[JDoAT]

Ok I was wondering if you guys experienced in 'chasing' swap meets and the like can give me a few pointers here. I will start off just selling decals and small wraps, etc. i will be chasing show in a vending trailer. Right now i'm leaning towards a 7x14 I think anything else would just be to small. Ok so here are my Q's.

-Do I need to worry about damage to my equipment(mainly compter and plotter) due to rough roads to and from shows?
-I have noticed a lot of shows around here do not offer electricity, so I have been looking into generators. Does anyone have any good advice regarding this? I'm worried about noise and weather it can keep up with what I'll be asking of it? Power surge equipment?

Thanks in advance,
Until Next Time

-J.D.

 

[Liberty]

JD, we traveled the fairs and festivals circuits for years with a variety of trailer and tent setups.

All computers were laptops carried in the trucks but we had heat presses and generators that never experienced any problems from the rough handling.

Keep in mind the size of the space at the events you are going to. A 14' trailer should fit nicely in a 20" wide space.

Keep in mind that you may have neighbors move in right up to the line that might block any doors. We ALWAYS had either doors on both sides of the trailer or an additional door that opened over the tongue of the trailer.

And remember that you may be block in by neighbors and not be able to get hooked to your trailer to drive away for some time after the event is over.

The only generator we ever ran was the Honda quiet generator but I'm not sure if they still make it. A lot of events have rules against generators for obvious reasons. The Hondas would drop to an idle when there was no load and we could run an exhaust pipe up above the roof of the trailer so the neighbors had no complaints. But if you are in a position where you must have electric, do your homework with the event in advance.

Roof vents, preferably a powered vent.
Only buy white trailers, anything else gets too hot.
Pay the extra for insulation if available.
Some sort of scissor jack setup to stabalize the trailer once on the space.
Lots of lighting.
Lightweight tables.
Tarps to cover up in a hurry with lots of clips and bungee cords.

 

[JDoAT]

Mark, Thank You very much that was great information. I am in Ohio as well so you have probably traveled many of the shows I plan to attend. Do you feel there were more shows that didnt offer electricity as compared to those that did? Any additional advice you have would be wonderful, I am right there just about a month away from pulling the trigger on the entire deal so I am trying to soak up all the knowledge I can.

 

[Liberty]

The bigger events at fairgrounds and such sometimes had electric, but a lot of those also worked reservation systems and the electric spaces would be booked way ahead. The major festivals were all over in regards to electric. We had good spaces at some of the bigger festivals and pulled electric from the people we rented space from. Most of the smaller events had none.

One other tip about generators, if you take a space along the outside border you can often run a generator and have it pointed away from the event. The downside is that those can sometimes be the low traffic spots.

I have to say though that most of the events we went to would already be booked up for this year and some were booked by permanent reservations. You need to be nailing down any space at the big events. Don't just show up and assume you can get it...

What shows are you thinking of? I've been out of that biz for quite a few years now and really don't miss it.

 

[JDoAT]

Well my trailer will have a perment weekend home at a local fairly high traffic flea market next to the fairgrounds in town. I already have a booth near the door and my trailer will be set up right outside of that door allowing me and my wife to run both simutainously(sp?). I work in the area as a sign installer so I have quite a few local contacts I am sure I can get in just a about every event at my fairgrounds(Execpt County Fair) as my company does all their sign work and I know the entire back office. But I will also be traveling around on weeknights to go-cart and dirt races in nw ohio. So thats my intial plan and then as I am able to I would like to try and muscle my way into other shows down the road. I think I may be able to get into the Troy Swap Meet next year I will find out shortly. Any Ideas?

Thanks,

-J.D.