I need something strong, light and long enough to take a stage piano (flightcased of course) + the usual pa gear etc. Looked into cheaper options (screwfix/B&Q etc) but they're either non-foldable or far too heavy/not long enough. So specialist stuff includes Ultimate's Jam Stand (not long enough) Gruv Gear's Rock n Roller (some frightening comments on forums inc. wheels falling off etc) and lastly Quik Lok's Band Wagon. This last one seems to tick all the boxes BUT £200.00+ for a trolley!! Plus when you google it stockists amount to two in this country (hence the silly price). Like so many other things available in America the price they pay is far cheaper, transport costs not withstanding. So - any thoughts or suggestions?

Call Swanflight and ask to buy a flightcase dolly board £35

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

Ahhh sorry your US based.... ummm ok well still call a flightcase company and ask anyways

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

No I'm English actually my good man.....snort!!

Swan flightcase it is then Ask for pete and say hello from me

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

305 views and only one suggestion.....is anyone out there......hello, I thought it was a forum?

Anyway, I've now got something called a Magliner cheap on Ebay. Far better built than the offerings from Toys'r'Us, er sorry, Rock'n'Roller.

I've thought about getting a trolley or cart, but never got around to it, so thanks for doing that research. Let us know how it goes.

There is also this thing from Thomann but I've no idea what it's like.

I looked at the Thomann item - it costs £23.00!!! Fine if all you've got is a ukelele. Seriously, I looked at all the options including something from Quiklok called a Bandwagon (great name...not). However what all these 'muso carts' have in common are welded joints for handles etc. Which means if you're someone who needs to cart stage pianos and subwoofers across hotel carparks, up ramps and through tricky doorways, then these will eventually break. By absolute chance I went on an American forum and someone recommended Magliner. They make something called the Gemini Jr which converts from sack barrow to flat-bed + it's modular and has no welds on stress points. They cost £350.00 in the UK but I've just got one on ebay for £137.00. It looks indestructable compared to the competition....but time will tell.

I know it is too late now but I've used something similar from Machine Mart to cart all kinds of stuff around. Yes, it has welds on the bottom plate but they've held up well for a few years now and it cost not much more than £20.

James.

--------------------
JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

I'll keep this going for the sake of those who may be dropping by looking for their own solutions to this problem most of us 'giggers' face...

I've tried numerous types of trolleys and trucks over the years some of which have been very sturdy indeed. But the problem for me has been that that sturdiness comes with both weight and bulk - something I can ill-afford with a tightly-packed MPV as there just ain't the space.

I've now settled on one of these:

Folding Sack-Truck

and one of these:

Folding Trolley

the advantage with both being that they fold almost flat and thus can be stowed easily. All my gear is cased or crated so it's relatively easy to stack things on either and wheel it in. The sack truck is particularly useful for uneven paths - or where there's no path at all!

Both seem well-made - I've had the sack-truck for about 3 years - and can carry the weights indicated without starting to fall apart. BUT they'd be no good for large flight-cased keyboards which is why I didn't comment before.

Like James I have a basic Machine Mart sack truck, and it's been going fine for years.

And I have posted more than once on these fora recommending a basic sack truck as one of the best investments a working muso can make. If you are regularly moving gear that NEEDS a trolley, I would be surprised, but for the vast majority of the time a basic sack truck and knowing how to use it covers all the bases.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Agreed on the folding sack truck. Takes all I can throw at it (including my old 60kg Trace Elliott bass combo before I moved that on. And folds up to take next to no space at all in the car.

No, it won't carry a 4x18" sub, but for the regular weekend warrior should be more than enough. And the price is right too!

or just flightcase everything and put wheels on the flghtcases

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

Tim,
That works for me, although it took me two years to convince my band to go for it.
In the end I got them to carry everything from the van into the venue.
A few months of doing that and they asked me "isn't there an easier way to do this?"
The rest was simply a matter of cash.

Flightcases on wheels are great, but you then need to think about logistics.
With everything in cases on wheels, lifting things in and out of a car is not as easy as it once was. An 8U ABS case fully loaded is just about liftable by one person, but put that equipment into a wooden rack on wheels and it's too heavy for one person to lift.

We now hire a van for every gig and insist on getting one with a tail lift.
Everything rolls into and out of the venue.
No lifting required and everyone's happy.

Stu.

Flightcases on wheels are the Gold Standard, and I spent many years earning a living taking them out of the back of articulated lorries and putting them back again at the end of the night, but they come at a price. And not just financial either.

If you are fortunate enough to own or afford to rent a van/lorry they are great. As long as you have enough bodies to move them around and the vehicle has proper load straps/bars to stop the cases rolling around on their wheels in transit.

But for Joe Ordinary with a hatchback, estate car, or small van I would strongly advise against wheeled flightcases. Those wheels create a lot of dead space in your load. You can fit less in, and what you can fit in is hard to pack securely because of all those gaps for the wheels. The load moves around in transit, and that big, heavy, wheeled flightcase slides around and trashes the mixer in a cardboard box that you always meant to keep in a case but couldn't quite fit when you tried packing the car.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

I recently bought a sturdy flight-trunk in which I was going to store and transport all my odds and ends to and from gigs...

... case arrived... "Brilliant!" says I and duly loaded said trunk. Only trouble was I couldn't then lift it...

So I've now got a set of plastic crates that stack and lock together, can be lifted individually and stack on the trolley or sack-truck as necessary.

Detachable flight case castors can help alot

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

Quote TSH-Tim:

---

Detachable flight case castors can help alot

---

At first, YES. There is a good case to be made. But in the long term, just ANOTHER THING TO GO WRONG. And it usually does

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

http://www.seton.co.uk/heavy-duty-folding-trolley-rux03.html

If you want to be able to shift pretty much anything I stongly recommend this. It's not cheap, but as my old dad used to tell me, there's no point in skimping when you're spending someone else's money.

--------------------
Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

Quote zenguitar:

---

Quote TSH-Tim:

---

Detachable flight case castors can help alot

---

At first, YES. There is a good case to be made. But in the long term, just ANOTHER THING TO GO WRONG. And it usually does

Andy

---

Like when you lose one and cant find it at the end of the gig.....

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

Quote TSH-Tim:

---

Quote zenguitar:

---

Quote TSH-Tim:

---

Detachable flight case castors can help alot

---

At first, YES. There is a good case to be made. But in the long term, just ANOTHER THING TO GO WRONG. And it usually does

Andy

---

Like when you lose one and cant find it at the end of the gig.....

---

And it's the only one with that fitting so you can't 'borrow' one from another case.

Andy

--------------------
When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

lol you got it

ohhh how i miss those gigs...................

--------------------
PA Hire Surrey
Lighting Hire Surrey

Yes that looks good but as you can see from aprevious post, I'm now sorted with a Magliner (2nd hand) which has the advantage of converting to a flat bed as well. Thanks anyway.

Quote TSH-Tim:

---

lol you got it

ohhh how i miss those gigs...................

---