Premium Members Bryan Fowler Posted March 22, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 22, 2006 I'd like to have a (convertable) cart that I can easily move stuff around with. I'm thinking 4 pneumatic tires would be needed. Shelves would be nice, but something I could add later on. A mount for the rig would be nice too, but again, I'd like to save that expence for later. My budget tops out around $375 for now. Anyone upgrading, or have any advice on which might be a good starter cart? What are my options? bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Afton Grant Posted March 23, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Bryan, It's got a silly name, but it's probably the best buy under $300. The Rock N' Roller R12 is quite versatile. I think you can even buy shelves for it. B & H sells it for $229 Link... Here's a picture of my gear loaded up on it Hope this helps! Afton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Bryan Fowler Posted March 23, 2006 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Here's a picture of my gear loaded up on it Hope this helps! Afton Thanks Afton, I looked at the link some. I think the Magliner / Liberator might be easier to upgrade later. But I might get one of those for my fulltime job. They might be able to use it. Thanks again. I think i'm going to start a different thread in gadgets/widgets to get some help on a base convertable truck. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Marc Abernathy Posted March 23, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 bryan. filmtools has what you want at your price: http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/geminisenior.html i need a serious cart also.. id like to get their steadi version but its 1300 bux fully loaded. cant afford it now.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Bryan Fowler Posted March 23, 2006 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 bryan. filmtools has what you want at your price: http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/geminisenior.html i need a serious cart also.. id like to get their steadi version but its 1300 bux fully loaded. cant afford it now.. Thanks Marc, Is the difference between a junior and senior just the height of the handtruck? (that is, when it's upright) I need to measure my cases, and see what I need. Also what fits in the Outback. bf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted March 23, 2006 Moderators Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 Guys, A counterpoint. I know it can be hard to save up the money to purchase some of our goodies, but the cart carries all your more expensive goodies. How quickly & efficiently you work on set IS noticed by others. Building the cart over a long haul will cost you more (especially when you factor in shipping). I used a Rock'N Roller for years, thinking I was going to make the ultimate cart. Never happened. Instead Backstage & Film Tools did the inventing (actually it was in a large part Erwin Landau). I have been using Film Tool's Senior cart with all the toys for a couple of years and I simply can no longer imagine life without it. Is it perfect? No. It is a huge monster (with all AKS attached, it weighs over a 100 pounds), but it rocks. Bryan, yes the JR & Senior are the same width. The Senior is longer (when being used with shelves). I opted for it because of the number of cases I use. I doubt it will fit in an Outback, but let me know if it does as the Outback is on a short list of vehicles that I would consider eventually replacing my Toyota Tacoma with (along with an Audi A4 Avant - anyone know about cargo in this guy too). I suspect the Senior cart keeps me in truck/van land though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Bryan Fowler Posted March 24, 2006 Author Premium Members Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 I doubt it will fit in an Outback, but let me know if it does as the Outback is on a short list of vehicles that I would consider eventually replacing my Toyota Tacoma with (along with an Audi A4 Avant - anyone know about cargo in this guy too). I suspect the Senior cart keeps me in truck/van land though. Thanks Alec (and others) for the realworld advice. I've definatly learning that my setup / fiddle time is felt by all. The last shoot I was on I had problems with follow focus that made us almost miss the sunlight. Luckily, nobody except my friends really noticed, and we got the shot. Anyway...I'm taking your advice to be, spend as much as you can, to buy what will help you setup quickly, and be efficient on set. That makes sense to me, now I just need to determine what will be the first / best purchase. =) I went and measured our outback, and roughly, with the rear seats down, aprox 6 feet to the back window, with a little more to spare. I think the Sr cart will fit lengthways, but depending on the size and number of your cases, it might not leave enough room. I've never seen a cart in person, so I'm not sure of width with wheels, mast, pads, particle accelerator..etc... I don't have a big kit, and it all fits in the back of our Outback with the seats up. Thanks again for the advice. