Equipment Cart

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drcheese

Well-known member
I just built up a nice 1-Ton cargo van into an indie G&E paradise on wheels. My back jumped with joy at the thought of no longer hauling up all that equipment from my basement storage locker.

However, I quickly realized that this didn't make my job any easier once I got to set and that I should get some sort of wheeled device to make that part easier. But what to get?

I've been told pneumatic wheels are sweet, and I think a 26" width will work nicely for the doorways, so do any of you people out there have any recommendations?

This looks good at $209:

[FONT=&quot]http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/material-handling/trucks-carts/plastic-shelf-carts/plastic-2-shelf-tray-service-utility-cart-8-pneumatic-caster?infoParam.itemKey=30077281&infoParam.picGroupKey=3661[/FONT]

Although there's no break on the wheels. Filmtools has a pricey one at $495:

http://www.filmtools.com/rucacaru8.html

But is it any better? Anyone have any sites or suggestions on buying these?
[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
Brakes are nice if you have it in a truck but if budget is tight you can always sandbag the wheels or ratchet strap the cart to the van walls.
 
phudsontx said:
Brakes are nice if you have it in a truck but if budget is tight you can always sandbag the wheels or ratchet strap the cart to the van walls.
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Thanks for the response. I was thinking I might be able to get away with just sandbags and ratchets, although on location that quick locking might be helpful.

I also priced out some 8" pneumatic casters with breaks at about $25/each I think, so I could always upgrade later to those if I felt it was needed.
 
mcgeedigital said:
The filmtools Jr cart is worth every penny, imo
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I 2nd that. We have the Junior, Senior, Steadicam cart, Audio cart...etc all from Filmtools and they are really worth their money because they simply hold together no matter what you throw at them. It would be a bad idea to save maybe $100-$300 on a cart and find out they make your life very difficult on set.
 
emretufekci said:
I 2nd that. We have the Junior, Senior, Steadicam cart, Audio cart...etc all from Filmtools and they are really worth their money because they simply hold together no matter what you throw at them. It would be a bad idea to save maybe $100-$300 on a cart and find out they make your life very difficult on set.
Click to expand...

Is it mainly the sturdiness that is superior with the filmtools cart? Has anyone out there found that the rubbermaid carts fall apart under the conditions of film production?

I did find brakes to add to existing casters for only $9.02 each at: http://vistamation.com/products/unca...heels/YV-1231/
 
drcheese said:
Is it mainly the sturdiness that is superior with the filmtools cart? Has anyone out there found that the rubbermaid carts fall apart under the conditions of film production?

I did find brakes to add to existing casters for only $9.02 each at: http://vistamation.com/products/unca...heels/YV-1231/
Click to expand...

Yes it is the sturdiness (they can carry 300-400lbs or more). The added bonus is that you can modify them to your needs and get very useful accessories as listed at filmtools.

Being a serious "hobby" musician myself I have very similar carts like the rubbermaid or ones from guitar center that I bought to haul my music gear. When I tried to use them for a production they all fell apart, got stuck, flexed or just was too small/hard to move around enough gear.
 
I find the Rubbermaid carts to be fine if you place a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood on the bottom and mount decent wheels instead of the ones that come with it.
 
Hmm, the rubbermaid carts say they're able to handle 500lbs. That's a good tip on the plywood as well... I usually stay away from cutting corners on gear (buy once instead of cheap) but I think I might take the chance on this one. It's either buy it now at that price, or wait until October and then have the money to buy the fimtools one. I take a little consolation that I'm buying the $209 rubbermaid instead of the $134 one.

If ever I find that it's broken down on me be assured I'll post back here and let people know the hows and whys. I hope I'm not kicking myself 6 months from now, but at worst I will be a lesson for future filmmakers :)
 
Other way to upgrade the wheels on a 4"x3" wheel platform is place a 6"x6"x1/4" steel/iron base plate over the 4"x3" mount, mark the holes with a sharpie and drill them out, you may have to offset the wheels but you can get it to work.
 
What we used to do with the rubbermaid carts is add the plywood and have it extend out about a foot on one one end. We would use either tripod tubes, or build in a bin for quick access to tripods, umbrellas, and stands.
 
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