
There are many features that go into truly making any variety of moving container a transportation solution, but the most critically important feature is a great set of ramps. How do you get all that valuable, awkward and heavy equipment onto a truck or trailer safely and efficiently?
Maybe your program has a box truck with a lift gate on it. That is good for getting equipment from the ground up into the truck, but it is very time-consuming to repeatedly send the lift up and down. It’s also not designed for band equipment: The lift gate isn’t big enough to hold a 4 1/3rd octave marimba without one of the wheels hanging off the lift, which risks damaging that valuable instrument. Speaking of safety, with so many people involved in the process, we also worry about pinched fingers. At a recent contest, we witnessed a program with a trailer that had no ramp or lift system at all, and students and parents were expected to hoist EVERY piece of equipment (speaker carts, sound cart, marimbas, etc.) several feet off the ground into the back of the trailer. We have seen that horror story of the freshman percussionist accidentally rolling a timpani off the back of a box truck, and heard the awful, gut-wrenching, ruin-your-day sound of the crash. The potential for injury as well as potential for damage to the equipment hardly seems worth the risk when there are reasonably-priced options available.