On 4/2/2021 7:44 AM, Bruce via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
Jeff:
Consider scaling back the idea.
Instead of any sort of vehicle (the major cost, especially considering insurance, licensing, maintenance, storage, repairs, etc.), consider putting together some portable containers or crates, possibly modeled upon the ones used by professional musicians on road tours.
There are lots of ways to do this, but one way would be to have two displays in one crate, connected by hinges on one side and clasps on the other. (Putting this hardware on the corners would offset the displays by 90 degrees, should that matter.) Place the crates on folding tables, trestles, or intrinsic fold-out legs to raise them to a useful height.
Now you just need a vehicle to carry them in, and if nobody in the club has one, rent it. All the complications of a club owning a vehicle (and they may be considerable) are avoided this way.
I like the crate idea, as it's very portable and allows one to pick and choose which exhibits to bring. If that idea is too small, there may be a middle ground that still supports Bruce's ideals (which, I agree with. Even for personal use, maintaining a periodically used vehicle is a major hassle Ask any non full time Class A or Class C RV owner.). Consider a walk-in crate/box. The unit could be 8ft wide, tall enough to walk through, and loadable onto a flat trailer, as if the unit was a vehicle. Again, rent the trailer if needed. As for moving the unit to the trailer and off, I invite you to look at videos of electric truck camper jacks. Happijac electric jacks can handle 2800# per jack, meaning a 11K# box with computers inside can be accommodated with 4 corner jacks, lifted onto and off a trailer, but constructed quickly with 2x4 construction and lightweight exterior sheeting, with a simple flat roof overhead. If there's a place to store the unit, full exterior weatherproofing need not be implemented. If the jacks are scary, at least a trailer option (buy a cheap old 30ft travel trailer and just gut the interior) would be a easier to maintain than a vehicle. There'd still be licensing, insurance, and maintenance costs, so that's not a win, but each of those costs is significantly cheaper than the vehicle route. I like Bruce's smaller crate idea the best, though. Jim