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Back health

First, I agree with everyone here...this is not a safe load for one person. Period. However, if you insist, a thousand bucks for one of these is still going to be cheaper than eventual surgery...

Or you could do the sensible thing, and ask for a hand...


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I'm going to attempt to answer the OP's original question, at the risk of drawing the ire of everyone else.

Your cab should have a handle on the top or two handles on the sides. If there are two on the sides, you might be able to do a proper squat lift from the ground. But let's assume you can't get a good enough position on it to do that. The next thing to try is to tilt the cab, slide something that's 6"-10" high underneath it, and then level it out on the higher surface. That should put you in a better position. Hug it close to your body, keep your back vertical, and lift with your legs.

If it has a strap handle on the top, what I do in situations like that is put one leg forward and use it as a fulcrum. Probably a good idea to start by elevating the cab a bit using the tilt method described earlier. Keep your back straight, lean back just a bit, and lift the cab using your arms. Once it's high enough to rest on your thigh, bend your knee a bit as if you were lunging. That will tilt the cab and elevate the bottom on the far side, and it should be enough for you to rest it on the cab you are stacking on. If not, you can lift it higher by extending your ankle with your calf muscles and rolling your hips forward. Once it's there, you can slide or shuffle it forward a bit if need be, and then just pivot it up the rest of the way onto the other cab, and shift it around to where it's going to be.

Thanks man, that helps a lot. The slight elevation will be a good thing to try.

The cabs in question are of the side handled variety, but I've used top handled rigs before - good to know I was lifting them correctly.
 
Whether it's correct or not, I don't know, you might get lots of posts here explaining how it's bad. But it works for me, without stress I might add, and I have had back surgery and knee surgery. (I'm a retired Marine, and trust me, that's a game for the young.)
 
....tilt the cab, slide something that's 6"-10" high underneath it, and then level it out on the higher surface. That should put you in a better position. Hug it close to your body, keep your back vertical, and lift with your legs.

If it has a strap handle on the top, what I do in situations like that is put one leg forward and use it as a fulcrum. Probably a good idea to start by elevating the cab a bit using the tilt method described earlier. Keep your back straight, <body weight> back just a bit <for better balance>, and lift the cab using your arms. Once it's high enough to rest on your thigh, bend your knee a bit as if you were lunging. That will tilt the cab and elevate the bottom on the far side, and it should be enough for you to rest it on the cab you are stacking on. If not, you can lift it higher by extending your ankle with your calf muscles and rolling your hips forward. Once it's there, you can slide or shuffle it forward a bit if need be, and then just pivot it up the rest of the way onto the other cab, and shift it around to where it's going to be.

Both sound lifting techniques I've used myself on solo lifts. Breaking it into 2-3 more manageable stages, & decreasing the distance of each stage will minimise muscles strain (but won't change the load on your discs).

Keep your abs braced throughout any lifting.
+1 to Abdo & quad strength exercises, & hammy stretches.


I fully relate to a bad lifting partner being worse than no lifting partner. But, be patient with them & explain it properly. Do some practice runs with them using empty boxes etc until they're safe to help you. When available, a two person lift is a MUCH smarter way to do it.