I also didn't get the lift service, though the truck that delivered it had one.
what I did was go to a local business that I deal with (a feed and grain store), and asked if I could have the lathe delivered there and meet it with my pickup. the owner asked for details (how big, how heavy, etc) and said sure, and she would use her forklift to move it. so when the freight company (UPS Freight) called to arrange for delivery, I gave them the business's address and requested that the driver call me about 30 minutes before he got there, to give me time to head over, and give the owner a heads up.
when the truck arrived, :ups:he brought the crate to the edge of the truck, and the woman used her forklift to get it out of the truck and put in on my trailer (I have a small 4x8 flat top trailer). I then strapped it down and drove home.
the driver would have put it on the lift-gate if necessary to move it to the ground or even with my trailer, but without the forklift, I would probably have had to move it onto my trailer, or possibly, the driver could have used his portable lift to move it onto my trailer if we got both even and stable. it would have been a lot harder to get into then out of my pickup truck because of the pallet dimensions and orientation. having it on my trailer also made it wasier to get out of the crate and to back it into the garage, I then used my backhoe to lift it up and onto the workbench. though an engine lift would have made that job easier, and I could have rented one at a local tool rental place.
oh, and it was your basic tractor trailer truck, he would NOT have been happy driving down my barely 2 lane dirt road to my driveway.
