Hoping someone can help out pretty soon here as I'm needing to finish this up this week. I recently bought a sub-trunk lid off another Café member. The lid is made by Chalet and is great. I am having the rest of the box constructed. The size of the box is dictated by the lid except for the height. I was wondering if anyone had an optimal height measurement from your trunk that I can go by. My lid is 37" X 26 1/4". Any help is appreciated!!

Corey

The height is probably about the same as the lid width...

Without the top mine is 26.75" high. On casters (THAT LOCK!) the total height is 31".

Mine is a Chalet. You'll love it!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- Casters help you move and load it but they need to lock, once set for safety during the show.

Thanks guys! I knew I could count on the Café folks.

If you can stand the music.. here's a video of a CHALET sub trunk I did now over 20 years ago..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woxl29YWP9M

if you have any questions or need some speed tips . we did this over a 300 times that summer... I've used that trunk for over 1500 shows.. and it NEVER failed me.. but we did have some funny mishaps...

make sure the front of your lid is MARKED.. a dot.. a cigarette burn.. a sticker.. a scratch... if you put it on backwards... it's always a surprise and adds time and sometimes a shocked look.

1. Fasten the wheels directly to the trunk - then you do not have to kick them through the back curtain. Use wheels with brakes and they should have 100 mm/ 4 inches diameter, so that they can be rolled at uneven places...
2. build a mockup first with some junk wood. Maybe you want some more height because you back is not as flexible or you want a costume change.
3. If your trunk has more height because of more space inside and wheels below, you may have to add some help for getting on top of the trunk. On the outside I used some trunk handles that are welded so that they always protrude in a 90° angle - they are perfect as a step. Inside the trunk I added a small shelf that can be used to put one foot on top to enter through the t..p on top of the trunk. That was a great help when performing with a much smaller assistant. Below the shelf a second pair of handcuffs is stored.
4. Tack some carpet directly on the floor. That will be much more comfortably, reduces the noise (of falling handcuffs) and prevents dirt on the costumes.
5. Store extra keys of all handcuffs and all padlocks inside the trunk so that they cannot be lost. Some extra screws with screwdriver and a spare wheel would be fine too.
6. Whenever possible, build a non collapsible trunk. You can store props inside and it will always be solid. Collapsible trunks might collapse when you do not want that.