A piano dolly rents for about $10 to $25 a day from the tool counter of a general rental centre, and it is a low four wheel skid rather than a hand truck. This hub covers the equipment side of moving heavy objects: the dolly, the straps and the stair climber. Hiring a truck to carry the piano is vehicle rental and a different trade entirely.
A piano dolly is a skid, not a hand truck
It is a short padded platform on four swivel castors, built low so a heavy cabinet can be tipped onto it and rolled. It carries the weight; it does not lift it. The lift onto the dolly is done by people with a bar or a board, which is why yards hire the dolly in pairs and add a set of lifting straps.
What else ends up on the ticket
Four wheel dollies are usually hired two at a time, with ratchet straps, moving blankets and sometimes a shoulder harness. A stair climbing dolly with a belt drive is a separate machine at a much higher rate. Counters often bundle a small moving kit, and the bundle beats the sum of the parts if you need more than the skid.
Stairs are the part that hurts
A castor dolly is useless on stairs and dangerous on a threshold. Anything with steps wants a stair climbing hand truck with a track or a powered belt, or a ramp laid over the flight. Take the measurement of the narrowest turn before you book, because a grand piano leg clears a doorway that its case will not.
Weight ratings assume a flat floor
The rating stamped on a dolly is for a level, hard surface with the load centred. Gravel, expansion joints and thick carpet all take capacity away, and an off centre load takes more. Federal guidance on manual material handling is blunt about keeping clear paths and stable loads, and a rented dolly does not change that arithmetic.
Questions people ask about piano dolly rental
How many piano dollies do I need?
Two is the normal hire for an upright, one under each end, so the instrument stays level while it rolls. A grand goes on a piano board and skid rather than dollies alone, and that board is usually a separate rental item.
Can a piano dolly go up a ramp into a truck?
Only with people controlling it and a ramp rated for the load. Castors run away on a slope. Most movers strap the load, keep two people on the low side and walk it up rather than pushing, and a winch is the safer answer on a steep ramp.
Does the tool counter rent lifting straps too?
Yes, forearm and shoulder harness straps are common rental or purchase items beside the dollies. They shift the load onto larger muscles and free your hands, which matters far more on a threshold or a stair than on flat ground.