Buying individual skates leaves you working out how many you need, how to steer them and how to keep them together. This set solves all three: a steering skate with a bearing-mounted swivel plate and a handle to pull and steer by, plus two trailing skates joined by a connecting bar so they track together. Capacity is split half to the steering skate and half across the pair, so a 48 tonne set is a 24 tonne steerer and two 12 tonne trailers. Everything needed to move a machine, in one order.
Key Features
- Complete set: Steering skate, steering handle, and two trailing skates on a connecting bar. Nothing else to source.
- Handle included: Unlike the individual VRS rotating skates, where the handle is a separate order.
- Load grip swivel plate on the steering skate: Bearing mounted, so the load can turn independently while the skate steers.
- Connecting bar on the trailing pair: Keeps the two rear skates tracking together rather than wandering independently.
- Five set sizes: 8, 16, 24, 36 and 48 tonnes total, the capacity split half to the steerer and half across the trailing pair.
- Polyurethane wheels: Chosen to reduce the risk of damage to finished floors.
- Fully marked: CE, capacity, manufacturer's identification, product ID mark and traceability code.
Technical Specifications
| Product Code |
Total Capacity |
Steering Skate |
Trailing Pair |
Handle |
| VMMS8 |
8 t |
4 t |
2 x 2 t |
VMMSHAN812 |
| VMMS16 |
16 t |
8 t |
2 x 4 t |
VMMSHAN812 |
| VMMS24 |
24 t |
12 t |
2 x 6 t |
VMMSHAN1824 |
| VMMS36 |
36 t |
18 t |
2 x 9 t |
VMMSHAN1824 |
| VMMS48 |
48 t |
24 t |
2 x 12 t |
VMMSHAN1824 |
Replacement steering handles are available separately: VMMSHAN812 for the 8 and 12 tonne steering skates, VMMSHAN1824 for the 18 and 24 tonne. Full dimensional data for each set is on the individual datasheets below.
CE Marked | Capacity, Manufacturer ID and Traceability Marked | PUWER
Each skate is marked with CE, capacity, manufacturer's identification, product ID mark and traceability code. Machinery moving skates are work equipment under PUWER 1998 and must be inspected before use and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Capacity figures assume even load distribution.
Suitable Applications
Skate sets are the standard method for repositioning heavy plant where a forklift cannot reach, where the floor will not take a truck, or where the machine has no lifting points. Typical work includes machine tool installation and relocation, moving generators, transformers, presses and compressors, factory reconfiguration, and getting equipment through doorways and around corners. The set format suits a contractor who moves machinery regularly and wants a known, complete rig rather than assembling one from individual skates each time.
More About This Product
Material handling equipment solves the problem that most manual handling injuries come from: moving something heavy a short distance. Cranes handle the long lifts; the damage is done shifting a machine six metres across a workshop because it seemed too short a distance to be worth rigging.
The equipment is straightforward. The considerations that catch people out are the floor, the route and the momentum of something heavy once it is rolling.
The Route Is the Risk
A load on wheels behaves entirely differently from a load being lifted, and the risks move with it.
Point loading comes first. Wheel loads under a laden truck or skate concentrate onto small hard wheels, and the pressure at each contact patch is far higher than the load's own footprint would suggest. Slabs that carry the static load comfortably can crack, and floor coverings can be marked or cut.
Level changes are where control is lost. A multi-tonne load rolling at walking pace and stopping abruptly against a threshold, an expansion joint or a change in floor covering keeps trying to move. Anyone with a hand on it at that moment finds out how much energy is in it. The answer is to slow down before the change, not at it.
Gradients compound the same problem. Even a slight slope in a workshop floor will accelerate a heavy load on good wheels, and a load that gets away has no brakes.
Nobody walks alongside. The instinct is to have people at the sides steadying the load, and that is exactly where they should not be if it shifts or a wheel collapses. Push or pull from a position of control, keep feet clear of the wheels, and treat the route as part of the plan rather than as the bit between the lifting points.
How to Use the Skate Set
- Size honestly, not arithmetically: The set capacity assumes even distribution. Machines rarely load evenly, so work from the actual weight distribution and confirm no individual skate is overloaded.
- Assess the floor and the whole route: Point loading through skate wheels is far higher than the machine's own footprint. Check for expansion joints, drainage channels, weak slabs and thresholds along the entire path.
- Position the steering skate at the leading end: It steers, so it goes where you are pulling from.
- Jack and lower under control: Use rated jacks, place skates under solid structural points on the machine base, and lower steadily.
- Pull with the handle: Steer and pull using the handle rather than pushing the machine itself.
- Approach any level change at walking pace or slower: A heavy load stopped abruptly at a threshold keeps going.
Warning: Set capacity assumes even load distribution, which is rarely the case in practice. Never allow any individual skate to exceed its rating. Assess the floor for point loading before moving. Never allow anyone to ride on or walk beside a moving load, and keep feet clear of the wheels.
Safety Information
- Never exceed the capacity of any individual skate, allowing for uneven distribution.
- Assess the floor for point loading along the entire route.
- Load must bear centrally on each skate and not overhang.
- Use rated jacks to raise and lower, never improvised packing.
- Keep feet and hands clear of wheels and swivel plates.
- Move slowly and keep the load under control at all times.
- Do not use on sloping or damaged surfaces without specific assessment.
- Inspect wheels, bearings and swivel plate before each use.
Inspection and Maintenance
Polyurethane wheels are the wear item and the first thing to check. Look for flat spots from a load left standing, cuts and embedded debris such as swarf, and any separation of polyurethane from the wheel core. A wheel with metal debris embedded in it will score the floor it was chosen to protect. Confirm every wheel rotates freely and the steering skate's swivel plate turns smoothly under hand pressure, since a stiff bearing makes the set hard to control at exactly the moment control matters. Check the connecting bar for distortion and its fixings for security, and inspect the handle socket for wear.
Downloads
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is the set capacity split unevenly?
It is not uneven, it is split half and half. A 48 tonne set has a 24 tonne steering skate and two 12 tonne trailing skates, so 24 at the front and 24 across the back. The steering skate is a single unit carrying what two trailing skates carry between them.
Q: Set or individual skates?
A set gives you a complete, matched rig with a steering skate and handle included, which suits regular machinery moving. Individual VRS rotating skates are more flexible in how you arrange them and every wheel swivels, which helps in very tight spaces, but you buy the handle separately and work out the configuration yourself.
Q: Is the handle included?
Yes, in the set. It is also available separately as a replacement: VMMSHAN812 for the 8 and 12 tonne steering skates, VMMSHAN1824 for the 18 and 24 tonne. Note the individual VRS skates do not include a handle.
Q: What does the connecting bar do?
It joins the two trailing skates so they track together and stay at a fixed spacing. Without it they can wander independently, which makes the load harder to control and can cause one to take more than its share.
Q: Will they damage my floor?
The polyurethane wheels are chosen to reduce that risk against steel. But point loading is a separate question: tens of tonnes through a handful of small contact patches is a serious load on a slab, and the floor needs assessing regardless of wheel material.
