Wenger Versalite convert to rolling platform mod

gafftaper

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I got some 6'x3' Wenger Versalite platforms from district surplus. They have square 2" O.D. aluminum tubing for legs. I got a bunch of extra 7" legs and I want to mod some of the legs to have a set on wheels. I am not a welder so I'm looking for a low tech way of doing this.
Here's a leg:
IMG_20210401_154933.jpg

Here's the end view. The inside diameter of the tube is exactly 1 3/4"
IMG_20210401_154922__01.jpg

I'm thinking about ordering something like these bolt in stem casters to insert into the leg tubes.
20TM40_GC01.jpg

It would be awesome to find one with a stem that is just under 1 3/4" diameter. But so far this one at Grainger at 4" long x 1 1/4" diameter seems to be the best fit. There are larger diameter options designed for scaffolds, but I don't think the larger break mechanism would fit under the decking. For installation I'm thinking I could drill out a hole in the leg, use some washers inside for spacers to fill the vacant space inside of the tube and just bolt the caster in.

Does anyone have ideas for a more elegant solution?
 
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I used these and bolted them onto 2x4s that had carriage bolts and wing nuts on them which slipped into the extruded track on my wenger decks. roll platform into place, and raise casters. works awesome. funny enough my decks are 3x6 as well.
 
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I used these and bolted them onto 2x4s that had carriage bolts and wing nuts on them which slipped into the extruded track on my wenger decks. roll platform into place, and raise casters. works awesome. funny enough my decks are 3x6 as well.
Look out world, Ethan is a genius today! I hadn't thought about using that exterior extruded track to attach wheels!

(We'll ignore how you posted the Amazon product link as a media link and the middle of the post was a bunch of blank space. I fixed it and you are a genius today!)
 
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One step forward, one bad link backwards.
 
We have legs with casters that we use to match the height of our 8" Versalites. I think they were bought from Wenger, but they might be home-made. We also have rolling frames that we can add risers on top of that have an 8" height with heavy duty casters. We use three of these to make a rolling platform for our grand piano with a 16" minimum height.
I can check on the provenance of both items next week if you are interested.
John
 
My first thought was to buy these along with some threaded stem casters, pop off the old cap and pop the new ones on, but on second thought I would think that the cap wouldn't be strong enough to take a lateral load. I've used them before to add levelers to the bottom of legs, but not with casters. If the throw of the caster was small, I don't think it would be a big issue, but I've never tried it.

You could buy some 1-3/4"x1-3/4" aluminum bar and cut it to short lengths. Drill a hole at the bottom (1-3/4"x1-3/4" face) and tap for a threaded stem caster. Then, insert the bar into the leg, then run a bolt through the leg and the bar. Basically the above, but with aluminum.

Or find a TIG welder who can weld some 2x2x1/4" aluminum plates with a hole to the bottom of the legs, and bolt a threaded stem caster to it with some Loctite. If you had all the parts cut and cleaned ahead of time, it wouldn't take long to weld them. Probably wouldn't need filler metal either.
 
Working off of @egilson1 's idea and being that I was lucky enough to get a full second set of legs, here's what I came up with.

I trimmed some wood to perfectly fit in the center of the leg tubes.
IMG_20210408_113124.jpg


Then I mounted the wheels directly to the legs. The casters I bought have 6 bolt holes. So I ran the center bolts all the way through. The four remain holes I ran screws into the wood. The result is a perfect tight fit.
IMG_20210408_135026__01.jpg

IMG_20210408_135052__01.jpg
 
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I made a video of putting a leg together.
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That's beautiful Gaff!
 
And here is, the final product three sections snapped together into a 6x9 platform that rolls. The fit is so tight, that the wheels never fully leave the ground. You have to be a bit careful about wheel orientation to make sure they are in the position of minimal contact or it gets a bit of a desire to move. But properly oriented its pretty sweet and stable.

If you decide to do this, measure very carefully so you know if your casters will have enough clearance for the lever to flip open and lift the wheels. It's very tight under there. I have a set of legs for the slightly longer legs and when I originally purchased I decided to try one of the shorter legs to see if it would work, figuring it probalby wouldn't and I would likely have to use the longer legs, but I got lucky and they just barely fit.
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