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Shipping Moving LaScalas SUV Truck Vehicle How To Guide


nola

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Shipping Moving LaScalas SUV Truck Vehicle How To Guide

 

Sorry for the goofy title, just wanted to make this easy to search and find for the next poor person doing this.

 

I drove my Klipsch LaScala Is up north this past Saturday.

 

I had some nice chats with folks here and a few ok emails via CL (but lots of scammers and strange folks on CL too). But there was to be no sale in FL.

 

When I looked at the speakers they had many minor water marks, scuffs, scratches, a few small plywood chips, etc. The pics overstate the watermarks and far under represent all other issues. Not pretty; but they sound great.

 

The cost to ship both on a pallet, shrink wrapped, would be around $500 for a 1000 mile trip. Too much for these.

 

So I made some car rental reservations. Please be aware that most agencies will let you drive a vehicle out of FL super cheap during much or April well into May. Beginning after Spring Break, they need to get the cars out of FL as they are more needed elsewhere by now. Other 1 way specials could be available, so check as needed.

 

As the LS 1s are 2 x 2 x 3 ft each, approx, that is the absolute minimum space needed. About 105 lbs each. I think the LS II s are a bit larger and much heavier. I think the 2 s would be very difficult to move due to the weight.

 

Most any pickup truck will work as will most any commercial van, like a UHaul.  Just remember you need a totally secure way to hold them in place somehow and pad them. Also, put some cardboard boxes below the LS’s and carefully pad the edges and the spaces between speakers.

 

THEY WILL MOVE !!!!

 

Minivans that I saw at the airport rental area had some major issues. It is a big lift to get a LS into a 2nd or 3rd row seat. It would not be easy to properly secure them, especially from a sudden stop. If you can remove the seats, which could be difficult, the floor surface could be very uneven and require many boxes or towels for padding to protect the speakers. Might even need wooden boards for the purpose. Possibly a real pain. And remember, at a rental agency, you have no control over what is available to rent when you show up in most cases.

 

Someone mentioned a Prius. I did not see one to measure, but I suspect it would be a tight fit.

 

I rented a 2017 Nissan Rogue, ?SV. Sort of a base model I think. Only a 4 cylinder which was great – got 30+ MPG over about 1100 miles. Several other SUVs had far lower est MPGs, this saved me a lot of money on gas. Often going 80 MPH on the Interstate. Sometimes much slower, given congestion, etc. It was comfy too. I did the trip in 16 ½ hours in 1 day. Ate power bars and such for lunch and dinner. $30-/day for the rental !!

 

The key measurement is not the rear door hatch size !!!!

 

It is the space between the inside rear wheel well covers !!!!

 

On all of the non tiny SUVs I went into with a tape measure, there was at least a 24 x 36 inch entry at the rear hatch.

 

Wheel well opening:

Could not find a smaller car hatchback version like a Ford ?Fiesta, etc to measure. Maybe someone can chime in here.

Ford Cmax, SEL Hybrid: tight at 37”

Kia Soul: 40”. But had other major issues: the rear deck is about 1 ½ inches below the entry – so getting the LS s out will be a major problem. But the bigger issue is how the hatch lock bar is positioned and will likely ding the speakers without a lot of padding.

 

Some other SUVs were clearly larger in the Standard SUV class: Hyundai Santa Fe, etc. I did not see a Rav4 to measure. I measured so many vehicles that 2 of the RAC folks thought I was being a nut and told me to stop, as I had already found a few vehicles that would work.

 

How to pack your LS’s.

 

I got 6 book boxes at Home Deport plus about another 6 boxes from WM about to be dumped. I used all of them.

I padded the low central hatch lock area with 2 pieces of detachable long narrow carpeting that the Rogue had over the spare tire. I placed boxes over the cargo carpet and used 1-2 layers of boxes to help move the speakers in place. A neighbor’s scrawny 16 yo kid was able to lift the LS s all over the place, but we both moved these into the Rogue. Did not even need the moving dolly !! The kid was great but had no idea what these were. It took 2 people to get these out upon arrival up north. But I think a strong guy could get them out on his own.

 

Despite padding the pavement below the rear hatch to stop from scratching the LS s upon removing them when I arrived, my helper almost missed the boxes and towels on the ground !!

 

If the finish on your LS s is nice, add some sheets under them to protect the finish when loading them up !!

 

The LS behind the driver did not need extra padding here. I let a box jut out about 6 inches to the front. I did pad the roof corners so as not to damage the speaker corners nor tear a hole in the roof padding. Pieces of boxes and bath towels worked fine. There was some shifting of this speaker during the drive so I had to redo this edge corner protection every few hours.

