer and front loader. Pay him three bottles of scrumpy and job done.
My lathe weighed just over 1600kg. A rosey faced sheep shagger lifted it onto my trailer and a JCB driving kit shicker lifted it off and put it in my container. Cost me two slabs of horrid French beirre....

*not Farmer Giles. That will be very uncomfortable....

FWIW

My Colchester Master 2500 is almost exactly 1000kg.

A Bridgeport is about the same weight from memory.

just dont lift the lathe around the chuck...the mill is around 700kg....you could take the head off and just leave the colomn and the bed.....

My Colchester Student has a large threaded hole in the middle of the bed - a huge ring bolt is screwed in and then it can be lifted with a crane (the tailstock needs to be at the right-hand end to balance nicely.)