Moving all this crap is a pain in the ass. Let's face it; things like arcade cabinets and jukeboxes weren't designed to fit in houses. If you're going to get into this hobby, you'll eventually want a trailer (or a father with one who lets you borrow it all the time), lots of rope, straps, tarps, duct tape, and of course, a dolly. Other helpful items include Doan's Back Pills, extra garage space, and an understanding spouse. Here are a few pictures of things I've bought in transit.
Here are four jukeboxes that I picked up in Hutchinson, Kansas, followed by an empty cabinet which eventually became my friend Stephen's MAME cabinet. Despite our best efforts, the road vibration left two of the jukeboxes in non-working condition. The yellow straps seen in this photo were purchased on sale at Lowes for about $10 each, and are worth their weight in gold.
Here are two games (a Neo Geo dual slot cabinet and a 4-player X-Men) on the back of my (dad's) trailer, being backed up to the garage. Notice how this picture was taken at night? Lots and lots of my adventures end at night, since several of the games I've won on eBay are located 4 hours away in Dallas. And yes, it's hard to be quiet when unloading these things in the middle of the night.
I've learned that there's no good time of year to move arcade games -- it sucks when it's hot, it sucks when it's cold. I remember it was cold this day. Also notice my dad's orange dolly in most of these pics. I learned not to try and move these things a long time ago.
Here's another hard lesson I learned. Measure before you buy something. This cabinet doesn't look that big, but at it's narrowest point, it's 36 inches wide. The door to my gameroom is 33 inches wide, 34" without the trim. This particular game never made it out of the garage, and I ended up having to resell it.
Do you have a wife that would put up with this? If not, don't even think about it. Not only are these things big and heavy, but they may temporarily hang out in the garage until they're repaired or refinished. I have a three car gargae that I can barely manage to squeeze my motorcycle into.
Here are four jukeboxes that I picked up in Hutchinson, Kansas, followed by an empty cabinet which eventually became my friend Stephen's MAME cabinet. Despite our best efforts, the road vibration left two of the jukeboxes in non-working condition. The yellow straps seen in this photo were purchased on sale at Lowes for about $10 each, and are worth their weight in gold.
Here are two games (a Neo Geo dual slot cabinet and a 4-player X-Men) on the back of my (dad's) trailer, being backed up to the garage. Notice how this picture was taken at night? Lots and lots of my adventures end at night, since several of the games I've won on eBay are located 4 hours away in Dallas. And yes, it's hard to be quiet when unloading these things in the middle of the night.
I've learned that there's no good time of year to move arcade games -- it sucks when it's hot, it sucks when it's cold. I remember it was cold this day. Also notice my dad's orange dolly in most of these pics. I learned not to try and move these things a long time ago.
Here's another hard lesson I learned. Measure before you buy something. This cabinet doesn't look that big, but at it's narrowest point, it's 36 inches wide. The door to my gameroom is 33 inches wide, 34" without the trim. This particular game never made it out of the garage, and I ended up having to resell it.
Do you have a wife that would put up with this? If not, don't even think about it. Not only are these things big and heavy, but they may temporarily hang out in the garage until they're repaired or refinished. I have a three car gargae that I can barely manage to squeeze my motorcycle into.