Travels with a dob

[Dave scutt]

I have no problem with light pollution living in the middle of nowhere. Moving my dob around the garden is easy , the only problem I have where I live is it's always raining or cloudy 

[MiladyB]

A whole year later and I had a sudden brainwave that my Heritage 150p OTA will fit in one of my Givi motorbike pannier inner bags. Wrapped in two giant (h)oodies, it's hopefully well protected for a car journey. Shame the weekend's weather is due to be so dire! 😕 

Edited September 30, 2022 by MiladyB
Spelling

[lvan]

On 21/08/2021 at 18:12, MiladyB said:

I'm curious as to how people transport their dobs. 

I'm taking my Heritage 150p on a little trip and have been working out how best to secure and protect it in the car.

I've seen photos of the larger ones buckled in like passengers in the back seat.

I'm used to musical instruments being lugged around in padded or hard cases, so I was really surprised as a newbie that so many OTAs don't have them as a standard accessory!

MiladyB x

Wrap it in some hoodies or towels, use some socks in between the tube focuser if there's any play, put it in a back pack and find a spot to sensibly shove it amongst the luggage in the boot. You could always put it in a box if you're feeling overly precious.

 

Edited September 30, 2022 by lvan

[lvan]

Oops, i see my suggestion has come a little late!

[MiladyB]

10 minutes ago, lvan said:

Oops, i see my suggestion has come a little late!

Good to see I'm on the right lines with my choice of packing materials! 😊

MiladyB x

[lvan]

When flying abroad, the base flat packs easily and takes minimal space with check in luggage. OTA on board obviously. Got Heritage, can travel!

[Guest]

I am lucky enough that my ten inch will lay across my trucks back seat with room to spare.  I just toss the base in the truck bed and am good to go.  The glories of having a full sized pickup i can transport any scope that i can fit in the bed lol

Edited October 21, 2022 by Mike Q

[cajen2]

My 8" dob just fits nicely in the passenger footwell of my campervan. It's even got its own seatbelt! I use an Oklop bag to protect it.

[Louis D]

I just bungee cord my assembled Dob upright to one side of my Astro van (inside, of course 😄) and pack around it.

[paulastro]

On 22/08/2021 at 11:03, Piero said:

To me a solid tube makes sense up to 8" - 10" with f.l. of 1200mm. These sizes fit the back seat of a car. With a focal length longer than 1200mm, I don't see any advantage in using solid tubes, whereas I do see many advantages in a truss design.

I am aware that this comment will be confronted, given the fact that here in the UK people seem to prefer solid tubes no matter what.

I wonder whether this preference is primarily due to the design of the UK Orion optics VX solid tube dobson, and people willing to stick to UK brand / choice.

This has nothing to do with Orion Optics - a comparativel newcomer to the astronomy market if you are over a certain age!  In this country Fullerscopes and Peter Drew were providing solid tube Newtonians as far back as the late 60s / early 70s. (among a few others)

Peter Drew used mirrors made by David Hinds - who supplied top quality mirrors of almost any focal length you wanted.  Some time ago I asked Peter why he used the focal ratios he did.  He told me that it was so that they would fit onto the back seat of cars.  Hence his most popular scopes had a focal length of 1200mm or less - whatever their aperture!  😊

Edited October 21, 2022 by paulastro

[starhiker]

20 hours ago, cajen2 said:

My 8" dob just fits nicely in the passenger footwell of my campervan. It's even got its own seatbelt! I use an Oklop bag to protect it.

Thanks for your suggestion. An Oklop bag probably should be in my to-buy list.

[cajen2]

3 hours ago, starhiker said:

Thanks for your suggestion. An Oklop bag probably should be in my to-buy list.

A word of warning (depending on which dob you've got). My Oklop bag fits my 8" StellaLyra exactly, but only if I take the side alt bearings off, which is a PITA. If I'd known, I'd have bought the bag for the 10" version. If by any chance yours is similar, consider going large! 

 

 

[starhiker]

10 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

A word of warning (depending on which dob you've got). My Oklop bag fits my 8" StellaLyra exactly, but only if I take the side alt bearings off, which is a PITA. If I'd known, I'd have bought the bag for the 10" version. If by any chance yours is similar, consider going large! 

