Back of pickup. Face down?

Searing75

Active Member
I purchased a beautiful pair of Cornwalls, and the seller is delivering them 7 hours to my house in the back of his pick-up truck. Any experience, tips? We were thinking face down on blankets would be the safest. This way the weight of the drivers will not pull down and away from the baffle when bumps are hit. Thoughts? Thanks.
 
If it were me, I would have made the sale contingent on the seller removing the grills, wrapping them in plastic and enclosing them in a separate box. Then cut two pieces of 1/4" plywood to size to affix to the baffle with screws and transport face down on folded blankets. I assume the pickup truck has a cap? If not there is always the worry of bad weather .. even if the weather is good there is the concern of debris kicked up from other vehicles. :eek::(
 
I like the idea of the grills in a separate box. Thanks. Screw into the baffle? Not sure I want to do that?
 
I think face up, with blankets underneath, cabs wrapped in plastic tarp, tied securely with blankets between rope or cord and cabs. Worked for me. In the rain (I sealed the tarp around each speaker with packing tape). Arrived dry and without a blemish. Different large speaker long ago, but that's how I did it.
 
As it relates to pickup trucks, I always found face down felt best.

My face up decision was due to heavy rain. I wrapped the speakers fully in plastic tarp and taped all seals on the back side of the speaker so that if anything wanted to leak, it had to leak upwards. Felt better with drivers up under those conditions. Not a drop seeped in, though. Packing tape sticks to plastic well, if you can wrap them carefully.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom, nor...
 
Klipsch speakers aren't quite like older Polk Audio Monitor, SDA or RTA series where they would have magnets that shift easily. But, you've got the weight of the mid/horn. I've moved Cornwalls, Epic CF-3's, multiple Heresy speakers, etc., and never had a problem with them. Just use some blankets and padding and you should have no issues.
 
OK, as 'seller' of these, let me offer my own opinion here FWIW: First, I've transported a LOT of band equipment over the years. While not a 'roadie'..... I've schlepped my fair share of amps, PA Cabs, and other equipment over many, Many, MANY miles!! Much of this stuff was 'tube' type equipment, where concerns for the delicate nature of the inner structure of the tube was far greater than concern about the speakers or cabinets themselves!! BUT...you learn a few things in doing this over a period of time. The first thing is that the major issue with the cabinets, aside from 'physical damage' from sliding around.....is just 'how?' are the speakers 'attached'? If 'front loaded', then placing the speaker cabinet on it's back is the best way. If 'back loaded', the placing the cabinet 'face down' is the best way!! Why? Well, the issue seems to be that of the strength of the mounting method between 'speaker' and 'cabinet'. The typical 'failure' is having the overall weight of the speaker pull itself right out of the baffle! Typically this is a function of the type of screws used and the baffle material.....with many 'particle board' baffle boards and 'wood screw' speaker mounting being the worst to deal with!! However, the Klipsch Cornwall uses a Plywood baffle board. This is pretty solid material.....not subject to crumbling away like a particle board baffle. Also, the speaker are 'rear mounted'......so placing these cabinets 'face down' on a blanketed pickup bed is, in my humble opinion, the safest way to transport them. For the record, the grills (in this case) are already removed, and will be transported 'inside' the cab of my truck. But, the cabinets themselves will each be blanketed with those heavy 'moving' blanket/pads......and then placed side-by side...and then CAREFULLY wratchet-strapped to hold them to the front of the pickup box and keep them from shifting (additional padding and support added where needed). 'Debris' from the road should not be an object as the cabinet will lie beneath the bed-sides....and with them being 'face down' and blanket covered, any small item that might manage to fly into the bed area will be just as quickly and harmlessly blown away!!! This leaves the possible issue of 'weather' as being a reality......and the only answer for this is to simply use your head, check the weather reports, cover the blankets in waterproof tarps if necessary....but avoid the rain if humanly possible! DUH!! As to the possibility of the baffle board itself being jarred loose from the rest of the cabinet.......if 'impact' was a possibility, I'd agree that some kind of additional support might be advisable. But, the ONLY time I've EVER seen this is when a speaker actually fell backwards or forwards, and depending on how the baffle board was mounted, the impact upon hitting the ground became the factor that caused the damage. Similarly, impact from falling can cause a heavy magnet on a speaker frame to shift. But, when 'falling' is NOT an issue, and in a vehicle where springs and shock absorbers are cushioning a gentile ride in the bed...... I don't consider this aspect of things to be a concern.....at least not one that I'm worried about. However, in deference to the buyer and OP, if he 'does' have this concern, than further discussion between he and I can resolve the issue. Anyway....that' my $0.02 worth!! Frankly, this is far more 'care' and 'consideration' being given in transporting them as a 'seller' than they got when I was their 'buyer'. But, I do want them to arrive safely......and I take pride in NEVER having had any problems with this kind of thing. I've also transported some pretty exotic motorcycles......worth a LOT of money!! Getting them from point A to point B without a scratch, dent, ding, or nary a fingerprint is perhaps a bit more challenging that moving a couple of wooden boxes! