[Precautions] Traveling with high-end gear

[Lander]

I wanted to pick some of your brains here...

In the spring, I am going on the road until winter and was going to travel with some of my recording gear. The Items I am to bring would be:

Pendulum Audio MDP1's (probably only 1 will come)
Mindprint Dtc's (probably only 1 will come)
U Audio m610
Motu 2408
Rack-mount PC
LCD monitor
Event ASP8's (speakers)
Misc tube and transistor microphones.
Mackie control surface
Bass
Guitar
Small midi keyboard
A couple of Mic stands
2-4 2x4 gobos to tune the room.

The mics would be in a flight case and I'm not that worried about them and travel, but I am concerned with the preamps and computer.

I am rigging a pop top camper into a small control room (one of the beds would be made into a desk to record and mix on the road inside the camper and in the free air of camp grounds and the mattress would cover and hide the gear from theives) All the gear will be installed into the camper. There would be 2 racks, one on either side of the 8ch control surface and the rack ears would be mounted to the desk surface with rubber mounts, similar to an engine mount to help isolate shock from the camper bouncing around driving down the road. The control surface will be velcroed to the desk surface.

The power: on mobile would come from a 1000w true-sine wave power verter into a UPS into a furman power conditioner on to the components and at rv camps, it would be direct hookup to the ups then into a power conditioner.

What are your thoughts????

Sounds a little bizzare, but that's me!

[pkautzsch]

So this is basically becoming a small "truck"...
Nice ideas: mattress, rubber mounts for gear.
I've been thinking about a similar thing. The good thing about a camper is that it's got many small doors for luggage, water and AC connections, and so on, so why not mount a multicore connection there and do it trucky-style. What I think may be an issue is isolation between you and the outside world. If you need that.
oh, and you can use the mattress as broadband absorber behind your speakers.

[Jim vanBergen]

Dunno where you are planing on working, but: find a security approach that is more robust than something a regular thief can pop with a crowbar, slimjim, or bolt cutter.

If you're parking and working at RV camps, you could be designating yourself as a target.

As far as your rig goes, you need to really consider air conditioning and humidity control.

Isolation is gonna be difficult for monitoring and tracking.

Just a few thoughts.

Jim

[Lander]

Thanks,

Security is a concern of mine too. I am looking at a pop top tonight to see how it would work. It has an AC roof unit on it. I have consdered installing a few padlocks on the camper and I have thought of rigging the interior of a van for the control room, but it would be so much more crampt.

Isolation wize, I would have a few 2x4 gobos set up (Kinetics hard side units) and definately prop up the mattresses as pkautzsch mentioned. I would clean the sound using nearfields, write automation with headphones and return to nearfields for final tweaks.

I thought of hotels, but I would trust a closed pad locked camper more.

I'm still weighing things out...

[Lander]

Well lookie here....

It seems like the pop top camper will not work too well, so I am heading more towards an RV. I believe I found one and the guy is going to give it to me for FREE!!!

She ain't the prettiest girl, but she may be my home for 6 months to a year!

[pkautzsch]

To me (European...) she looks cool.
Can you post a few pics of the work in progress?

[Jim vanBergen]

I think that is an EXCELLENT choice. MUCH better than the pop-top! And inconspicuous as well.

What do you plan to outfit her with?
jim

[Remoteness]

Hey Tom,

A nice new paint job will make that vehicle look really sweet!

All the best!

[Lander]

Originally Posted by pkautzsch

To me (European...) she looks cool.
Can you post a few pics of the work in progress?

I kind of dig her look too, but I'm weird like that. I have to get the title before I start anything inside her, which is the contingency of me getting her. She was dropped off at a friends mechanic shop for work and they never came to pay or pick her up after countless calls over the past 3-4 months. The storage fee alone is worth more then she is, but my buddy said if I get all the paperwork and procedure together I could have her.



