Moving Spy Hunter cockpit:

jonathan1138

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Hi all,

Recently bought but have not yet received a Spy Hunter Cockpit. Excited, to say the least.

Question about moving these beasts. How tough are they to move around by one person (or one person and his unwilling, pissed petit wife)? When i get the game, i plan to spot it behind the door for a month or so, but later, i plan to take on a pin so i will need that door to open fully. Therefore, i need to move the Spyhunter out of space, move the pin in, and put the spyhunter back. Repeat again in 5 months when another pin comes in (and thats it - only two this year!).

Are these things really hard to manuever / should i just slot of somewhere else (i dont want to do that since i really want to put it in this space).

I see they have pivot wheels in the front - meaning i can lift it from the rear - but i am sure thats pretty heavy to do....

For those with experience, thanks for the help in advance.
 
Duh - i occurred to me that Magic sliders (or something like them), which i use on other games, may work. Are SH Cockpits on Levelers or such so that i can slide them around? Thanks.
 
You mean to just move around in a room? I put small wheels on mine. Moves easy with just me. Any other type of moving, I'd seperate it. Its a heavy pig of a game.
 
thanks -not sure I want to go the wheel route just yet. Hopefully the game has levelers so I can magic slide them. Asking the seller. For those with experience with these cockpits - are they usually leveler bases?
 
here is the obligatory response:


...the easiest way to move it is to bring it directly to my house- normal laws of physics cease to exist on my front porch.
 
all my games are on wheels..makes changing the game layout or accessing the rear of a cab a breeze. Once you try wheels, you'll prob want em on all your games. Thinking of putting 8 wheels on my sh sitdown, 4 for each half.

Tom
 
all my games are on wheels..makes changing the game layout or accessing the rear of a cab a breeze. Once you try wheels, you'll prob want em on all your games. Thinking of putting 8 wheels on my sh sitdown, 4 for each half.

Tom

Not only do all my cabs have wheels, but everything in my basement is on casters. You could say I am obsessed.
 
the spy hunter cockpit can be separated in two pieces. The seat section and the head/main section. Just be sure to be careful if you pull the seat section as there is wiring connecting the two parts. The seat is light enough and easy enough for a person to pick up and carry. The other end is a little akwardly weighted but honestly isn't too different than moving as standard upright. Sliders would probably work but make sure to pull and push from the head end as it's more solid.
 
Thanks. About breaking the cab apart in two - is this a one person job? Would i need to lift the machine off the floor?

I see in photos that there are screws (3?) in the center left / right bottoms - so i am guessing these come out. Hopefully, once out the seat can be "pulled" out without needing to hoist it up?

I guess small steel wheels with locks sounds like a good idea too. But i would need to get the machine raised to get under it. Any suggestions, again for a guy working alone?

I know when the machine gets here (a few weeks) i can certainly figure it out by having it there, but this advanced insight allows me to plan better. Thanks.
 
Separating the cab can be done by 1 person if you have wheels under it. The guy who I bought it from, put some cheap wheels underneath and not enough of them....only 4 total. When i separated mine, it was a real pita to put it back because the center sagged as they werent supported in the middle, which is why 8 wheels is the way to go + it will give better support. To add wheels, I suggest using #10 or 12 self tapping screws and getting some fixed and swivel casters from home depot and preferably a cordless drill to screw them in . To install just put something soft like towels
to protect the opposite edge, then tip the cab, so its resting diagonally then put some blocks of wood to keep it in that position while you install the casters. I'm probably going to splurge and get some nicer onces from mcmaster carr because they have some swivels that lock to become fixed as well as lock the face of the wheel when you dont want it to move. I like the added feature of a couple casters being switchable from fixed to swivel, because you need 2 fixed to make it easy to steer the thing, but can make it swivel so you can push it directly into place, say against a wall instead of having to drive it back and forth to position it.

Tom
 
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Thanks, Tom. I will check out those wheels - yes, swivel type is needed since it will be against a wall. I guess when i get the game i will position it on a Piano dolly and take it from there, with the wheels (8 of them) ready to be installed.
 
nice Jonathan ley us know how it turns out and welcome to the spyhunter club :) you may want 2 fixed wheels otherwise itd be hard to steer, kinda like shopping carts at trader joes, heh. (all swivel, carts are a pain)

Tom
 
I've never been a fan of putting wheels on cockpits, It just doesn't quite look right to me. If you take it apart you can dolly the big half around and then pretty much just carry the back half as it's really light.
 
Hey guys a quick update here.

The game arrived on Friday. I found a spot for it, and put it there. Of course, after the help left, i decided it should go somewhere else.

I managed to move it on the carpet by sliding it - VERY HEAVY. Hopefully, i keep it in that place and dont need to move it much afterwards. I did try and unbolt it / split it in two, but i couldnt figure it out - removed the bolts and pulled and pulled the backend but it just wouldnt budge. Gave up and just slid it.

For now, just getting the game 100 percent before i completely commit it to the wall. Just having some speaker scratch and lamps not working. I will post pics when complete - a really nice looking cabinet.
 
Congrats on the new game, and I finally got around to bolting the 2 halves of mine together along with new leg levelers and magic sliders. That is definitely the way to go with this cabinet. I can finally easily move mine on carpet now!

As for separating, there is a board that's nailed to the insides of the seat half and that's what the bolts screw into. The boards are the same height as the inside of the floor compartment so there's not much if any wiggle room vertically. That will make it a bit tougher to separate but also of course makes the unit more solid when bolted together. What I would suggest, assuming yours has leg levelers which are raising the cabinet body off of the floor, is squeeze something under the main cabinet body below the bolts in order to give the main body proper support on 4 corners. That should make it easier to slide the seat half out since you won't have gravity working against you. You may need to rock the seat half back and forth from side to side a bit, but hopefully it'll separate for you. Good luck!
 
Hey guys a quick update here.

The game arrived on Friday. I found a spot for it, and put it there. Of course, after the help left, i decided it should go somewhere else.

I managed to move it on the carpet by sliding it - VERY HEAVY. Hopefully, i keep it in that place and dont need to move it much afterwards. I did try and unbolt it / split it in two, but i couldnt figure it out - removed the bolts and pulled and pulled the backend but it just wouldnt budge. Gave up and just slid it.

For now, just getting the game 100 percent before i completely commit it to the wall. Just having some speaker scratch and lamps not working. I will post pics when complete - a really nice looking cabinet.

Awesome! Congrats. That's some cabinet. I was wondering when it was going to show up. :)
 
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