12" dobsonian transport!

[Loeina]

Hello! Me and my friends are going to take my 12" dob to the countryside. it's a 3 hour drive and a large telescope! The question is, do I need to remove the secondary mirror when transporting the tube in a car? plan to lay the ends of the tube on pillows to reduce vibrations but im afraid the secondary mirror might get damaged, or the spider it is attached to since the mirror is kinda heavy.

[Beulah]

When I used to transport my solid tube 12" Dobsonian, I would lay it flat along the boot  (have a barge for a car ) and wrap it with a few sleeping bags for protection. The base goes alongside the tube. The sleeping bags come in handy in case you get cold. Probably goes without saying but take a phone and GPS with you, breakdown cover, spare food and drink just in case the car conks out.

Largely depends what car and how many people. If it's an estate you will be OK. You may be able to lay it across the back seat and somehow harness it in or laterally along the boot. The base would then sit in the back seat with your pals.

Managed to take camping gear for four people, four people and a 12 inch scope in my old banger!

When my obligation as parent ends, I would love to buy a Sprinter and get it decked out with sleeping quarters and a section for the scope to sit in.

[Loeina]

we are going in multiple cars but the one that will hold the dob is a mitsubishi pajero 2008, planed to remove one of the backseats and lay it there on the floor on some pillows, but it's the secondary im worried about :/ did you remove it?

[Loeina]

also some dirt roads

[Beulah]

Sorry Loeina, I forgot to mention the Secondary Mirror. 

No, I did not remove it - I just made sure the telescope tube was well padded with sleeping bags. Putting the back seat down would be ideal as it creates a natural wedge for the tube to stay in. With the tube wrapped, the dobsonian mount can stand next to the part of the tube sitting in the boot to help hold it in place.

You will need to collimate the tube once you reach your destination. The beauty of these dobs is that it takes very little time to set up. I wouldn't fancy fiddling around with the secondary mirror & aligning the spider in the dark!

No need to remove the secondary mirror at all.  

[NGC 1502]

My 10" Dob has been transported in my car loads of times, longest journey 130 miles each way to Kelling star party.

Never removed the secondary, not needed. You could perhaps make sure the spider vanes have sufficient tension, but no need to overdo that.

But I do pad the tube with very thick and dense foam placed on the back seat of the car,  the tube goes on the foam, then use the seatbelts to secure.

The last part of the road to my club's dark site is very rough, I just slow right down for that bit.

Mount goes in the boot. Never had a problem.

Regards, Ed.

[Loeina]

Thank you for your replies! feeling alot better about the trip now!

[Beulah]

You enjoy yourself.  Sounds like you are going somewhere amazing. If you want to, I'd love to read a report of your discoveries. 

We do enjoy reading an observation report or two on this forum.

[Astro Imp]

Remember most of our scopes have traveled half way round the world and have been handled fairly roughly by various cargo handlers and they invariably arrive in tip top condition. So long as you take reasonable care I can't see there being any problems.

There was a u-tube video posted some time ago showing optics being loaded for air freight, showed how careful   some of the handlers are. If I can find it I'll post it later.

[nicks90]

my 12" dob tube gets laid on the back seat and secured in with 2 seat belts (do the belts up before putting the tube in and then loop the diagonal around each end of the tube). That keeps the tube nice and safe and the base goes in the boot, held down with a couple of bungee straps to stop it rattling about.

secondary and primary will be fine, but I always check the collimation when i set it up anyway as its a flextube version.

[swamp thing]

I always transport my scopes before use and never remove the spiders.

The 10" Dob goes in my van as is. On its mount and tied down to prevent it going walkabout.

I've often transported it off road in the back of my land rover too. No probs just go easy on large bumps etc.

Have fun

[brantuk]

Yup - I carried a 12" Flextube dob to and from Kelling 120 miles twice a year for the last 5 years and never had to remove the secondary or spider veins. Also many times too and from our local dark site, partly on bumpy roads, with no probs. The OTA was always laid on the back seat, padded out and strapped in firm.

As mentioned - it will require collimation at the other end - also look out for nuts/bolts that can sometimes vibrate off the scope during the journey. Check the scope and boot thoroughly for missing small bits every time. Hth

(With a Pajero you're laughing lol)