RV Electricity – Just Ask Mike (J.A.M.): Move it like a roadie!

By Mike Sokol

Welcome to my J.A.M. (Just Ask Mike) session, a weekly column where I answer your basic electrical questions. If you’re a newbie who’s never plugged in a shore power cord (or ask – what’s a shore power cord?), or wonder why your daughter’s hair dryer keeps tripping the circuit breaker, this column is for you. Send your questions to Mike Sokol at mike (at) noshockzone.org with the subject line – JAM.

Dear Readers,
This J.A.M. session is just a little off-topic, since it’s mostly about moving things easily and safely around your campsite. And since I’ve been moving huge sound gear around for half a century (seriously, it’s been 50 years!), I’m qualified to discuss moving heavy objects. For a little fun and context, here’s a picture of just two of the speaker cabinets I used to set up for large concerts providing sound for groups like the B-52’s, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, and even Queen.

I used to help move and fly up to 60 of these huge speaker cabinets for shows, and they weighed 420 lbs each. Yikes! Yes, I saved the last four of these cabinets for my twins’ gaming room (yes, that’s them in goofy mode), so you can imagine how that rocks. But the point is that my roadies and I were able to move dozens of these cabinets because they had properly designed wheels and handles. And that’s the key to moving anything heavy.

I also had a really cool portable multi-cart made by RocknRoller® for medium-sized gear that was not on wheels, but alas it disappeared (was stolen) on a gig some 10 years ago and I never got around to replacing it. However, now that I’m doing RVelectricity seminars I needed a new hand cart for dragging in all my presentation gear. So I looked up RocknRoller, and they have even newer and heavier designs than ever before. I chose their flagship R12 version for my seminars since I have a lot of stuff to move, but there are various smaller and less-expensive models depending on your moving needs.

Looking at their website at rocknrollercart.com I noticed that RocknRoller has recently been promoting their multi-carts to the RV world as well as Pro-Sound and Lighting groups. Take a look at this baby that arrived at my shop last month. It collapses down to a small package for storage and transport, and can be set up in a variety of ways for your moving chores. Those are run-flat/off-road tires with real grease fittings for the moving bits, and it includes locking casters so it won’t roll away from you. Setting up camp (or a seminar) and need to move some heavy stuff? You can pile on up to 500 lbs. of camping gear (or your guitar amps and racks) and roll it to the right place without busting your back. I love this thing!!!

This would be a great Christmas present for your favorite roadie (or camping partner). You can find the RocknRoller at many major music stores, or get it on Amazon as well HERE. Who knew that moving heavy things could be so much fun?

Next week, it’s back to electricity…

OK, everyone. Remember that electricity is a useful and powerful force, so we all need to pay attention to safety precautions while using it.

Let’s play safe out there….

Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 50+ years in the industry. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.

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