 

I had a few small boxes and car carpet mats between the 2 speakers. About 4-6” thick

 

The rear speaker by the hatch had edge corner bath towel padding. I used bent up boxes to pad the wheel well areas, where there was about 1” of padding needed on each side. Again, use sheets next to your speakers here too if the finish is nice.

To stop the rear speaker from sliding, some couch type firm pillows were used between the rear speaker at the door / glass for the rear hatch. These were a lifesaver. Otherwise that speaker would likely have moved too. I needed about 3 cushion pillows for the Rogue.

 

My carry on bag fit to the base of the front speaker. My backpack fit in front of the passenger seat. My receiver fit on top of a folded up cardboard box on the passenger seat itself. There was no extra space !!

 

Also please note that the rear seats for Rogue go flat – but at about a 10 to 15 degree angle. With the weight of the LS it did flatten out even more. However, this could be a major issue on some SUV models. That is also why you need good padding between the 2 speakers: boxes, pillows, etc. Don’t use sleeping pillows – they are too soft. Use firmer couch pillows.

 

In brief, be sure to get a somewhat bigger vehicle for a long trip. I did not need to catnap in the SUV, and would not have been able to recline the front seat down either.

 

Also, you need to accelerate and stop slowly with the LS s on board. This is not easy on a congested highway nor poorly laid out exit ramp.

 

Hope this helps the next person.

From NOLA with love

 

 

 

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They were at my parent's house in FL and not being used. In the end they were just a little too big for the main room and there was not enough room with my dad in the wheel chair. He was doing well with music therapy at first.... The rental SUV price plus gas was the same as an airline ticket for the trip back. Given all the things I need to do during trips to FL, selling these would have been a hassle and having strangers around to demo these for would not have been that cool. Considered donating them to a good organization. Simply easier to take up north where I am working now. Also I listened to them last night. Glad to have them with me here now. So really not all that crazy as the trip back went fine overall.

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I have a Nissan Rogue with a trailer hitch. I was debating which speakers to put in the back of the Rogue vs what to put in the enclosed trailer. Knowing they will fit in the Rogue I'll plan to transport the LaScalas in the back of the Rogue because I feel they will be better protected in there.

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Thanks Nola, driving out to Pittsburg in the next week or so to pick up a pair in my 4Runner. Hopefully its not too too bad getting them in and out of the back. The worst part is going to be the 2 flights of stairs. From what my understanding is of what your saying bring lots of towels blankets pillows and sheets to wrap our babies up nice and cozy for the drive home :D

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As I learned from many prior moves, pack 'em tight. In the Subaru photo from Matthews, I would definitely pad the right side of the photo and the corners of the speakers with bent up boxes, cardboard, lots of crumpled newspaper or folded up bath sized towels. Firm pillows between speaker and hatchback rear door. Think of your LS s like a papoose. Nice and warm and cozy all wrapped up in a blanket to save the finish from marring. Best part is that unlike wrapped up kids the LS s will not make number 1 or number 2 20 miles from the nearest clean rest room !! But they will easily tear a hole in the SUV ceiling padding or bust something else if you have to make a sudden stop or swerve if they are not securely immobilized.

 

Remember guys, measure the inside distance between the rear wheel well interior covers that jut into and limit cargo space a bit. Must be a minimum of 36 inches.

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One thing to remember is Uhaul rents furniture pads at a very low price. I moved La Scalas from Matthews place back to Cincinnati in a Honda CRV with zero issues. Wrapped them up in rented furniture pads and off I went. 

 

Recently I rented a minivan to haul Klipschorns back from Kansas City, Kansas. That was a tight squeeze, but the Uhaul furniture pads did the job again. Make sure the speakers are packed tight so they can't shift and pad any potential rub points. 

 

 Road trips to buy speakers are fun. I really like meeting forum members and think I've made some new friends.  Even brought my better half on the last trip.  We both had a good time. 

 

Have fun!

 

Mark

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Thank you cincymat: the journey and who you meet are sometimes as much fun as the "conquest" of your new babies. In my experience, I have met several owners that simply wanted this stuff out of the house, unfortunately after a death or home remodel. When I bought my Khorns about 30 years, I almost begged the dentist selling them to change his home redo plans to keep these. My Belle was bought after someone passed away. But I had some great Bar B Q that trip :)  My black LS Is were from a church supply guy I met at an office products store. ETC. But my greatest concern is that folks under 35 yo do not seem to be that interested in physically larger speakers like Khorns or LS's. Bad for them, good for us I guess.

On my way up from FL I stopped near the Sub Base in S GA. They had replicas of the Pinta and Nina there. My goodness, talk about tiny ships. It took some real ...... to cross the Atlantic in something the size of a tall shrimp boat. St Mary's is a lovely place to stop for an hour, but limited for time. No base tours given the current state of affairs. Would never have been there if not for this road trip. I would enjoy returning.

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