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Moving a CMP in a car

mattspace

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 5, 2013
3,418
3,034
Australia
Hi Folks,

I'm going to be moving house some 670miles, and taking my CMP and other vital gear on the road trip with me while movers take care of everything else. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for how to transport the CMP - is it better with the bumps and movement of a long drive if it's in a specific orientation for example? There's drives in all 4 sleds, if that makes a difference.

Cheers,
 
If you have the original box use it. Remember Mac Pros get shipped in that box. I shipped my last Mac Pro, a 3,1, in the original box and it arrived at the buyers unscathed. I'm sure a Road Trip in you car is a lot let less rambunctious than having it in the back of a UPS truck. Store the box vertically in your vehicle. I certainly would not dismantle it.

Lou
 
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I used to move computers in cars and vans and trailers all the time. What you don't want is for it to be packed vertically, tip over and come crashing down. So, transport it on its side if you can. If it has to be vertical, then brace items around it so that it can't tip. If you have some simple padding for underneath, use that. If you have, for example, one of those Thermarest (or equiv) camp mattresses, they are good.

If you transport it horizontally, then brace items around it so that it can't slide and crash against the doors or side of the trunk.

Basically your task is to make sure it stays in one place.

Be careful about temperature.

When you get where you're going, set it up, take off the side, and feel around for anything that might be loose. Most likely nothing will be, but it's easy enough to check.

Then boot and go.
 
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mattspace said:
Hi Folks,

I'm going to be moving house some 670miles, and taking my CMP and other vital gear on the road trip with me while movers take care of everything else. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for how to transport the CMP - is it better with the bumps and movement of a long drive if it's in a specific orientation for example? There's drives in all 4 sleds, if that makes a difference.

Cheers,
Click to expand...


All sleds are locked in place when the side panel is on, any PCI cards are also locked in place by the thumbscrew bracket, the CPU tray is locked in place as well. The whole thing is safe to move around as is. Having the original box helps preventing cosmetical damage and as Monokakata mentions; place it horizontally to prevent any harm by tumbling over.
 
Just use the box it came in if you are that worried that something may happen. Your Mac has gone through much worse traveling from China to you.
 
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I would just wrap some large bubble-wrap around it and put it on its side in the back seat or trunk (as far forward as possible). If you still have the original box that would be even better as it is form-fitted.

I would not have it sitting upright on the easily bendable feet as one rough bounce could deform them.

Humorous side story:
I was watching out the window on a cold icy day as the UPS lady loaded my newly purchased original MacPro and 30" ACD on a hand-truck ... monitor on the bottom and computer on top. As she progressed down the driveway, she slipped and fell on the ice and the monitor fell face down but the MacPro box fell from several feet up and proceeded to cart-wheel down the driveway. Fortunately the UPS driver was unhurt. Upon unpacking the computer system with low expectations, I was surprised to find everything in perfect condition and working great.
 
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thanks for the responses - secondhand machine so no box. I can stack it upright in the rear-seat footwell, with padding all around. got a pelican case for the screens. should all be ok.

cheers.
 
^^^^Not to be critical, but that's probably the last thing I would do, short of attaching a rope to it and dragging it on the street.

Lou
 
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CMP's weigh a lot. I've got mine in the back end of a 5th wheel rv. After a trip I discovered one of the bottom aluminum handles had deformed probably from a bounce. To prevent further deformation I cut pieces of wood to wedge in the hollow areas in the "handles" on the bottom.

Never would have figured id need to do anything like that.
 
I've moved a LOT of G4s, G5s, and even a cMP or two in my car.

I usually crank the passenger seat forward, set the computer on the rear floorboard behind it, then crank the seat back to "lock" it in place. It's not going anywhere and is safe.

I also sometimes lay it down on the rear passenger seat-put the passenger seat back if you want more support.

More extreme solutions call for more extreme matters :) For anyone who cares to count, that's 16 G3 and G4 towers in total. I drove about 150 miles with them stacked that way in the car.



IMG_1072.JPG IMG_1073.JPG IMG_1074.JPG
 
BTW, not to scare some folks too badly, but I had both my Quad and my 1,1 shipped to me at work(lower shipping prices to a commercial address). I unboxed them at work, then when the time came to take them home I grabbed a dolly, put it under the front edge of the computer, and hauled them out to the loading dock that way(where my car was waiting). I brought my Quad back in this past week, and did the exact same thing in reverse.

It's actually a really efficient way to move a heavy tower like a Mac Pro or G5 around a building, carries little risk of damage if you take appropriate precautions like throwing a towel over any contact points, and saves wear and tear on your hands(those handles are sharp-I miss the good old days of G4 handles that were actually useful-I can "two fist" G4 towers). The dolly I used has pneumatic tires, which help to soak up bumps a WHOLE lot and avoid jostling the computer around too much.
 
Except the dual CPU 4,1 with lidded CPU mod, I don't think the Mac Pro is that easy to be damaged by vibration during normal transportation. Even the Mac Pro is inside the original box, the box will give lots of protection to the case, but not that much extra protection for the CPU, PCIe etc. There is almost no room for the Mac Pro to move inside the box, The box can absorb lots of impact if you drop it. However, if you just put that in the back seat, the computer should experience more or less the same vibration as without the box. The damping effect from the box is no more than the seat itself.

From memory, I've saw a picture few years ago, which said should transport the computer with the exhaust side as the bottom. May be that's the way to reduce stress on PCIe connector.

Anyway, don't drive too fast, then most likely nothing will break.
 
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Before I destroyed the original box, I would check it in as luggage or send it UPS Ground. I painted the entire box black to avoid attention as it was going through the handlers. That box got abused - which lead to its ultimate demise. For car transport, laid it on its side on the back seat. Now with the nMP, it's a lot easier to transport. I recently checked it in as luggage for an overseas trip. I placed it in the original box and then put it in another box with several other electronics. Arrived safely.
 
Whenever I take a MacPro on the road, I toss it into my Tenba Bag designed especially for it.

It's well padded and very solid, but a little pricey. I don't know if they still make them.
 
The only real thing I would be concerned about with a cMP is the feet as they are easily bent/damaged, especially if the machine slides to the front of your trunk during hard braking :).

I would see about shoving part of a 2x4 in between the feet or position the case such that the feet are not going to slide into something.
 
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