[Jon Stratis]

I would be very hard pressed to outfit an entire pit for under 200 lbs. A tool chest alone could weight that much, when you include all the tools in it!

Start by looking at what you need - tools to work on the robot, spare parts, a place to charge your batteries. Next, figure out how to get all of that to your pit. Most teams have a tool chest to carry all their tools in. It's nice if you get one on wheels! You'll need some sort of mobile storage for spare parts, although it doesn't have to be big. Maybe look for something that would fit under the table provided at the regionals? Again, it's nice if it's on wheels! Finally, some place to charge your batteries. At minimum this is a collection of collapsible shelves you can set up in the corner with batteries and chargers on it.

Once you get all that, you can look at optional items, like supports for a banner. This doesn't have to be anything fancy - take two buckets and fill them with cement (so the whole thing won't fall over once it's set up), and have a connector for some PVC pipe sticking out of them. You can then easily go straight up from each and across to join them and create a place to hang your banner.

With all this in mind, you do need to look at weight and transport. How is everything getting to the venue? A lot of teams use trucks, fortunate teams have trailers. For trucks, you need to design with a weight budget in mind - each item should be able to be safely loaded in and out of the truck by two people. If you have a trailer (get one with a fold-down door that acts as a ramp!), it's a bit easier, as you can wheel items in an out. Then you're looking at the overall carrying capacity of the trailer as your weight limit. For both you have a size constraint as well - everything should fit into the truck or trailer for a single trip to the venue. You don't want to be going back for a second load!

I strongly suggest starting simple and leaving room to expand in future years. Start with a shelf for your battery chargers, and make it an off-season project to build a full battery charging station. Start with PVC and cement buckets to support your banner, and bring in something nicer later. Start simple and cheap, and upgrade items as you can. Start looking for funds for a trailer to support the team now, so you can actually get one in a few years when your pit supplies outgrow easy transport by truck.