Thread: Need help quick! Suggestions for flight check-in case for full tower+2 monitors

So, the shipping container arrived late last night, and over the next few days I find myself facing a dilemma. The shipping container is being picked back up next Tuesday, so everything that is going in it needs to be packed in and ready to go by then. However, the container doesn't arrive in Africa until more than a month after we do, and I was recently told I'd need to have access to my computer for the work I'll be doing.

Long story short, I need suggestions for a sturdy case that will fit a tower + 2 monitors. The keyboards and crap I can throw in my suitcase, but I'm concerned about the case and the monitors. The case is a full tower, the two monitors are 21" and 24".

Help me out, folks!

Well, carry on isn't exactly an option, and I have plenty of packing materials available (bubble wrap, foam inserts, etc), so I could theoretically take a basic Rubbermaid storage case and flight-proof it as best I could. I was just hoping for some better ideas from those of you who may have had to fly with their rigs before.

I think your best option is going to be to spring for a cheap laptop in the mean time (or maybe get the company to spring for one); take everything apart, stick the components in ESD bags, wrap everything liberally with bubble wrap and reassemble the big rig on the other side. You'll spend about as much on a laptop as you will either buying a solution that can take your (rather prodigious) system, or else replacing all the parts the airline is going to break in transit.

And they will break stuff.

Draco

Guys, you're missing the point. The work I'll be doing requires my current rig (or at least three parts of it). A laptop won't cut it. I need to figure out a way to safely pack the tower, monitor, and Cintiq tablet. I've got bubble wrap, foam, hell, just about anything you can think of that involves packing. I just need an idea for a container. I checked Newegg for cases without any luck, and the closest thing I could find were laptop cases.

The container's gotta be packed up by Tuesday, and if I can't figure out a way to get my rig on the plane with me, it's gotta go in the container, and I'm screwed once I hit the ground across the pond.

Originally Posted by Consultant

I would disassemble it and ship it in pieces packed individually into some hard plastic case or rubber-maid container.

Hadn't even thought of that, excellent idea, thanks.

I think between a disassembly and some heavy duty storage trunks overstuffed with bubble wrap and high density foam, I should be ok. I forgot that I had about 5,000 cubic square feet of sound dampening foam made for recording studios, and they're pretty tough, so I think a triple-bubble wrapped monitor surrounded by 10 inches of foam should be good.

My main concern is the Cintiq. Anything else breaks, I'm looking at the most 500-700 bucks to replace, while the Cintiq means a solid 2 grand that I doubt the airline or my warranty would cover.