Hello everyone,

Name here is Greg and I recently purchased a nice TRK-12 currently located about 50 miles north of San Diego, CA. The seller is a collector and is offering to help in preparing the set for a safe move. We have a little time to develop a plan and find a good mover to do the job. I need advice whether we should partially disassemble to pack some components individually or carefully stuff it full of moving blankets, etc. The seller told me when he originally purchased it they loaded it in back of a Toyota Tacoma for a 2 hour drive. He said only the picture tube inside had shifted a bit. He suggested: "if the cavity around the tube was stuffed with bubble wrap, it should be good enough. If it goes in a van or small truck, strapped down would be adequate. In a moving truck. It should be crated. I can do either and send you pics when it leaves" he says.

Also, I need advice on how to select a good moving company or individual for something like this. Has anyone here already gone through this?

My plans for the TRK-12 is just to protect it and learn what I can about it and probably become a member of the ETF.

Thanks in advance!
Greg

198373

John Estep, a member here, had a British prewar mirror in-lid shipped from UK to Pennsylvania. You might send him a PM or email. He has also moved a TRK12. I personally moved 100 TVs from Virginia to California. I hired loaders and unloaders from Penske truck rental recomended list. I did get some furniture nicks and slight damage on some of the wood consoles. The worst was a bakelite Admiral console where the unloader picked the bakelite console up with one hand on the side and the other hand under the bakelite bottom and the bottom broke out. Also inspecting the floor of the truck he found a bakelite piece to another set and tossed it out to me and I missed. As luck would have it it broke in half. My concern with movers is that they load everything by hand. How heavy is a TRK-12 with a wood crate around it. Would it need a fork lift to get off off the truck? I had a RCA 648PTK (over 200 pounds) which they had difficulty getting off the Penske truck but it wasn't too much a problem when I moved it a second time from Long Beach to a mountain cabin using a truck with a lift gate. There was no damage during transport just during unloading. I had blankets around every console with metal straps (similar to bicycle tie downs) holding them securely to the walls of the truck. The TRK12 has a very expensive and valuable CRT so be careful. If it breaks you may never find another good one? I shipped a couple CRTs using FedEx. They arrived safely but always worried me.

:) You asked for advice , and so here's mine ;

For a set of such value & relative rarity , I'd be booking a plane ticket to cali , and renting a U haul one way and plan to make a fun road trip of it . Some 1960s roundie color gets busted up in shipping ? Yea a huge bummer but not entirely irreplaceable . Your set gets dropped/smashed/lost by a not so dilligent shipping company employee where are ya gonna find another ?

:thmbsp: ROAD TRIP !!!!!! :thmbsp:

:) You asked for advice , and so here's mine ;

For a set of such value & relative rarity , I'd be booking a plane ticket to cali , and renting a U haul one way and plan to make a fun road trip of it . Some 1960s roundie color gets busted up in shipping ? Yea a huge bummer but not entirely irreplaceable . Your set gets dropped/smashed/lost by a not so dilligent shipping company employee where are ya gonna find another ?

:thmbsp: ROAD TRIP !!!!!! :thmbsp:

Agreed. This is my first full weekend back from a road trip to Alabama (most of the time was at a beach in Florida the trip was extended to include) to pick up an RCA CTC-4. I considered hiring a carrier, but for the money, I could do a better safer job hauling it in my Suburban. Good 21AXP22s are more common than anything prewar, but still rare enough that I'm deficit 2 relative to sets I own that use it...Much of the value of such a set is in the good CRT so if I were to let it get necked by some shipper I'd almost have been as well off setting fire to the money I paid for it instead of buying it. It made it here safe thanks to my effort.

Part of me wonders how safe the CRT really is if shipped installed in a prewar set. I know post WWII RCAs like the 630 shiped with the CRT separate because the CRT mounts were not good enough to protect the CRT from shipping damage....The vertical mount of a TRK12 and IIRC the chassis the CRT neck plugs into (I might be confusing the TRK12 with a different Mirror in lid set on that feature) could both put the CRT at undue risk.

A 12AP4 substitute radar tube on ETF site was listed at $500 when the following article was written. I think I saw an original NOS 12AP4 for sale once at $1500 in Arlington Virginia with first dibs to the purchaser of his TRK12 for $10K.

http://www.earlytelevision.org/12ap4_substitute.html

I would be concerned about the mounting of the CRT; maybe John will come in with some shipping hints. I don't know how well the tube is supported on that model.