Hi Jim,

I plan on rigging her up with my list of items above. I keep thinking of other things to add/subtract daily. I have to keep reminding myself I will be just recording me and not bands. I dunno, If I had the space, maybe I would bring my DM24 to record garage bands. That would be fun, but maybe painful



Steve,

I am definitely considering a paint job for her. I thought of black so I could hide and sleep in unauthorized areas without being noticed. Hmmm, maybe camoflash would be better!thumbsup

[bishopthomas]

That's going to be a great mobile truck. I have thought about a camper for my own needs, but I have to buy a primary car first. I don't want to have to drive the mobile rig to the grocery store.

By the way, WalMart as well as some other large chain stores are "camper-friendly," meaning you can sleep in the parking lot and not have to worry about getting tossed.

[Lander]

Look What I got! I pick her up Febuary 1st in California. I'm taking a week and a half to get her back to S.E. Pennsylvania, then she will meet my rack preamps...

Woodcrest Studio soon to be Woodcrest Mobile Recording.

W.C.R.S to W.C.M.R!! What cha think?

[Lander]

How many chicks do you think I can fit in her at once?!!

[Jim vanBergen]

Nice new mobile vehicle!

Let us know how the fit-up goes, and take a shot from the passenger seat heading back, would you?

[bishopthomas]

Way to go. Maybe you could take some pictures as the project progresses? (How do you like that alliteration?)

[yawatta]

That's rad! And even with a plethora of carpet!

[Remoteness]

Sweet!

Progress pictures would be awesome for sure!

Keep them coming.

[foldback]

I've been working on my Recording Vehicle (RV) for almost two years. It has been a blast. I can have her packed with $100,000 in gear and nobody would suspect looking at the outside, I intend to keep it that way too. I like the retro appearance.

I'm wondering about your power supply description. I use a pure sine converter that is driven by my two 12vdc coach batteries which get charged by the onboard generator or shore power when I'm plugged in.

The output from my Exeltech inverter is much better than any Furman piece I ever used or tested. Why would you need anything else if the inverter is decent?

I've installed the Exeltech inverters on cruise ships to power the sound systems in the event of emergency. Their modular MX series is very nice, lets you start small and add more modules if your power needs grow. They can grow up to 20kw if you've got the batteries to power them.

Perhaps we need to get a thread going about recording vehicles (RVs).

I know Steve Remote has a lot more high end gear in his trucks than mine, but does he have a full bath with toilet and shower?

And what about the oversized tripower (propane, 12v, 117vac) refridgerator for keeping the beer cold?

These were just some of the extremely important design features the RV provided :-)

[Lander]

Thanks a lot for all the replies guys. This has been a long time coming, at least 4 years..

I don't have any good photos of the rear. I can tell you though it has a full size, built in double bed. The Vixen is a pusher, meaning the engine and transmission is in the rear of the vehicle. It attributes to it's gas milage (16-20 mpg )The bed sits on top the engine compartment box which is approximately 20" off the floor. I had a floor plan around here someplace. I can't seem to find it, but I will eventually and post the picture here so you can get an idea of it's size. I'll be back with more!

[Lander]

Originally Posted by foldback

I've been working on my Recording Vehicle (RV) for almost two years. It has been a blast. I can have her packed with $100,000 in gear and nobody would suspect looking at the outside, I intend to keep it that way too. I like the retro appearance.

I'm wondering about your power supply description. I use a pure sine converter that is driven by my two 12vdc coach batteries which get charged by the onboard generator or shore power when I'm plugged in.

The output from my Exeltech inverter is much better than any Furman piece I ever used or tested. Why would you need anything else if the inverter is decent?

I've installed the Exeltech inverters on cruise ships to power the sound systems in the event of emergency. Their modular MX series is very nice, lets you start small and add more modules if your power needs grow. They can grow up to 20kw if you've got the batteries to power them.

Perhaps we need to get a thread going about recording vehicles (RVs).

I know Steve Remote has a lot more high end gear in his trucks than mine, but does he have a full bath with toilet and shower?

And what about the oversized tripower (propane, 12v, 117vac) refridgerator for keeping the beer cold?

