Hey everyone.  At 61 I’m no longer buff (as if I ever was).  Wondering what gear you people use to make transporting your motifs to gigs a bit easier. 

Whether you use specialized Dolly’s or cases with wheels.....

I’d like to take either my XF or XS but would appreciate any methods y’all use

Thanks

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A friend.

Hahahaha.  Can I borrow one of your friends MrMotif?

I’ve only taken mine out a few times, used an SKB padded bag with wheels.  Wheels dont’t help on stairs :(

It’s not so much the weight as the size and shape...I can lug speaker cabs that weight more with far greater ease.

OK, OK, a more serious reply would be a dolly I think. I think these are generally more flexible and can navigate stairs to some extent. Plus you can use them for multiple bits of gear. Cases with wheels are probably fine for light use but if they jam or break, then the whole case becomes a bit of an annoyance. Even a modest dolly is probably going to be sturdier.

That said, a friend is still my #1 suggestion. ‘Back in the day’ I used to carry my own Fender Rhodes (73) single-handed. AND transport it about in my Mini Cooper (that’s the original Mini Cooper, too - a car about the size of golf cart). Had to take the front passenger seat out every time but actually that was surprisingly quick and easy. There is no way I’d even grab one end of a Rhodes these days.

MrMotif - 30 January 2015 12:38 AM

A friend.

Won’t work for me, my parents got me one walkie talkie for Christmas years ago.

If you’re going it alone I’d say a hand truck is essential. Pneumatic tires are a bonus if you have room for hauling that too. I’ve seen some nice fold up units that appear up to the task, and some that look like junk. I’d stay away from small wheels as they don’t fare well in gravel and get stuck on the smallest of debris on a floor.
Stairs are evil, fire escapes the worst, although the fresh air helps with the relentless wheezing. If the destination is near the stair and the area secure, I’d un-case at the lower level. Bring the cases up empty if need be. Somehow the weight of my cases rival that of what’s inside.
Consolidation and careful planning are key I suppose.

Stone

I use one of these - it’ll hold my whole rig in one helping

http://rocknrollercart.com/collections/multi-carts/products/r-10-multi-cart

A decently sturdy trolley with curved middle bar to give you a better placed handhold for the tougher terrain makes moving even a fridge so much easier.

The ones with three wheels each side, arranged in a triangle (of sorts) go up steps so much easier than the simple two wheeled ones it’s not funny.

I tried someone’s little fold up trolley recently, but it was so flimsy that it wasn’t much use for anything much heavier than what is easier to just carry anyway, unless you need to move a long empty box.

Sturdy with pneumatic tyres (and proper wheel bearings) is the minimum requirement in my book.

But don’t you have a drummer..?