pic: 1086 Blue Cheese's new "Cheese Aging Cave"

[Darkseer54]

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[PayneTrain]

Did y'all pick up those carts from Sam's Club? I have them for personal use and love them! Really high quality stuff, IMO.

Being aware of how to improve a pit's form and function can enable a team to work a lot better in a competition setting.

[wilsonmw04]

Yep, they are from Sam's Club. I was hesitant to get them, but another mentor vouched for their quality and I am impressed. Good bearing on the drawers with a nice friction stop on them to keep them from opening when the whole cabinet is moved. Butcher block is nice and thick(~2"). There is still some "Cheesing" to do on this new setup, but we are very pleased with the room this gives us.

[Mr. Mike]

We have the same workbench for our pit. With it fully loaded the wheels take a beating going in and out of our trailer and over door jams. The nuts pulled out of the bottom and we lost a wheel. We fixed it with a welded steel frame with 6" wheels from Harbour Freight. It rolls better now and is rock solid.

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by Mr. Mike

We have the same workbench for our pit. With it fully loaded the wheels take a beating going in and out of our trailer and over door jams. The nuts pulled out of the bottom and we lost a wheel. We fixed it with a welded steel frame with 6" wheels from Harbour Freight. It rolls better now and is rock solid.

2220 also outfitted ours with lock bars over the drawers, because they have a tendency to slide out when you take a turn too hard. I believe we also replaced the casters with more durable ones.

They really are great for FRC use-- I hope you find yours as useful as 2220 has.

[The_ShamWOW88]

Where did you guys order the pit trussing from or was it custom made for you?

Our team needs a new pit set up and I love the look of it.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by The_ShamWOW88

Where did you guys order the pit trussing from or was it custom made for you?

Our team needs a new pit set up and I love the look of it.

I can't remember the name off the top of my head but the manufacturer is out of California. I'll get you the info this evening during our meeting.

[Bob Steele]

Nice pit
I would love to hear where you got the trussing too..
thanks

[Foster]

How much does the empty pit weigh? Those carts look like they are heavy empty.

[wilsonmw04]

http://www.ultratruss.com/

The truss was bought from the site above. When we talked to them about who were were and what we wanted it for, they seemed to have worked with FIRST teams in the past. I believe they built it to our requested measurements and color requests. Customer service was very good.

The cabinets are substantial. I do not have a weight on them. I was looking for a shipping weight on them but couldn't find them.

[Foster]

I looked at the site and was amused to find that the standard 10' square setup is called "Madison". Fitting name for a cool looking booth.

The frame can't be very heavy, I just did a sample check and it's only $275 to ship it via UPS. Not much of a price difference from Steel tube to Aluminum Tube either.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by Foster

I looked at the site and was amused to find that the standard 10' square setup is called "Madison". Fitting name for a cool looking booth.

The frame can't be very heavy, I just did a sample check and it's only $275 to ship it via UPS. Not much of a price difference from Steel tube to Aluminum Tube either.

We custom ordered ours to be 9' square (we have small pits on the east cosst. I heard the west coast pits are bigger.) That way we fit into all possible pit sizes we have encountered. They are light. I was surprised how light they were and we went with steel.

[TCMJ1816]

Have you guys figured out a good way to get this set up at completion? I know of another Minnesota team who is forced to wait till pits close at the end of the first day of completion to assemble a similar system because of the safety risk/space needed to get theirs assembled.

[wilsonmw04]

Originally Posted by TCMJ1816

Have you guys figured out a good way to get this set up at completion? I know of another Minnesota team who is forced to wait till pits close at the end of the first day of completion to assemble a similar system because of the safety risk/space needed to get theirs assembled.

The cross pieces are light. We think that three people will be able to assemble this. Two people on an upright each and the other to put the cross member in place. With three people we should be able to have this completely in place in less than 20 minutes. I think with a bit of practice and thought we could do it well under 10 minutes.