Some years ago, I sold an RCA color set to a collector in Illinois. He used a shipper called General Delivery, and they did a fine job. Others have used Craters and Freighters.

Yeah, a plane ticket & rent-a-truck back is sorta a PITA, but for an intact TRK-12 w/a good CRT, I'd have to think about it long & hard. Know any private pilots w/a larger plane, like a Cessna Stationair or something similar ? That might be an option. Another plane might be a Cessna Caravan, it is sorta a flying super-duty pickem up. It has a turboprop motor, a prop version of a jet, they were designed to carry relatively heavy loads economically, & can be flown w/one pilot.

My TRK12 was shipped to me in pieces, so I can't comment on them.

A prewar British set was mentioned. I own that set now. It was simply placed
front down in a van and driven to Hilliard, moved to my SUV where it was front down
on 4" of foam rubber and driven home. I hired movers to carry it up the stairs.
This was done with the top up, slanted at about 45 degrees. It survived just fine.
Which was a bit lucky as a couple of tubes were loose in the bottom and were not
caught by my inspection in Hilliard.

For the TRK12 the British radar CRT is recommended ... it is amazingly bright.

I have safely shipped a heavy radio/TV combo long distance, using the pack/ship company Craters & Freighters, but nothing as valuable as that TRK-12.

I'd vote for the fly-and-drive solution, too, if that's at all possible. When I got my RCA CT-100 TV, my son and I flew to CA, rented a moving truck, and drove it back to WA. That way, if something bad happened, it would only be on me. If you hire a shipper and they destroy something unobtanium, no amount of $$ in compensation will really make you whole.

Just my $0.02.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
https://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Check the cost of a one way truck out of CA. It’s my understanding that they’re out of sight one way because Californians are using them en mass to relocate.

I think you can rent a one-way SUV from Hertz etc out of California to NC cheaper then a rental moving truck. Hertz has a weekly rate usually charging the same day rate for extra days over the week. I drove a Hetrz SUV from Columbus Airport to ETF convention then to Dulles Airport in Virginia one year. I added TVs to a storage unit full of TVs in Va. You would have to verify the SUV is large enough for the TRK12. I think the rental companies have a mixture of local owned and company owned vehicles. They don't want their local owned vehicles traveling 2000 miles away.

Check the cost of a one way truck out of CA. It’s my understanding that they’re out of sight one way because Californians are using them en mass to relocate.

Where did you hear that?

Hertz website just now:

GMC Yukon SUV renting on March 25

From Los Angeles Airport to Raleigh Airport: $290.99/day

From Raleigh Airport to Los Angeles Airport: $494.99/day

To the original post, I have moved several of these prewar sets. I have picked some of them up myself or used a private shipper on others. I have never had a problem with private shippers damaging anything. If it is crated you will need a forklift or if the truck has a tail lift you can wrestle it off.

I would highly recommend not shipping the set with the CRT in place. This is not so much due to the crt mount being weak, rather the ridged nature of the mounts on these set. Most prewar sets support the crt mainly by the neck. If you do leave the crt installed, make very sure the HV power supply and radio power supplies are correctly bolted to the bottom of the case. If they or anything else moves around, you will neck the crt.

Darryl

While I have zero experience with this rare set, I can say in all seriousness that if it were mine I wouldn't carry it across the street with the crt in place. It could be triple boxed with lots of bubble wrap between each layer, then shipped with proper insurance.

Many thanks to all, and please don't stop! I am giving this considerable thought with respect to every suggestion. With all the various high end auction houses selling many rare and valuable things I was hoping a company that specializes in moving rare and valuable antiquities might come up. Flying out and driving back with the TRK is certainly not out of the question considering I will only get one chance with it. Best to all of you wise old owls here!!

I used to go the Baltimore high end rare and valuable antiques show held once a year. Craters & Freighters always had a booth there. I watched them build the crate for my 1933 Visionette mechanical television. I got it at an ETF Conference and didn't have an address for them to pick up so delivered to their warehouse. They did a really good job measuring and building the crate. The also provided the insurance based on my purchase price. It appeared they found a shipper listed on their internal intranet. The trucking company had a different name and home address but all they do is crate and ship. Since they were the insurance carrier I would believe they look at previous damage claims etc. They're expensive but given airfares, hotel rooms along the way and rental truck costs probably not that bad. Craters & Freighters will give you a free estimate. I think you should insure for replacement cost since it will be hard to find one for what you paid. I think Steve the owner of ETF could refer a source for a realistic replacement estimate.

