I know yellow jacket..defender series stuff..etc..are all good ramps for protecting cables but the wells/channels and covered bottoms seems like a good collection point for rain on gigs as well as maybe overkill for just pedestrian traffic. Or am I wrong?
Just wondering how those compare to a cable ramp with an open face bottom that lays over the cables instead of a channel for pedestrian traffic.
Ted, I have 153' of Checkers GuardDog 5-channel cable ramps, plus some 45° turns, a 4-way cross, and some end caps. I generally don't have problems with rain collecting inside of the units. Dirt/mud is worse, in my experience. But, all of that is also going to depend on where in the world you are in the first place. I'm in the PNW, so a bit of rain is nothing for us.
Overkill? Maybe. I'd rather have too much protection, though, then not enough. I find that the flip-up lid units are easier to load and change, as opposed to the drop-overs. Drop-overs, if you need to add another cable, you might spend twice as much time dinking around with cables that go all screwy when bothered again.
The decision maker for me? I went with what "the big houses" in the area use, for ease of cross-rentals. I got my logo molded in to their lids, so I can identify mine easily. 5-Channel units are idea, for using 5-wire cams in them. One cam per channel, easy. I keep my cams separate, though, not bundled.
Most of my inventory is the standard height units, which generally aren't a problem for pedestrians. I do have 5 units (15') of the "low profile" version, for areas that might be served better, sidewalks, courtyards, etc, where there might be people coming through with strollers, bicycles, etc, and would prefer the lower profile.
-Ray