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Eric Fletcher S.O.C. Posted March 24, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 The Senior is longer (when being used with shelves). I opted for it because of the number of cases I use. I doubt it will fit in an Outback, but let me know if it does as the Outback is on a short list of vehicles that I would consider eventually replacing my Toyota Tacoma with (along with an Audi A4 Avant - anyone know about cargo in this guy too). I suspect the Senior cart keeps me in truck/van land though. Well..... I transport my Magliner Jr. and complete package in my Audi S4 all the time. If I need to ship the package and everything is in it's Pelican cases then I have to use the Touareg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members JobScholtze Posted March 24, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 This is the JR. It holds all my gear all the time. I would recomend this piece of gear. I dont leave without it. And it fits in the trunk of my Porche 911. ( Ore under the hood :-) ) Only when i use my pelicancases i use my Bentley :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted March 24, 2006 Moderators Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Bryan, "I'm taking your advice to be, spend as much as you can, to buy what will help you setup quickly, and be efficient on set." Ummm. That sounds harsher than I meant it. I'm not a huge fan of people overspending just to have the latest, greatest toys. Just figure out a cart that fits your needs & start getting underway with it. My point about the Film Tools cart is that it is one stop shopping & a great cart (in other words, don't waste a lot of time & money reinventing the wheel). In retrospect, one thing I should add about working off a cart & efficiency on set is that this only applies if you plan to work off your cart! If all you ever plan to do is bring your gear from the car to a set-up location and then off-load & build, the Rock'N Roller kicks butt. Here in NYC, we have a number of cobblestone streets that reck havoc on carts and make it next to impossible to move around on a rolling stand. Now, add in the fact the camera truck is parked three blocks from a location & you're in real trouble without some mega-cart. So, it all depends on your situation. Obviously, if you can't fit it into your car, this factors in too. The Senior cart is huge, so don't underestimate its size. Despite seeing them on sets all the time, I was still taken aback confronting it in my living-room for the first time! I have a friend who ordered the JR version of the cart from Film Tools and upon seeing mine, cancelled the order because it wasn't going to fit into his car. As for working off the cart, I'd add, you still need a stand. More often than not, I use the dock on the magliner for moving from location to location. On the stage, it generally lives just off-set & on location, it hangs back with the other camera carts. When on a show where your gear lives on a truck, the cart is great because the ACs just need to put the sled to bed, while all the AKS cases stay on the shelves of the cart, ready to open & use. The docking bracket and all its tools stay attached, so in the morning one just sticks the sled into the dock and rolls the cart off the truck. Much better than having to remove cases from the cart to start your day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted March 24, 2006 Moderators Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 A few pictures of my cart (note the rain cover): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Marc Abernathy Posted March 25, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Alec, nice photos and great post. your post put some things in perspective for me personally. my usual stuff is run and gun so i just let utility tag along my stand so i can dock. i HAVE to get a decent cart and from your couple posts it really helped. i guess i should think bryan for even bringing it up! (thanks B!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted March 26, 2006 Moderators Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Marc, You're welcome & thanks for the kind words - I'm glad you found this stuff useful as that is what I've always wanted from this forum (along with the occasional belly-laugh). Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Members Benjamin Treplin Posted March 26, 2006 Premium Members Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 The Murphy Cart is an option as well. IMHO it is one of the greatest replacement for a stand. Most of the time my stand stays in the car. I only use it when the terrain is to rough for the cart. In the base is enough space for most things you need on set. I added a magic arm to it, to lock the post and secure the hole sled. This way the hole package can be carried over stairs or just wheeled on the two pneumatic tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Alec Jarnagin SOC Posted March 27, 2006 Moderators Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I gave serious consideration to the Murphy Cart. I would have used my Rock/N Roller to move the cases around & then the Murphy cart once built & running. But, I went with the Magliner Sr & American rolling stand combo because I don't like my stuff too far away. With this system, the top shelf holds a Pelican 1650 with the daily used items (follow focus, transmitters, cables, etc.) and my batteries (in a Portabeace bag). Bottom shelf holds a water-resistant bag with rain covers/spare clothes (I live in the North East, so its all about layers) and my second Pelican 1650 with less used items (gyros, back-up monitor, Garfield mount). I just didn't like the thought of telling the A.D. that we need to run to the truck to get "insert item here." While we don't use all items all the time, I would NEVER use my gyros if I didn't have them at arm's length. The empty Sled case and vest/arm bag stay on the truck. Murphy cart is very nice though. Definitely an option for those who wish to carry less stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.