moving medium-large dobsons

[Piero]

Out of curiosity, how do members move their dobsons (>1200mm f.l.)?

Let's say that you want to take your dobson to a dark location.

Mirror boxes / full tubes can be quite heavy to lift by a single person I guess. Same at destination when unloading everything. So what's your approach? 

And how do you place all your equipment in your car?

 

Photos are welcome of course. 

[nightfisher]

Sorry cant help with this, as i dont have a dob, but other people will take the challenge and show there solutions

[Charic]

Even the F-1200 is large for some folk. For me the Dob sits on the front seat, the OTA is cradled in a duvet and supported with two old cot mattresses.
On arrival the OTA is replaced back onto the Dob, a Barlowed laser check, its then ready for business.

[D4N]

With mine the OTA sits on one of the back seats and the base goes on the other.  They get to wear seat belts  

[John]

I have a Toyota Avensis hatchback. My 12" F/5.3 dob tube with azimuth bearings attached fits in easily and neatly if I fold the smaller half of the rear split seat flat. I put an old sleeping bag under the tube and around the sides of the tube to hold it in place without pressure. The OTA is too long to go across the rear seat. The mount sits in the other side of the boot space with plenty of room for eyepiece case and lots of other bits. That arrangement also leaves me the other half of the rear seat to stow things and the passenger seat / footwell assumung that I'm travelling on my own. Lifting the OTA in and out is the biggest effort but Orion Optics make their OTA's quite light so my 12" weighs about the same as a Skywatcher 10".

I've used this arrangement to carry the scope around 80 miles or so and back and it has worked fine

When attending star parties I've towed a caravan so I've not needed to find room in the car for tents, speeping bags etc but I guess I could still manage if I had to do that as long as the tent was not too big.

[niallk]

Here's my 15" Classic Obsession in an Avensis: UTA on front passenger seat, rocker box in front passenger foot well, Mirror box on back seat - snugly held securely by sliding the front passenger seat back against it.  The truss poles could go in the boot, but it tends to have sand in it from going to the beach, so I just lie them up on the other side of the back seat - along with my EP case and stuff.

If I cleaned my boot and hoovered it out well, I could have my front passenger seat free, plus half the back seat (stack the UTA on top of the mirror box, with a folded towel between them for protection).  Neat enough really! I've never traveled with my 10" solid tube Skywatcher, but routinely do it with my 15"

[Scosmico]

Piero

I have got a truss dob.

I tend to keep the truss attached to the secondary cage. And the mirror cage properly closed and secured. Both go on the back sit wearing seat belts.

The other accessories go in the boot. 

 

[niallk]

PS  you should see @Scooot's 16" Sumerian in his car - I remember a picture he posted on SGL a while back: beautifully designed for portability!

[Piero]

@niallk  , amazing telescope and photo! 

Do you load the base yourself or you need somebody to help you? If I am not wrong, it's about 30kg right?

[JOC]

I've got a baby Dob with the truss tube - in its condensed form it measures around 1m.  At this dimension it sits nicely across the back seat of the car wrapped in a sleeping bag.  I've got an Estate but the Dob base won't sit upright in the boot so I have to lay it on its side which works OK and I wedge it to stop it rolling.  What then fills the rest of the boot is the power pack the lens cases, the finders, the dew shields etc.  I have long thought that unless I got a caravan  which would take it all that I would never be able to take it camping with me as it takes up all the space I'd normally put the camping gear in to and the seats I'd normally have the kids in.

[Paul73]

Choice of car is important. Whatever you do. Don't buy a saloon...... I eventually got it into my old Saab at the expense of some dash trim (16" 1600mm Solid tube).

Solid tubes suddenly stop being portable at anything much over 12". OTA across the back seats. Base on front seat. Wife in boot with the camping gear.

Paul

 

[assouptro]

I have an old zafira, they are incredibly versatile, I picked up a 22" (big blue) in our trusty chariot.

they basically turn into a van! 

 

[Uplooker]

My travel arrangements with a 12"SW solid tube dob are pretty much the same arrangement as John alluded to.

I think and still feel young enough to lift it in and out by myself. 

Dont ask @Moonshane how he travels with his 16", he has been known to remove the front passenger seat of his car to fit the scope in ?

[niallk]

47 minutes ago, Piero said:

@niallk  , amazing telescope and photo! 

Do you load the base yourself or you need somebody to help you? If I am not wrong, it's about 30kg right?

Cheers Piero 

Yep - 27kg - I carry it out myself from storing in-doors.  It's a little heavy/bulky, but ok to handle.  The dimensions comfortably fit through internal door frames, and also getting in and out of the back door of the car.  It also came with very handy wheel barrow handles, though I've only used them once - when I transported it ~100m from my car at a star party.  They make it a cinch to move!

[Stu]

I managed to fit a 16" Sumerian Canopus into an old 3 series coupe with a little imagination.

I put the whole base and mirror box into the boot as one, not the easiest thing on my own. The UTA fitted easily in the boot and the poles went in the roof box.

My back is pretty much shot these days, so I certainly would not try this now, at least not without a back support on  

[John]

I'm pretty sure that a 20" dob arrived at the SGL star party in it's own small horse box when I was there a few years back

[Moonshane]

29 minutes ago, Uplooker said:

My travel arrangements with a 12"SW solid tube dob are pretty much the same arrangement as John alluded to.

I think and still feel young enough to lift it in and out by myself. 

Dont ask @Moonshane how he travels with his 16", he has been known to remove the front passenger seat of his car to fit the scope in ?

Oh, not anymore.

 

[JOC]

Ah, so if we're putting the down then with the seats down in any combination I could take a tube around the 1.85m mark in my Octavia Estate - I know that because I can put a large roller bag full of skis in if I do that and that measures 1.85m.  Even less room for the kids - I knew it would have advantages.

[mikeDnight]

I've an idea for moving large Dob's! 

Sorry!

[Moonshane]

The base is usually more of a problem.

[JOC]

NB - I think many of you need a small camping trailer - I know some folks won't have the entitlement on their licence, but I'm from a time where we had this as standard.  I have one for camping, we have a big camping set-up - if I'm tenting for a week then I like to do it comfortably - really heavy old 10 man tent for 3 of us, cooking gear, table, chairs floor tarps, heaters etc,  I usually fill a baby camping trailer, top-box and the car with gear and then run out of space,  I could never contemplate camping with my scope - it takes up too much room, would you believe I've started to seriously look at a caravan?!!

[Scosmico]

1 hour ago, Paul73 said:

Choice of car is important. Whatever you do. Don't buy a saloon...... I eventually got it into my old Saab at the expense of some dash trim (16" 1600mm Solid tube).

Solid tubes suddenly stop being portable at anything much over 12". OTA across the back seats. Base on front seat. Wife in boot with the camping gear.

Paul

 

I hope your Dob has got a valid driving licence. 

[Moonshane]

yep, that's why we got one. far more comfy but you need to think about weight then too.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Uplooker said:

My travel arrangements with a 12"SW solid tube dob are pretty much the same arrangement as John alluded to.

I think and still feel young enough to lift it in and out by myself. 

Dont ask @Moonshane how he travels with his 16", he has been known to remove the front passenger seat of his car to fit the scope in ?

 

[John]

Apparently there is a 22" Obsession Ultra Compact in this Corvette