These were just some of the extremely important design features the RV provided :-)

Mmmm Beer. It does have a beer fridge. The guy told me I could use it to store food too, only if I wanted to.

Great info on the vertors. One of the 1st things I'm going to check is how clean and true the sine is off the generator and the Tripp Lite power verter with an oscilloscope. The RV has 4 deep-cell batteries on board too, so I should be able to run without the generator on for a while to keep things quieter for critical listening.

Here is a list of vehicle specs:
• GM Buick gas engine 3.8-liter,V-6 (16-20 MPG)


• 4-speed automatic/overdrive trans-axle


• 4-wheel independent suspension


• Tilt wheel/cruise control


• Dash air - R134


• Power steering


• 600-watt Sharp Microwave


• 4-cubic foot Norcold electric beer cooler (12 V DC or 110 V AC)


• Full-size permanent double bed in rear


• Custom bathroom with sink and toilet


• Onan 2.8 microlite generator stike


• 15,000 btu roof top A/C and Heat pump


• 110-volt power hookup


• 2000 Watt Tripp-Lite Power Inverter/Charger


• 19,000 btu furnace


Now we're cookin

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by foldback

...I know Steve Remote has a lot more high end gear in his trucks than mine, but does he have a full bath with toilet and shower?

And what about the oversized tripower (propane, 12v, 117vac) refridgerator for keeping the beer cold?

These were just some of the extremely important design features the RV provided :-)

I hear you and have thought about it when I considered using an RV as a mobile audio unit.

I (may) dig the idea of a full bath with toilet and shower, but IMO, I would never use the shower. I don’t want or need all that condensation doing potential damage to the gear. Now, if it was in a completely separate area totally isolated from the equipment and interface panels maybe yes.

The humidity factor from that shower would be an equipment and connector killer.
I suppose you can supply a large dehumidifier to keep the place dry. For me, I got other things to worry about. I’d rather use the hotel’s shower anyway; I don’t have to clean up after I used it. YMMV.

[Lander]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

I hear you and have thought about it when I considered using an RV as a mobile audio unit.

I (may) dig the idea of a full bath with toilet and shower, but IMO, I would never use the shower. I don’t want or need all that condensation doing potential damage to the gear. Now, if it was in a completely separate area totally isolated from the equipment and interface panels maybe yes.

The humidity factor from that shower would be an equipment and connector killer.
I suppose you can supply a large dehumidifier to keep the place dry. For me, I got other things to worry about. I’d rather use the hotel’s shower anyway; I don’t have to clean up after I used it. YMMV.

I have the same concerns of moisture. I'm considering a bidet to keep my boys squeaky clean till I find a shower. e err e err e err

[Remoteness]

Word!

[Jim vanBergen]

It's not a shower, it's a VOCAL BOOTH!

(the bidet is a killer idea, however!)

Jim

[foldback]

Fortunately the shower has a fan driven roof vent. Unfortunately the water never gets hot enough to make steam?

Vocal booth..... hmmmm you got me thinking there.

I was just kidding about the bathroom thing anyway. Gee's, I'd kill for a truck like yours Steve.

And I'd a lot rather stay in a hotel most of the time..... having the RV out on a 300 acre retreat packed with young Greatful Dead wannabe chickkee doodles for a long weekend was better than any Hampton Inn I've stayed in :-)

Thank you for all your input.

[Remoteness]

You have to upgrade your hotel accommindations...

24 hour room service and all the extras will make for a nice time with your young Greatful Dead wannabe chickkee doodles and such.

On the serious side of things -- IMO, I don't care if the water is hot, warm or cold, I don't want it in my control room!

[Lander]

Well, I went to California and returned with a 1989 Vixen SE!

Here are a few pictures of the travel back:


From left to right: Me, Ted (Seller), Bill (my navigator for the ride home)


In Arizona


Looking to meet a few ladies


Boondocked in Austin texas to go hear music and rest for the night. Can you spot the Vixen?