I think THIS post might be the best one of all. Yeah, I'd DEFINATELY quiz the owner of ETF as well. I'd likely wanna have a chit-chat w/one of the big dawgs at Craters & Freighters, too. I'd insure it out the Wazoo-You can't just trundle in yer neighborhood hardware emporium &pick out ANOTHER one. Thease things are National Treasures, after all. Let's say you get it working-Imagine being the Daddy of a working pre-World War 2 TV in the year 2525.... My friends & family laugh at me wanting to get all my old Junquey-ass TVs & radidios working, but SOMEBODY in that far off year MIGHT be very glad indeed that I went the extra mile & had 'em restored... To ME, THAT'S the way you gotta look at our collective Madness over this stuff. Its not necessarily the VALUE of thease things-Its what they represent.

Also, Keyboard Carriers (a firm which specializes in moving Pianos and Organs) might be worth considering if crated correctly for shipment.

I just wanted to say that this is a good problem to have! :-)

Thank you! I just joined the ETF and am making plans to attend the 2019 Convention. I did meet Bob Dobush at the CC-AWA meet in Charlotte, NC recently March, 22nd and he mentioned there was someone who specializes in moving early televisions who might be at the convention looking for television moving jobs. Anyone know more about this?

Thanks, Greg

I moved mine 800 miles with the CRT in place in a Chevy Suburban. All i needed was some blankets to protect the walnut veneer of the cabinet. Don't trust such an important move to anyone but yourself. Buy the one way plane ticket and rent a Suburban. Load up the TV carefully and drive it home. That will take time, but you won't regret the end result.

I CANNOT overemphasise the qualities of a Suburban.... You simply can't easily overload one, they ride like cars, so you won't damage fragile cargo if you use a modicum of care,smaller vehicles typically will get the hell outta your way, one w/a 350 may not be fast, but it won't embarrass you, either. The only real drawback is they DO like gasoline in Mass Quantities, as Beldar used to say. But that is still a relatively small price to pay knowing that YOU are in control of yr Newest Playpretty-And the Scungili Bros of United Package Smashers ain't gonna get THEIR filthy mitts on yr new prize...

I CANNOT overemphasise the qualities of a Suburban.... You simply can't easily overload one, they ride like cars, so you won't damage fragile cargo if you use a modicum of care,smaller vehicles typically will get the hell outta your way, one w/a 350 may not be fast, but it won't embarrass you, either. The only real drawback is they DO like gasoline in Mass Quantities, as Beldar used to say. But that is still a relatively small price to pay knowing that YOU are in control of yr Newest Playpretty-And the Scungili Bros of United Package Smashers ain't gonna get THEIR filthy mitts on yr new prize...

My '02 has the 5.3L (which IIRC is the 350 under the metric designation)...It will do somewhere in the mid 90 MPH range empty or full before the trans starts vacillating between gears (speed won't change noticably but the engine will jump between 2.5K and something like 4K RPM)...It'll happily do low to mid 90's all day even with ~1K lbs of people and TVs loaded. Fuel eccon usually don't beat 16, and in hurried city driving 11 is common...The gas ones will get up and go pretty decent but you really gotta put your foot in it. There is torque limiting in the engine computer for towing (I hear you can chip the engine so it thinks it's in a Corvette and that will wake it up a good bit...Tempting).
Where they shine (aside from TV transport/hauling stuff) is in the winter...Mine has 4WD and I can get it through mess that would stop almost everything else...Best yet are those snowy morning commutes where I can pass those folks who go 28 in a 45 on the unplowed 2 lane country roads here...With good tires and a bit of care I can pass them going 50 like it is nothing.:D

I'm on my third Suburban. Wouldn't want to be without one. One thing about carrying equipment. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a 4' X 8' X 1/4" sheet of solid masonite (no holes). It will cover all of the transitions in the cargo area and provide a smooth surface on which to slide the equipment.

BTW 5.3L = 325 cu in 5.7L = 350 cu in. I've owned both as well as a 6.2L Diesel (that's a whole different story).

