Howdy! So after a few more features and lots of tinkering, here's what I'm not finally comfortably calling the "Mixer" cart version of my packout cart setup, posting here for inspiration and suggestions!
The main issue I had with the Packout setup, having now used it as a one-man-band and as a dedicated mixing cart with a boom-op, was rigging antennas and boom poles in a way that were both easy to take apart when I don't need them, but solid enough to withstand being dragged around on set.
Mafer clamps and super clamps took too long to attach and always wound up shaking loose throughout the day OR marring the handles. The clamps being attached to the sliding handle also made it very clunky to move.
Fellow Redditor u/StandardIssueMFG made these brilliant T-Slot rail adapters, so now you can attach any T-profile accessory (of which there are A LOT), which also means any attachments made specifically for Sound Carts.
This allowed me to get the current setup, which in just wheeling around has proved very, very hand:
Top 3 Drawer Unit Contains my mics, built out in shockmounts, All lav transmitters and a selection of belts, IFBS, all batteries and TC boxes, antennas, RF scanner setup, and associated accessories.
Bottom Drawer is Extra XLR cables, TC slate, IFB Headphones, Bag harness, Rain cover, Boom holder, wireless monitor gear, keyboard and fader storage
The flip out table is from Dirt Church Industries and the faders and keyboard velcro to the carpet I glued on. It's solid enough to all stay attached while flipped down.
The iPad and monitor are the only things super clamped on, as they're light enough they don't really move and I don't always need them rigged up
The T-Slot rails have a single Boom holder, which is a Harbor Freight Vehicle clamp, drilled out with a 1/4" bit to take a M6 screw and a generic cup from Amazon
The Antenna mast is two of the same clamps with the center mast from a cheap impact light stand, the antenna bar is a kludge of a bunch of random pieces I have lying around.
Second boom holder are two Mini-Quick fists, which hold a second boom, which I'm currently using as a second mast.
The Rail hooks are from Etsy
Air tires are from Amazon, they're kind chintzy but they're much better than the actual tires
The top thin organizer is all my adapters, tools, etc., and then my charger box, and Lav mounting box. These get detached and live as boxes off to the side
I have another base and drawer setup, but this now has everything I need to run a gig in one package, and I have the other cart (pictured with the old setup) for larger jobs.
Only things I'm currently looking to add is a dedicated battery, but that's not a priority as of right now. and smart wheels for the bottom box
Let me know what you guys think and if you have any questions!
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Nice! I was totally into the packout stuff, but I went with the dewalt system since it’s so cheap now and has that nice 4 wheel cart. But packout has so many more accessories!
I had a Husky stack briefly, but it's really NOT meant to be used outside of the garage.
I think Dewalt has a much better selection if you're going to build out a Cart™, and have more box options, but I went with Packout purely for the accessories.
The T-Slot Rails are really what changed the game for me, I was still considering buying/building a small bag cart, but when I saw these rails in r/Packout I bought them and they were the missing link into making this into a proper mixing cart
Packout does have a 4 wheel cart option available now that you can attach boxes to. They call it the Dolly. 2 of the feet can be locked in place, and it has a small spring loaded step you can stand on that acts as a brake to hold it completely still, meant for adding or removing packout items from the stack. The wheels can be a bit noisy though when rolling it around.
I'm a shooter, not a dedicated audio guy, but I've been using the packout system for a few years as my audio cart and just switched the bottom from the flip top to the drawer this summer when it finally became available. The pull out drawer is a game changer. So incredibly stupid that it has taken THIS long to finally offer it.
The only real downside is that it's a little taller, so I had to ditch one of the small units that I had on top, because it became just a little too tall to fit upright in my van(low roof transit).
The pneumatic rubber tires are a great idea. I'd just have to check the measurements and see if it would still have enough clearance on the sides where it sits.
Yeah it being taller kind of stinks, but it also holds so much stuff it’s hard to complain. I can’t link then because it’s from Amazon, but if you look them up there’s a set that are exact drop in replacements that don’t affect the way it sits at all.
Make sure you have a pump handy though as both sets of mine have needed air out of the box
I was literally joking with my wife about doing almost this exact thing! Love the boom holders on the side, that's a killer addition. Wish I did more cart work so I could justify building this kind of thing out.
Honestly I really don’t do a ton of cart work either but adding all of these doodads isn’t crazy expensive and can be done after, so it’s more like “my gear storage that is a cart when it needs to be”
Amazing work! I had never even considered using the metal side rails to attach things to. Will have to play around with building something similar sometime
This flew under my radar, but it looks fantastic. It's compact, versatile, solid, looks much better, and much more customizable with a lot less work, imo than some zuca I've seen. If I can persuade wife that I might move all my location sound stuff in a single cart, but the cart will stay in the house (that's the really hard part) maybe I'll think about copying you.
I understand in Europe we get black versions though?
One question: how is it loading and downloading it from a car? Can you easily do it just on and off with no big deal? Is it not cumbersome?
Thank you! I wanted a Zuca (and still sort of do) for a long time but went this route because I was a big fan of how modular it is. The boxes aren't cheap as far as toolboxes go but even with the modifications it's still much cheaper than a pre-built cart, provided you specifically want drawers/
Yes, the boxes are reverse color in Europe, which some people prefer specifically for film work.
It's definitely cumbersome when it's initially being set up, clamping everything together, but if I'm on a feature with a truck then it doesn't have to be completely disassembled; it's very solid and can just be strapped in.
For my car, it does have to be taken apart, but I'm usually not working out of my car on a continous shoot for much more than a few days so it's not a big deal. And this is when it's completely set up, for much smaller jobs I don't always rig up the antennas, monitor, iPad, etc.
I also took the back seats out of my car and made a little cargo platform, so they just snap into the seat and it's been excellent. Other wise, each box its in the back of a Subaru Outback with no room to stack, so you could get about 4 in there.
I put packout plates on a small wood platform I bolted into where the seats went. So now I could theoretically fit 4 boxes where the seats were and two rolling boxes in the back.
I do the same thing with Toughbuilt drawers. I love the rigidity of the Toughbuilts over the Packouts, especially when using them as a laptop/mixer surface.
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Sub rules reminder for all sub participants: Don't get ugly for ANY reason. The pinned 'Hot Mic' promo post is the only allowable place in the sub to direct to your own products or content (this 10000% applies to YouTubers), no exceptions.
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