Thinking of putting together a remote trailer

[Beech]

Hi folks,

I'm interested in learning about the actual construction of the body of a truck or trailer. I am considering putting a small trailer together that could be pulled by a 4x4, somewhat like a horsebox! It would seem to be the most economical way for us to go as we might only do a couple of gigs a month. Dimensions of about 12-15ft long by 8ft high and whatever the law requires as regards width, probably about 7ft.

Gearwise it'll probably be an O2R96 or maybe a DM2000. After that it will depend on the client's needs but I expect racks to be easily installed.

Is there any way of making such a small space acoustically sound? I'd love to hear from anyone who has seen this done before.

Daire

[Remoteness]

Daire,

You caught the "remote" bug -- that’s awesome news!

In the early to late 80s I was considering building a small trailer setup. I have a few drawings lying around back at the field shop. When I get a chance I will look for them, scan them and send them your way…

I decided against the small trailer idea because of weight issues. A 4X4 was not going to pull it as efficiently as I wanted it to be. How quiet do you want the trailer to be? And, what about the acoustics? If you’re only tracking and willing to deal with leakage and the lack of total sound isolation, it may work out really well for you. But, in any event, do the acoustics right!

A DM2000 and such would fit quite nicely in a 12’ X 8’ X 8’ trailer. Keep the situation modular and you will never outgrow the trailer equipment wise.

[Beech]

Thanks for the reply Steve. I've always had the remote bug but in this country the market is small so I've got to tread carefully. I do however have a couple of clients that would use a mobile facility for concert recording so I'm just tossing some ideas around to see if I can make it work. The thing that set me off was that recently I saw an OB truck for auction. It was maybe 17 or 18ft long and looked ideal for my purpose. Unfortunately they wanted to sell it as a complete package (video conference gear etc.) so I lost interest. Anyway, the thoughts of taking on the running costs of a truck don't exactly appeal to me.

So, enter the idea of a trailer. On the plus side there is the possibility of using something like a Mitsubishi Pajero to haul it. I won't ever have to do more then a few hundred miles. The car could become my personal transport (her indoors having control over the main family car for kid transport etc.)

I could easily park a trailer at the back of my studio when it was not in use and I'd expect this to happen quite a lot.

Also, the ability to go to a gig, drop the trailer and the car can be used for other missions (food run for example).

On the minus side there is a lack of space issue. However I don't intend to use this for anything other then gig recording so I'm prepared to put up with a certain lack of space. I'm hoping to get some help from the good folk on this forum as to how best to utilise the space. Lets call it 12 x 8 x 8. Hell, in my freelance days I probably worked in control rooms that size!

I don't expect to get really good sound insulation but I do want to try for a reasonable monitoring environment so I need advise on this.

I've seen "off the shelf" trailers that have a GRP box construction. Steve, I would really appreciate any old drawings you might have.

Thanks,

Daire

[7rojo7]

Same here, Volkswagon Tuareg can haul 3.5 metric tons. I've planned on this from the beginning. My equipment is already in road cases in the studio. I go out now with rented snake and splitter if necessary and setup in a corner or a room not too far away. I have the same plans. I was thinking of a emptied out (except the toilet) camper type thing to start off with and a tent for my isolation transformer, UPS and computer racks hanging off the back. I figure that I could load up the space with all the gear and have some type of lift up door to slide it out the back and close the door.
There are some big remote recorders here and some smaller ones but no one to do the smaller but technically challenging gigs, that could include symphonic concerts. At the moment I have 32 ADs (24 Prism), 22 channels of Millennia pre s
Is it possible to keep the weight down? My gear in cases already weighs a lot. Now everything fits into the largest van I can find, when I have my own cable reels and splitters I'll have to move to a 4 meter box truck with a lift just to move the stuff.
It's probably the weight that's the biggest problem, you'd need a heavier suspension, which weighs more in itself, isolation and air conditioning. It might be better to get something custom made focusing on weight reduction in every step of the process. Aluminum frame and deck, material for the box that already has a high isolation factor and is light weight.
I'm up for any ideas at the moment too.

[Remoteness]

Daire,

I just found this old drawing I did back in 1981. I was going to transfer my first truck's body to a trailer setup. The first truck was in operation from 1977 until 1984.

In 1984 I ended up buying a failing remote truck company's truck. The 1981 trailer idea never happened and we decommissioned the first rig in 1984 when the new truck was on line. I believe the last gig we did with the first truck was the Ramones from the old Ritz, which is now Webster Hall.

