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MY demo kit weighs...

7376 Views 66 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  Mike M, 
D
I gotta tell you, I am developing a love/hate relationship with my demo kit. the more I use it, the more jobs I get, which i am thrilled to say i have picked up 3 landscape light jobs in the past week, after doing 6 demo's. after a dead time of a month, I am happy to be doing at least part time lighting work again before the big christmas light work starts September 15.

my love hate thing goes like this- I love having 4 75 ft runs of multi-plug cord, 20 brass mr-16 uplights, 5 deck lights with clamps, 2 600 watt trans, and a few paths and a few extension cords. really everything you need for a decent medium home demo.

my hate thing is weight. I have maxed out 2 very large ice chests on wheels w/ collapsable handles ( like luggage) , and I keep the paths and deck lights in a seperate box. each ice chest easily weighs 65-75 lbs, and I am tired of loading and unloading these things in the back of my truck.

I know that firefly does awesome demo's, and probably easily doubles the weight of mine, but I am also curious about the rest of you guys- what do you bring and how do you lug it around? how much time do you give yourself to setup, bid and load back up a demo? I am taking about 35-45 minutes to setup, 15-20 to write out and bid, and 20-25 minutes to load up and go home. all by myself. some demo's take longer if the customer wants me to move around lights, but a single demo typically takes me from 7:30 pm leave house time to around 9:30-10:30 get back home time at this time of year. February is much easier as you can get there at 4:30 pm and be back home by 6:30 pm. let me know if my experience is normal, or what you guys are doing different.
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J
You need a trailer w/ a ramp door!!! We use the stanley black rolling tool cases they work really well.

I think Tommy The Lighting Geek was awarded a Trailer by John Deere and Unique through the Hitch and Grow Program.
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J
The case that the Vista kit uses is called a Pelican Case. We use them for all of our camera equipment and for our special tradeshow items. They are nice but also very pricey cases that dont allow for much demo product.

I would put money against anyone who thinks another manufacturer has a better demo kit then ours. If it's the Par lamps that keep you away from our kit then custom order the kit with brass or copper bullets instead. You can customize a kit anyway you want from us. And unlike those trailer connectors you can buy our quick connectors and adapt any fixture you like in the field.

The stanley cases are a little heavy, especially when fully loaded. But they do have a large retractable padded handle, heavy duty rolling wheels, and a strong hinged and lockable lid. Plus they have a tray on the inside which works well for holding spare lamps, lenses, tools, flags, and tape.

I dont know why anyone would waste time messing with battery's or building a kit according tot he job they are demoing. For a little over a $1200 you can have a fully working kit with 16 lights, a real transformer, extension cord, flags, tape, lamps, lenses, case, home runs, everything color coded and pre wired and be done with it. The first job you sell it is paid for and is now a free salesmen from there on.

http://www.uniquelighting.com/education/Powerofthedemo.htm
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J
irrig8r said:
My Vista kit cost me less than half that Joey....

And I have a Stanley box and a Gatemouth bag for others...

I haven't seen your connectors Joey, but I used to use Radio Shack's solderless banana plugs, and they worked OK, but once I discovered these two pole trailer plugs I can't think of anything simpler or more reliable.
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It cost half but you get half or less what our kit comes with. Plus it takes atleast 15 lights at minimum to usually demo a scene. Not smashing the kit, I have seen way worse, at least it doesnt use a Battery. and I do like the post they supply for the TF.

We call our connectors the Power pole connectors, theya re similar to those trailer connectors but they are made of plastic. Not as water proof as those but they are easily installed on fixtures in the field.

It is a preference thing. If your not a Unique guy you probably wont ever use a Unique demo kit but if your not partial to any one company or company's then our Demo Kit is definitley one that should be considered. It is in our opinion the best most usuable kit on the Market! The first of its kind!!

Click the link below and you can see the clips I am talking about that are attached to the wire runs on the right. Everything you see in the pciture is also what comes along with the transformer and 16 lights.

http://www.uniquelighting.com/education/DemoKit.pdf
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