 

 

Thanks for the warning. Mine is the 8" StellaLyra too! I will bear it in mind. Thanks!

[paulastro]

16 minutes ago, cajen2 said:

A word of warning (depending on which dob you've got). My Oklop bag fits my 8" StellaLyra exactly, but only if I take the side alt bearings off, which is a PITA. If I'd known, I'd have bought the bag for the 10" version. If by any chance yours is similar, consider going large! 

 

 

This is good advice.  I contacted FLO when I was considering buying an Oklop bag for my 8inch Celestron Starsense Explorer dob ota, and they suggested the bag for the 10inch may be more suitable.  I'm pleased I took their advice, the 8inch bag would not have been big enough - or at best a very tight fit.

Edited October 22, 2022 by paulastro

[SzabiB]

5 hours ago, starhiker said:

Thanks for your suggestion. An Oklop bag probably should be in my to-buy list.

Oklop bag is awesome, I just got one for my 200p DOB and fits in perfect ( Oklop Padded Bag for 200/1200 Newtonians)

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by SzabiB

[starhiker]

8 hours ago, SzabiB said:

Oklop bag is awesome, I just got one for my 200p DOB and fits in perfect ( Oklop Padded Bag for 200/1200 Newtonians)

 

 

Thanks. Great that it fits your SW 200 dob. It looks like no space for the side bearing of StellaLyra's indeed.

[Pixies]

My 8" Bresser dob fits along the back seat of my VW Up. For those in the states - this is not a big car, you can't even get 3 adults in the back seat:

However, the base needs to go in the passenger seat unless you break it down.

 

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, Pixies said:

For those in the states - this is not a big car, you can't even get 3 adults in the back seat

Believe me, no American would mistake it for a big car.  It appears to be even smaller than a Mini Cooper S, which is considered tiny by US standards.  It's not imported into the US, though.

[Mandy D]

23 minutes ago, Louis D said:

Believe me, no American would mistake it for a big car.  It appears to be even smaller than a Mini Cooper S, which is considered tiny by US standards.  It's not imported into the US, though.

But, don't you get the (not so) Smart car over there which is microscopic and makes even this VW look huge?

[JOC]

I have shifted my 8" collapsable Dob by car.  The OTA sits across the back seat with a seat belt around it.  The base goes in the boot, but even in my big estate car I find it's too tall to stand on its base and have to lay it on its side in the boot.

[Louis D]

40 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

But, don't you get the (not so) Smart car over there which is microscopic and makes even this VW look huge?

Yes, we do.  I would be terrified to drive it at freeway speeds amongst Chevy Suburbans and Ford F-350 pickup trucks, which are very common here in Texas.

[MiladyB]

On 22/10/2022 at 23:57, starhiker said:

Thanks. Great that it fits your SW 200 dob. It looks like no space for the side bearing of StellaLyra's indeed.

I've got a Geoptik bag for my 8" Celestron dob - it's big enough to allow for the side bearings and tube handle. I do have take off the Starsense adapter (but that has its own carry bag anyway). I'll be adding a blanket to pad out any gaps.

MiladyB x

Edited October 25, 2022 by MiladyB
Clarity/spelling

[starhiker]

5 hours ago, MiladyB said:

I've got a Geoptik bag for my 8" Celestron dob - it's big enough to allow for the side bearings and tube handle. I do have take off the Starsense adapter (but that has its own carry bag anyway). I'll be adding a blanket to pad out any gaps.

MiladyB x

It looks great. But it seems to be substantially more expensive than a Oklop bag.

[MiladyB]

On 25/10/2022 at 18:46, starhiker said:

It looks great. But it seems to be substantially more expensive than a Oklop bag.

I can't speak for the other sizes, but the 8 inch/1200mm size was comparable in price. I went for it mainly because it had enough room for the docking shoe for the Starsense adapter as well as the side bearings Hope you manage to find something that works for yours 🙂

MiladyB x

[Spile]

8” Dobsonian…

Base on back seat, arms facing in.

Slide OTA into base

Wrap a towel where OTA meets arms of base.

Accessory box in boot.