A warp beam transport and elevating carriage for twin warp beams is provided having a longitudinally extending shaft capable of rotation about its longitudinal axis, a plurality of gripper arms fixed to the shaft and extending downwardly to securely support twin warp beams at each end, and twin warp beams mounted for transport and elevation without danger of displacement or dislodgement. Two rods connected by a link joint with a connecting plug on one end of one rod are inserted into a central tube mounting the twin warp beams. The connecting plug is inserted into an aperture in the adjacent ends of each central tube of the twin warp beams and provides a secure gripping point for the central gripper arm.

An assembly for facilitating the lifting and repositioning of heavy rolls of sheet material, such as carpet rolls and the like. First and second jack assemblies are mounted separately on two frames, each supported by two casters. The jacks have stubs of predetermined lengths which can be raised and lowered as the jack handle is manipulated. Extending between the stubs on each of the jack assemblies are a plurality of joined segments of pipe which pass through the center of the roll to be lifted. As the jacks are operated, the load is elevated from the floor to a desired height and, because the jack assemblies are on wheels, the load may be moved laterally as well. The frames on which the jack assemblies are mounted also include a plurality of upwardly extending stubs for facilitating self-storage of the plural pipe segments when they are not in use.

Apparatus for moving large, heavy, unwieldy objects includes a pair of hand trucks, each of which has a frame with a lift plate slidably mounted in the frame. A jack is positioned on each frame to raise and lower the lift plate. Two pairs of wheels are mounted on the base of each frame with one pair of swivel wheels mounted on the underside of the base and a pair of fixed wheels of larger diameter than the swivel wheels being secured to the base. The perimeters of the fixed wheels are above those of the swivel wheels by a slight distance when the hand trucks are substantially vertical. Large, heavy objects such as refrigerators, vending machines, and the like, are positioned between the trucks and are supported on the lift plates by being positioned on the lift platforms with which each lift plate is provided or by being supported by attachment brackets to the lift plates. The weight of the object is transferred to the wheels of the trucks by operating the jacks to raise the lift plates. By raising one lift plate slightly more than the other, the fixed wheels of one hand truck contact the surface over which the object is to be moved and transmit the weight of the load to the surface while the swivel wheels of the other truck contact the surface.

A carpet lifting assembly for facilitating the lifting of the end of a rolled carpet by permitting use of the shoulder while lifting. The carpet lifting assembly includes a main member, a carpet rod extending from one end of the main member, and a shoulder bar extending from an opposite end of the main member. The carpet rod is positioned in the end of a rolled carpet and the shoulder bar is supported by the shoulder of the lifter to promote lifting using the legs.

A system for transporting, storing and installing flexible gymnasium floor covering is provided. The system includes a spindle for supporting a roll of floor covering, and a transporting device having a longitudinal frame, casters attached to the frame, lifting arms for lifting the spindle, linear actuators for raising and lowering the lifting arms, means for powering and controlling the linear actuators and means for storing unused spindles. A method for transporting flexible floor covering is also provided and includes the steps of placing a spindle along an unrolled piece of floor covering and rolling the floor covering up around the spindle, moving a transporting device into position so that the bearing surfaces of the lifting arm are aligned with the arms of the spindle, lifting the spindle, moving the transporting device to the desired location and lowering the spindle.