Recommend wheels/castors for subs?

[dickiefunk]

Hi,

I have a pair of EV ELX118p subs and would like to put some wheels/castors on them. Ideally I would like something that is detachable.

What would you recommend??

[Brian]

Wheeled dolly and rachet straps.

[pete10uk]

Wheeled dolly and rachet straps.

 

I second the dolly approach. Home made ply base covered in fabric, 2 braked & 2 unbraked 100mm castors and a good quality ratchet should do. You could make 2 or 1 large one for the pair. Transport them grill down and it also protects them.

 

Also once you've loaded in your subs you have site wheels.

 

I'm not a fan of permanently mounted solutions, they tend to vibrate and rattle.

[MarkPAman]

So, (question for the old F***s)

 

Back in the early 80s, every bass bin had permanently attached wheels - did they not rattle? Did we not notice? Did we not care?

 

These day, I wouldn't dream of having a permanently attached wheel on a sub, so what's changed?

[S&L]

I had/have some of these. they were fitted to a 2nd hand pair of hk subs I picked up and were basically a plate with quick release catch that released a castor plate with castor fitted.

this sort of thing:

http://www.starcase.com/images/7CASBRACKET_DETAIL_700.jpg

apologies for the american link. I needed to replace one of the castors and ordered the castor here because it was an odd size:

http://www.castors-online.co.uk/

I can't find the quick release backing plates on their site but they may be worth a call.

During my extensive research to find a replacement for the odd size castor, I discovered that most of the makers and distributors of these quick release plates seem to be based in North America. if you use the american preference for spelling and search for 'removable caster plate' you will see plenty of links and pictures.

 

the thing is that those castors in my case were just too small and the nuicence of a removable wheel that was too small (and hence got stuck in cark parks!) outweighed the usefulness.

now I am not a fan of 18" subs for my work - I would rather hear the bass than feel it - but with my 15" subs and other case wheel options I have found fixed castors to be fine and with no rattle in use - though I did fit myself, including captive nuts.

I used these as replacement on my HK subs

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/55093131-4X-Blue-Rubber-Heavy-Duty-Wheels-Castor-Swivel-Brake-Fixed-3-75mm-4PCs-/291066613632?pt=UK_BOI_Industrial_Supply_Material_Handling_ET&var=&hash=item43c4ec0f80

at £14 for an unbraked set well worth the money so far but Blue Arran also do decent, similar casters at a decent price and I have used them elsewhere in the past.

Unless you have an over riding need for castor removal (small van transport?) I would stick with the permanent ones.

[sam.spoons]

My EV sBa750 sub has factory fitted permanent castors which don't rattle or buzz (at least I've never noticed).

[MrBoomal]

Same for my HK actors. Permanent castors. Never had a problem.

 

 

 

 

 

[Seano]

EAW SB1000 also springs to mind as a contemporary sub with factory fitted castors.

(Or is that a bit long in the tooth now?)

 

Just the two wheels, with complementary handles in a 'wheelbarrow' stylee. Works well.

[top-cat]

Funktion One are very much still selling systems and all their wheeled bass enclosures are, AFAIK, wheeled on the back with the wheels permanently affixed. (And this is not a company against wheelboards, since some of their Resolution enclosures do have wheelboards available). Whilst I don't think anyone could deny that their cabinet design is a little dated now, Tony Andrews is pretty well versed in making subwoofers properly and clearly didn't see it as all that much of a problem.

 

One thing to consider with wheelboards is that not only do they give you something to wheel it around on, but they also protect the front of the cabinet from transit damage. If you have cloth or foam fronted cabinets this might be of particular interest to you. Of course you can easily put soft covers on a system with wheels on the back. On the flip side of the argument you also have to remember that if all your speakers have wheelboards you're going to have to find a place to store them all when the gig is happening. Hence some people prefer to use dollies where you can stack perhaps 3 subs onto one set of wheels.

 

To answer the actual question I'd always just go with quality flight case wheels, yes they are a bit big but they're tough and they grip well and are easy to find replacements for. Google "flight case castors" I'm sure you'll get a variety of answers and a variety of different quality products... remember if it seems too good to be true it probably is and just because it says "flight case" it doesn't mean they're any good... much like the 3mm ply 'flight cases' you can find on eBay that'd break if you sat on it. The 100mm Penn ones seem to be fairly standard and can be had for about £30-40 for a set of 4.

 

http://www.penn-elcom.com/Part-IMG/MED/Hardware/Castors/W9008-V6-PI.jpg

 

[sleah]

As some one who has used cheap casters from B&Q (not the very cheap, but the cheapest rubbery/plasticy type, I would say DEFINATELY go for decent quality ones that are designed for the job.

 

I have very very light use, almost no use compared to many on here, and the cheap ones will last 2 or 3 gigs if you are lucky. Even if they don't fall apart they will turn your speakers in Tesco Finest Shopping Trollys (i.e. bu**er off in the wrong direction all the time...)

[Simon Lewis]

I have always been happy with Guitel castors. These do seem to have been copied by others, but I've had very few failures with the genuine items....

[handyandi]

These can be fitted to aid removal of a standard 100mm castor, athough not bought any yet as not sure if they use the same fixing hole pattern as the castor. It would free up a bit of space in my van since its such a tight pack!

[pete10uk]

These can be fitted to aid removal of a standard 100mm castor, athough not bought any yet as not sure if they use the same fixing hole pattern as the castor. It would free up a bit of space in my van since its such a tight pack!

 

 

Yes the holes should align if the diagrams for both are correct (hole centres 80mm x 60mm)

 

A nice idea, I may try a few.

[themadhippy]

Back in the early 80s, every bass bin had permanently attached wheels - did they not rattle? Did we not notice? Did we not care?

These day, I wouldn't dream of having a permanently attached wheel on a sub, so what's changed?

The quality of the castors?recently fitted some old castors robbed from various old kit to replace the nasty hard nylon manufacturers provided castors, gives a much smother ride and no sound of rattle anywhere

[the kid]

Screwfix do a pack of 4 for not that much, the hard nylon style. Never had an issue with them, less fun on tarmac though.