Hi,
do you guys leave your electronic gear in the van ? Apart from the obvious risk of being stolen ,is it ok to leave, mixer and outboard gear that is rack-mounted and cased, inside a carpeted out van when it's not being used.
We have a big flightcase too heavy for one person to lift into their house at end of night, and would prefer to leave it in the van, is there a risk of damage by condensation etc?
Cheers for any advice you can give,
Paul

At this time of year (assuming you're in the UK), and as long as there aren't any holes in the roof(!) you'll probably be fine.

Cheers!

Chris

There have been a few threads over the past year on leaving gear in a garage. General consensus is that it's fine, as long as the garage is not damp (and I've left my gear in my garage for years with no problems). I expect the same would be true of a van, as long as you have no leaks or mouldy carpet in it.

Apart from condensation you may find that any insurance you may have may be invalidated.

Is it not possible to split the contents into smaller cases?

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Ohm's Law states, "Your PA isn't as powerful as you think it is".

Quote Korff:

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At this time of year (assuming you're in the UK), and as long as there aren't any holes in the roof(!) you'll probably be fine.

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Condensation happens worst where there ISN'T ventilation! A few holes in the roof (but not so as to let rain in) and ventilation slots in the cases will minimise it.

But really you need to reorganise your storage. Unless the gear will always travel with two people, you're setting up problems for yourself by having any single item too heavy for one person to lift.

When I owned a van I would usually leave gear in it. Plenty of that gear is still working fine today - 25 years later.

James.

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

Your insurance probably won't cover you for theft of pro audio gear from a vehicle. I only came across one policy that purported to cover this, but there was a lot of small print, including the limitation that the vehicle could only be left unattended for 30 minutes.

So if the van is well immobilised, clamped and locked, and is inside a secure garage, and is backed up against a wall, it might be worth the risk. My pal had a lockable cage built for his van, and the xxxxx still had their evil way with his gear. Mind you, this is Africa.

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Instant gratification is actually pretty good. It's fast as well.

When I worked in film, I earned a terrible reputation for insisting that the camera car was emptied every night. With near £500,000.00 of gear this was hardly surprising. This was partially due to the risk of condensation (you could hardly expect the rest of the crew and cast to wait around for two hours while the equipment warmed up) but also security.
Later, as Technical Manager at a broadcast rental company, I became very aware of the limitation of equipment insurance. Normally, this is invalid for equipment left 'in an unattended vehicle'. No insurance company that I know will define exactly what this means - a very good get-out clause.
And this did happen, several times.
So please, don't assume that you are covered. And pro sound gear is a very attractive target.
Oh, and I did the same working on a charity event. Left all the gear in the back of the car when we went for a meal. I lost my tool kit (£2,500.00 worth!) but was very, very lucky. They didn't get the PA system that we had borrowed.