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If 973 rolls in their Super Pit and pops a couple latches and is ready to compete or I make 14 trips carrying in cardboard boxes and plastic crates and unpacking it all, what's the difference?
I'll tell you the difference: Thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. I don't have the funds nor time to make the pit area you describe. Your team figured it out. Good for you. Even with our sponsors-plastered vinyl-wrapped trailer, team-owned tow vehicle and 14 years experience, we still have not been able to make a nice looking and functional pit area that sets up quick, and comparatively we're at a disadvantage to those who have.
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973's amazing pit is unattainable by most teams, including ours. My point wasn't to go spend thousands of dollars to make a pit like theirs, my point was the exact opposite. I see too many teams at events that have to pull everything out of their pit so they can set up their decorative walls and all their extra stuff every year. This is what creates the unsafe situations and cause the blockage, not the rules against setting up your pit on Wednesday. For reference, our pit is a roll in tool chest, a battery cart made from wood, an 80/20 roll in parts shelf, and an 80/20 bench topper that we carry in and put on the table. All of the 80/20 stuff was made from left overs from previous build seasons. Everything else comes in 2-3 crates that are put under the table.
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Something we've struggled with from the start is that we've never had a trailer to bring our equipment to events. Everything we take has to fit in the back of a minivan or my 15 passenger van (with the seats out). It still takes a good amount of time to empty the van, take it to the pit, and setup since the shelving has to be broken down. Whatever few items aren't on wheels already typically fits on two dollies filled with totes or brought in by hand.
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We actually rent a U-Haul covered trailer every year for both Regionals. It costs about $125 for the 4 days of rental for each trip. We decided it was more cost efficient than buying a trailer and paying for the upkeep for it.