Museum of the Game® & International Arcade Museum® Forums
Story:
Soooo happy. Had a great day ! Seen a Tapper for sale on CL. But 2hrs away. Asked for pics and all questions, got good responses...Other than the control panel having some reversible (and tasteful) mod, this thing is 100% original. Original artwork, cab, original everything. And it looked good for being original and the age of course ! I was also first in line, and he was cool enough to keep the order of contact. So I decided to run out there. Got there and it was even better in person. He was a seasoned veteran location runner and collector, he had a very fair price already, and knew his shit, so I didn't even need or try to negotiate. I gave him the cash and came back. My garage is full now with my 6 projects ! lol So I drove straight from Lodi, CA to my mom's garage back here in SF.
I unloaded it by myself using my balancing and protection techniques I've mastered from my previous purchases. See in pics.
Technique:
I purposely load games on their back *and* on top of a piece of plywood in the back of my truck. I also lay down a moving blanket first (under the plywood). This makes it so I can slide the plywood and game easier.
I prep the game by wrapping it in pallet wrap. This will protect it from scuffs and also it makes it so your hands can really grip the game good. And its cheap and takes like 30sec to do. So its a no brainer for me.
NEXT step:
I slide the game/plywood to a tilting point on the truck's tailgate. This makes it so the truck is still holding most of the weight, yet I can easily let the bottom of the game slowly go towards the ground with very little effort/muscle. And notice how the Plywood will protect the back edge of the game while tilting from the metal edge of my tailgate. Along with the pallet wrap, its extremely protected and also doesn't slide too easily on the plywood as to get away from you.
Very simple. And notice how the moving blanket doubles as something the bottom of the game can rest on as I go to the next step. Its in that position cause I use it to slide the game on the plywood out the truck to the balancing point. - So game doesn't move on plywood too easily due to plastic, yet the plywood slides somewhat easy on the blanket - Genius.
---------------
At this point it looks simple to finish, right ??, and hardest part done right ?? But really, this is where I've learned the hard way that I need someone. The idea from here is to simply lift the top up and put the game 100% upright. Issue is, is the game will walk forward (and quickly) due to the wheels games have on the rear. So I need someone to simply stop/hold the bottom from sliding as I would push the top upright.
No problem - I did this:
I put a ratchet strap hooked to my truck and then around the *FRONT* of the bottom rear legs to keep the bottom from going anywhere while I push the top upright. Worked like a charm.
Soooo happy. Had a great day ! Seen a Tapper for sale on CL. But 2hrs away. Asked for pics and all questions, got good responses...Other than the control panel having some reversible (and tasteful) mod, this thing is 100% original. Original artwork, cab, original everything. And it looked good for being original and the age of course ! I was also first in line, and he was cool enough to keep the order of contact. So I decided to run out there. Got there and it was even better in person. He was a seasoned veteran location runner and collector, he had a very fair price already, and knew his shit, so I didn't even need or try to negotiate. I gave him the cash and came back. My garage is full now with my 6 projects ! lol So I drove straight from Lodi, CA to my mom's garage back here in SF.
I unloaded it by myself using my balancing and protection techniques I've mastered from my previous purchases. See in pics.
Technique:
I purposely load games on their back *and* on top of a piece of plywood in the back of my truck. I also lay down a moving blanket first (under the plywood). This makes it so I can slide the plywood and game easier.
I prep the game by wrapping it in pallet wrap. This will protect it from scuffs and also it makes it so your hands can really grip the game good. And its cheap and takes like 30sec to do. So its a no brainer for me.
NEXT step:
I slide the game/plywood to a tilting point on the truck's tailgate. This makes it so the truck is still holding most of the weight, yet I can easily let the bottom of the game slowly go towards the ground with very little effort/muscle. And notice how the Plywood will protect the back edge of the game while tilting from the metal edge of my tailgate. Along with the pallet wrap, its extremely protected and also doesn't slide too easily on the plywood as to get away from you.
Very simple. And notice how the moving blanket doubles as something the bottom of the game can rest on as I go to the next step. Its in that position cause I use it to slide the game on the plywood out the truck to the balancing point. - So game doesn't move on plywood too easily due to plastic, yet the plywood slides somewhat easy on the blanket - Genius.
---------------
At this point it looks simple to finish, right ??, and hardest part done right ?? But really, this is where I've learned the hard way that I need someone. The idea from here is to simply lift the top up and put the game 100% upright. Issue is, is the game will walk forward (and quickly) due to the wheels games have on the rear. So I need someone to simply stop/hold the bottom from sliding as I would push the top upright.
No problem - I did this:
I put a ratchet strap hooked to my truck and then around the *FRONT* of the bottom rear legs to keep the bottom from going anywhere while I push the top upright. Worked like a charm.