Yeah, an Urbanizer will make you wanna throw Rocks at most other cars.. My current ride, the mighty Ford Excursion is an Urbanizer writ LARGE.. Its basically a tonne Super Duty pickem up w/a full station wagon type body. Ford killed 'em in 2006 really before they'd found their market, IMHO. The tailgate on Excursions I thought was kinda fiddly & underdeveloped, too. One of the better features of my 1982 K20 Weasel Suburban was its lowering rear window. You could roll both front windows down, & the tailgate, & unless it was just TOTALLY miserably hot, you didn't really need the A/C on. The tailgate on the Excursion, the rear window lifted up-Ugggh-Dah-Yum, it's HEAVY... & you have 2 little clamshell doors that open up. Ferd erred by making the window part SO heavy, putting 2 teency-tinecy "Helper" struts that did little & were too weak to hold the window business up before the struts basically Kwit after a year or 2.... But, my Excursion, I honestly think its even MORE impervious to being overloaded than a 3/4 tonne Suburban... I think it could be loaded w/Pig Iron to the roof & it wouldn't care. A 6.8 liter 413 cubic inch SOHC V-10 takes care of the Go Dept.. Its like a Sub in that respect, too-NOT quick, but I've shocked the hell outta more than a few backwards-cap wearing numbnuts driving slammed, worn out Honda sedans a few times... Don't F!ck w/a crazee old bstrd in a big white truck, Jasper-He just MIGHT have a V-10 in it... Sometimes these kids gotta be taught a little lesson in respecting their elders... I could always see whatever was coming WAY down the road, I wasn't gonna let anyone get hurt, but I'd "Walk" these boys about half a mile by flooring the Excursion, & make 'em "EARN" their passing me on the 2 lane blacktop that was a connector road... Mbwahahahahaha...(Grin)

Another Great SUV that would get the job done and have you riding in style would be a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with its 360 Cu. In. V8 and 4WD and large spacious Cabin one of those would have no problem with getting a pre-war TV Set from point A to Point B intact. Of course you'd have to find one in good shape first as they are getting harder and harder to find in decent shape (they're out there, but expect to pay a lot of money for one with low miles and in mint condition).

Another Great SUV that would get the job done and have you riding in style would be a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with its 360 Cu. In. V8 and 4WD and large spacious Cabin one of those would have no problem with getting a pre-war TV Set from point A to Point B intact. Of course you'd have to find one in good shape first as they are getting harder and harder to find in decent shape (they're out there, but expect to pay a lot of money for one with low miles and in mint condition).

1963-1991 the first or second modern SUV.... Part of me would like to own one, but the newest are as old as I am, and I can get nicer suburbans cheaper...

I am making progress now. Looks like I will go with CRST Specialized Transportation Inc. They offer white glove service in padded vans and managed logistics. I've used them before for moving two stacks of computer servers from NY and they did an excellent job. We are mounting the TRK-12 to a custom built pallet and plan to wrap and pad it well but the question whether to remove the CRT for separate packing is still not decided. I'm strongly in favor of removing the CRT as has been advised here more than once but the collector seller I am purchasing from is asking for instructions. I've never even seen a TRK-12 before so I'm not qualified to answer that one and if the previous owner is not sure either has me concerned about breaking the neck during removal. He also mentioned when he brought it home several years ago in the back of his pick-up he discovered the CRT had shifted a little during the trip.

I see where a reproduction rubber mask is now available for the TRK-12. Is the rubber mask an integral part of the CRT mounting system? Any rubber parts would likely be somewhat deteriorated over all these years which would be a concern.

Tnx, Greg

kewl! Sounds like you "Got it goin' on like Donkey Kong", as Trace Atkins said here in Redneckland several years back. Worst part of things like this is WAITING for everybody else to get all of THEIR shyte Straight, you're Chompin' at the Bit to get yr new toy in, & they drag their feet interminably, seemingly... Just AIN'T fair, dammittall...

Sandy, is that your ride in your avatar? I've always liked the Lincoln Continental convertible with the suicide doors.

One of 'em. I have that '67, a '69 sedan-Last of the Suicide-Door models, & a '65 Limo, that they made 50, & supposedly 9 are left. None of 'em are currently roadable right now-Boo-Hoo- the Limo needs a complete resto, as it had an engine room fire right after I got it. The '69 would likely run fine after a day's work, & the Pervertable is about the same. I had it working good a few years back, watching the trunk lid open up, the top unfold itself, & then the deck lid close itself back up was something to behold. 25 relays, 15 little motors, 3 hydraulic pumps & me staying nervous watching it all....NO computer gizmos, anything like that. This is 1967, Boy-We don't NEED no Steenkin' Compuders... Never mind we hadn't even invented them yet back then, either.. Also have my Papaws "Off-Brand '73 Fleetwood Brougham Cataract...