I will look for my newer drawings very soon...

[Remoteness]

I did a little search on the subject of designing & building a mobile unit.
Here's what I found within this forum. Check it out...

The 10 basic needs when designing a mobile recording unit

Questions about designing a mobile recording unit --Expanded...

Remote truck acoustic treatment advice

[Beech]

Thanks Steve!

Do you remember what were your dimensions? The cable drum site looks interesting. I guess the trailer hitch to the vehicle was to be up front of the cable drums?

I'm still in two minds as to this project. One side of me is pulling towards racking what gear I have and renting the remainder then picking a room off stage and setting up to record there.

Still, I'd like to explore the possibilities of the trailer.

Thanks 7rojo7! It seems like you are in a very similar situation. Only thing I know for sure is that a twin axle will be necessary. Here an "off the shelf" trailer which looks like a reasonable starting point. I hope the jpeg is ok.

Here are some dimensions I have in mind:
Length 3640mm (143"), Width 1730mm (68"), Height 2140mm (84")

A door up front looks interesting. What do you guys think?

[Remoteness]

Hey Daire,

Yes I do. The dimensions of my first mobile unit’s body were 12’ X 7’ X 7’. The drawing shows the original (1977 to 1984) body with a 4 foot extension added to it. Basically, I wanted to drop the old body on a trailer and then add 4 feet for extra storage and a second entrance. I wanted an entrance on each side of the trailer so we didn’t have to park the rig backwards on one way streets and such. That 1981 drawing should have had twin axles due to the weight of the body and gear installed.

Those "off the shelf" trailers may not work as efficiently as you may think. An auto trailer maybe a lot more applicable for your situation. Even better, have a trailer manufacturer build you a custom rig. You can place doors; even windows where you want them. The trailer also should be as wide as you’re allowed to have on the road. IMO, 1730mm seems a bit too small, especially when you take the walls and sound isolation materials into consideration.

That entrance door/ramp is a very cool idea but, not so cool when you’re working. You will need to install a separate (entrance) door. I’m sure you don‘t want to loose all that conditioned air and deal with the possible sound issues every time you open that enormous door.

The door/ramp situation would work well, if you build an interior wall with a large enough entrance door to pass equipment through and a possible control room window. Wow, that sounds sweet!

What do you think?

[STUDIO2]

Daire,

We used to use a very similar trailer to move P.A and lighting gear around. I would agree with it being handy as you can leave it at the venue and use the car or 4x4 to do the running about.
The one major drawback that we found was that the trailers suspension was very basic and the gear suffered because of it. Irish roads being Irish roads and all that , we had a few occasions where you would hear screws and stuff rolling around in equipment after a trip in the trailer! Sleeved racks all the way!
If I were to buy a trailer again I'd sit in the trailer itself and have a friend tow it around the countryside for a while just to get a taste of what my gear might have to withstand. The version of trailer we used had a roller door on the rear and had basic leaf suspension without any dampers, the roof was light perspex and the sides were GRP I think. It did not offer much isolation from outside sounds and the GRP on the inside was very reflective so some form of absorbsion would be needed.

I've got a book on recording studio design that has a very detailed chapter on building a mobile truck based on the old Manor moblie I think, I'll look it up and post the name of it later.


Anyway, thats my 2 cents.

Cheers.

[Beech]

Excellent STUDIO2! I'd love to have the title of that book.

You are making great points about suspension and the roads here. At this point if I decide to do this, it's a custom built trailer for sure. The pictures of the "off the shelf" trailers were just to stimulate so ideas.

Thanks,
Daire

[STUDIO2]

Beech,

The book is titled "Recording Studio Design" and was written by Philip Newell and published by Focal Press. Its available from Amazon I think. If you cant get your hands on a copy PM me and I'll lend you mine.

Cheers.

[Beech]

Thanks STUDIO2. I'll pm you.

[Jim vanBergen]

For your particular desire, I can't stress enough the importance of a good suspension in the vehicle (or trailer) you transport your gear in/on; the HVAC or air handling system; the doors/windows you might want; and the interior build quality. As someone who bought and upgraded a used remote truck, these are going to impact you greatly. I'd consider going flypack first until you can build what you really want.

Of all the trucks I have seen or worked on, Steve Remote thinks about and cares the most about his stuff. He thinks WAAAAY more than most owners and devises flexibilty most people would never consider. His advice is golden in my book, and I would not fit out a new truck wihout his blessing on the design.

Jim vB