Loading in and out

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I'm constantly trying to refine how I set up and load in and out.

I've got a system I'm generally happy with but I'm just wondering what the rest of you do in case there's a better / easier / safer way that I'm missing.

I try to load in and out on the basis of making things as hard as possible to be nicked or if anything does get nicked, it won't be too expensive or the end of the world but as I said, I might be missing something really obvious.

Loading the car:
(1) Bags w/ T-Bar, ADJ Mega Bar, speaker stands into rear footwell (pretty much out of sight)
(2) Speakers into back seats (big, heavy, hard to nick quickly)
(3) lights, cables, power, table into boot (out of sight)
(4) power amp in front footwell (pretty much out of sight, heavy, hard to nick quickly)
(5) mixer and laptop on front passenger seat (last things in and then I'm ready to go.

Loading in to the venue:
(1) Mixer and laptop (lets me check out what the load in will be like and I can usually put them somewhere safe ish. Also saves leaving it in the car while I'm loading other things in)
(2) Lights, cables, power, table etc... (Lighting mainly because of the amount I have invested in them. They're all cased up so no one int he venue will know what they are)
(3) Speakers (Even though they're hard to get to and nick quickly, they do draw attention to the car so I like to get them out after the expensive gear)
(4) Power amp
(5) Bags with T-bar, mega bar, speaker stands.

Loading out I generally go in the same order as loading into the car though that can change if I'm worried about leaving the laptop or anything that can be easilly lifted lying around.

Loading out the car by the time I get home it doesn't really make a difference though I make sure the laptop and mixer are out first.


What do you think? Decent system, could I work it a bit better or am I missing something glaringly obvious that is making life more difficult or opening myself up to things being nicked or left behind?

[djdave01]

Dont you think its a little dangerous having 'big, heavy' speakers on the back seats? If you have to stop quickly or crash into something, your speakers are going to fly right into the back of your seat.

Your mixer & laptop on the front passneger seat would also be a danger in the event of an accident.

Most people on here will tell you to use a van with a bulkhead for safety. I do use a car for moving my gear, but its a people carrier (ford galaxy) and all the gear fits safely in the boot behind the rear seats.

As for your question about security, i also tend to leave the 'easy to nick' equipment to last, putting the poles & speakers etc in first. If the car is going to be out of my sight for more than a few seconds, i'll lock it between trips.

[deltic]

where you doing disco's......Beirut .

to my eyes there is a lot of over thinking the situation.
having said that all our kit is transported in a van with bulkhead and no windows,probably is more risk being transported in a car and on show to prying eyes.

thankfully somebody stealing any of my kit is something i don't worry about,life is too short.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Well Glasgow IS the Beirut of the North

It's not that I'm totally paranoid and I don't play sketchy dives these days but there's enough scumbags around here (or anywhere for that matter) that to not consider the possibility of things being nicked is being naive. A laptop lying around at the end of a party is very tempting for a drunk who usually wouldn't consider nicking anything to pick it up...

I put the seat belts round the speakers so they're not going anywhere in the event of an accident though I see your point about the laptop and mixer. I'll need to rethink what I do with those. I drive an estate so there's plenty of space for stuff though I see your point about the bulkhead.

[surround sounds]

Well when i load in and out it makes no difference to me what order it goes in or out. Most of the time there are 2 of us so not worried about anything being stolen.
I can normally load all items in 3 Journeys straight out of my trailer.
My roadie will take deckstand on wheels with 2 rcf speakers, poles, Suitcase with wires and led curtain and at the same time i will bring to rcf 905 speakers on a trolley.
Roadie will stop with gear in venue and start taking covers etc off while i get mixer, cd players, powerbar,cds and laptop.
Then its the same taking stuff back to trailer..

[alphawave]

Never did the whole van thing....I use a large trailer in which all gear apart from cd mixer,laptop and amps are stored...I then have a very safe place to store it with all gear loaded ready for every gig.... Although can be a pain if you get lost and need to turn around in tight spaces....But this method does speed the whole loading gear up as once i am finished it ready for next time...

[djtrev]

The only things that I 'value' are my laptop and my CDs.Without them I have no work,so they are the last in and the last out on the outward journey and the first in first out on the homeward journey.I lock the car each trip if its not in my eyeline.Apart from anything else the music is the one thing that has taken me a lot of time effort and expense to aquire so its to all intents irreplacable.
As for the rest of the gear,I'm much the same as you,use the rear footwell for stuff and the speakers playout and amp,which are all fairly heavy in the rear.

[BossmanKaraokeDisco]

Have to agree, Laptops and hard drives are always kept in sight or behind locked doors, best bit of having a van, nobody can see whats in it.
Lighting and sound is easy enough to replace should it get nicked but always security conscious when loading and unloading especially when I am working alone.

Happy new year to you all and here is hoping to another great year next year

[yourdj]

Do it all in one trip

Have a look at this months promobile - it may have been last months and i did not get a copy?
i think its added to that or my profile next issue.

[Daryll]

9/10 trips for me , more with karaoke , even more with up lighting and/or podium truss

Daryll