New equipment cart

kerrigan

kerrigan

Well-known member
I’m about to start the build of a two shelf, equipment cart…
I don’t think there is anything like it on the market.


I’m just finalizing the length, width, height and weight.
I need it to be a one person lift, hold all my basic gear, fit in most elevators and pack in a minivan.


Any suggestions on size?


Thanks,
Bill


Bill Kerrigan
Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
http://www.kerrigan.ca
 
I bought a Rock and Roller Multicart, model R12 and the top shelf for it. Holds all my gear, fits in the three elevators I have taken it in (just barely...cart was fully extended), and folds down to a decent size.

It really depends on how much gear you have and how much room you have left in your minivan after packing said gear.

Out of the different carts I have worked with, the one thing that is a certain is you shouldn't buy cheap wheels/casters.

Good luck with your build. Be sure to take photos and then post the photos on here!
 
kerrigan said:
Any suggestions on size?
Click to expand...

Measure loads of things in life!

Write down a load of lengths on a speadsheet and then slowly the size will come to you.

For example the width of a domestic door, the length of the int of your van, length of your sticks, with of bottom of a C stand, bla bla.

Dont forget to account for things that stick out on the cart, like wheels.

Commercial ones are available I dont know the barnd but one was mentioned above!

S
 
I second the magliner. I bought a used Senior on craiglist for next to nothing, spent a little bit fixing her up and added the shelves. Believe it or not, I actually get the Senior to fit in the back of my Prius. And it perfectly holds all the other gear I stuff into the car. I do a fair amount of one-man-crew shoots, so I'm lugging light gear, grip gear, and camera gear on a single cart. If you're not hauling the lights and grip gear, a Junior would be a better fit.
 
Sorry, I should have worded my post differently.
I've build carts in the past... and my Magliner is over 30 years old.

This is a new prototype, which I hope to have commercially manufactured.
The build starts Monday, so I still have time to make adjustments.

I've chosen a length and width, base on the size of cases which I plan to carry...
I wanted see what others would prefer. As of today the inside payload length would be 38 inches.

Bill Kerrigan
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
http://www.kerrigan.ca
 
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Those are great carts Charles, but a little on the pricy side. Hence the click button at the top of their site which reads "get financing" ;)
 
Yes they are pricey, but they have features never before seen in commercial carts. People I know who have bought them, swear by them. Long term investment, like a good head and sticks. I've had my cart for over 20 years. I'll be spending the same amount on a new Mac Pro shortly...four or five years down the road, that will be a junker like my last one.

Also worth looking at backstageweb.com.

I'm listing these for the OP's benefit--it's always useful to know what already exists on the market when designing a new product, in case one is potentially re-inventing the wheel. Maybe Bill has seen all of these already.
 
' Maybe Bill has seen all of these already.'

Yes, I've looked at all of these... but mine will be very different.
I can't say too much at this stage.
I'm planing on making it approximately 45 inches long by 20 inches wide.
Does this sound about right?
 
We prefer inovativ carts because they are very flexible, portable and move with great ease even when you have 500-600 pounds on them. Here is pix on site with my steadicam op, we have two of these carts and and plan to buy more. All of our magliners are now going out the door.Yes they are expensive but we plan to use these for decades.
 

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I will look forward to what you come up with my good friend Bill!! I am sure it will be innovative. Must say I love the features of the the Scout as someone who travels with gear often and its breakdown feature makes it plane friendly.
 
Yes, the Inovativ carts are awesome!
My cart will be a totally different breed of animal.

Brian... drop over and watch the build!
 
I would say length of a fully extended mulicart (just a little longer than you need for a typical arri kit), some kind of hooks for cstands.

Also depends what youre trying to do. Some carts are more designed for carrying around as much as possible while others are built to be mobile workstations. They will have different builds for those different needs.
 
We built a small taco cart to fit milk crates and for easy customization. It disassembles into 3 parts for transport in small vehicles (upright light stand and panel set, milk crate set, and dolly base.) The chrome vertical tube on the left is not part of the cart
photo.JPG
 
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