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[William Schnake]

The thing I've found with lift gates is that they take forever to go up and down and have limited room on them for each load.  It takes longer to move everything up and down than it does to move it into the venue once you're out of the truck.  That 3:30AM roll out turns into 4:30 by the time the truck is loaded.

It can take longer and usually will take long to load with a lift gate.  However, as someone who will be 55 in a couple of months, my back doesn't hurt from using the lift gate, but it sure does after pushing speakers amp racks up a 13' ramp into a trailer.  I have no plan of ever going back to a ramp system.

Bill 

[Dave Garoutte]

I ended up buying a used Box truck.
Modifying the inside for my specific needs helps keep things organized.
Being able to leave my stage in the truck between gigs was worth it.
I only have to load/unload it once per gig.  Ahh.....
I also went with a ramp.  A bit more work to load, but unloading is soooo much faster (all downhill).

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

It can take longer and usually will take long to load with a lift gate.  However, as someone who will be 55 in a couple of months, my back doesn't hurt from using the lift gate, but it sure does after pushing speakers amp racks up a 13' ramp into a trailer.  I have no plan of ever going back to a ramp system.

Bill 

+1.  I don't enjoy rolling Genie lifts up ramps.

[Tim McCulloch]

It can take longer and usually will take long to load with a lift gate.  However, as someone who will be 55 in a couple of months, my back doesn't hurt from using the lift gate, but it sure does after pushing speakers amp racks up a 13' ramp into a trailer.  I have no plan of ever going back to a ramp system.

Bill 

You damn kids don't know how good you've got it.  Levers and wheels, that's all the old dead Greeks needed and they're good enough for us!

Why are *you* pushing KF850 up a ramp?  That's what staff/hands are for.

[Jim McKeveny]

In the Past few years,  our sound and lighting company has taken a on a pretty good growth-spurt. We went from a 16ft Trailer to a 36ft Goose Neck, and now we are finding ourselves out of room again. Our Gooseneck has been good, but it is kind of clumsy and is getting to the point where it is almost over weighted. We recently picked up some Sumner Eventers, and the extra 1000 lbs will definitely put us over the max.

So my question is, Should we go out and Buy a decent used 24-26 ft box truck, or should we rent?

In companies I've worked for in the past, I have driven Box Trucks and are comfortable with them, but I have conflicting views from friends in the industry. Of Course we have realized the cost of ownership of buying a truck, insurance, maintenance, Tires, service, etc. But we would like a solution that will get all of our gear to point a to point b with out a tremendous cost. We have a line array system, and everything (except for some Truss pieces) in road cases.

I know if we rent a box truck, we would have to rent it a day early, to load everything in it, I would have to pay my crew for that, and then have it an extra day after shows to unload. With owning, I could just lock it in my gate and be done after a show. However, with renting, I don't have all of the obvious cost of ownership associated with it.

With Owning, if anything happens to the truck or there is a service problem, I could be hosed with some high costs.

I run about 5-6 Shows a month and up to 10 in peak season.
We have also considered leasing, but the fleet guys don't know what to do with us as we aren't pounding the pavement 15000 miles a month. Most of our shows are probably within a 250 mile radius, and most are in town.

Any Opinions on this growing problem we have?

What happens so often: Do I own the truck, or does the truck own me? Writing just one lease or rental check per month allows you to concentrate on your core competency, without the endless surprises of ownership.

[William Schnake]

Tim, I still thing that I am one of the kids and can keep up with them...I'm not and I'm wrong about thinking I am.

Now get off my lawn...

Bill 

You damn kids don't know how good you've got it.  Levers and wheels, that's all the old dead Greeks needed and they're good enough for us!

Why are *you* pushing KF850 up a ramp?  That's what staff/hands are for.

[Tim McCulloch]

What happens so often: Do I own the truck, or does the truck own me? Writing just one lease or rental check per month allows you to concentrate on your core competency, without the endless surprises of ownership.

The boss's wife (the REAL boss) handles compliance so I don't have to. 

For us it was having transportation 24/7 without reservations, meeting the rental company schedules, and labor costs associated with pick up/return.  For awhile, Ryder was very, very competitive then a new manager came in.  Prices went way up but Penske started making deals (and their fleet was newer).  It's flip-flopped back the other way again.  We got tired of that, too.

We have a pair of 24' non-CDL trucks and a 15' high cube van, plus a regular E150 cargo van.  When we need a semi we use the services of a local tractor & van provider.  We're considering making some changes to our facility to accommodate 53' trailers.... and that, Jim, is when transportation kind of 'owns' us whether it's owned, leased, rented or subcontracted.

[Jim McKeveny]

The boss's wife (the REAL boss) handles compliance so I don't have to. 

For us it was having transportation 24/7 without reservations, meeting the rental company schedules, and labor costs associated with pick up/return.  For awhile, Ryder was very, very competitive then a new manager came in.  Prices went way up but Penske started making deals (and their fleet was newer).  It's flip-flopped back the other way again.  We got tired of that, too.

We have a pair of 24' non-CDL trucks and a 15' high cube van, plus a regular E150 cargo van.  When we need a semi we use the services of a local tractor & van provider.  We're considering making some changes to our facility to accommodate 53' trailers.... and that, Jim, is when transportation kind of 'owns' us whether it's owned, leased, rented or subcontracted.

Agreed.

[Tim McCulloch]

Tim, I still thing that I am one of the kids and can keep up with them...I'm not and I'm wrong about thinking I am.

Now get off my lawn...

Bill 

My excuse is that old habits die hard.  I've done stuff for so long I tend to do it until it hurts.

I'm learning to give better directions instead of DIY.  I don't need to be pulling feeder under the stage, I need to give simple, concise directions to hands.   I try to not do lots of lift/pull while bending stuff.

That said, I'm still unloading and loading semis, arena show electrician, occasional flyman, down rigging, and pushing cases, too.  Such is the glory and glamour. 

[Stephen Kirby]

Why are *you* pushing KF850 up a ramp?  That's what staff/hands are for.

I'm trying to envision holding a KF850 on a dolly steady with one hand while running the lift (which is never level or smooth operating) with the other.  I went from moving Multiliths (small printing presses) to selling pianos and having to help with deliveries in my youth.  Doing one thing at a time slowly you could block wheels and brace things.  Running bunches of big boxes up and down under a time limit would be a whole different thing.

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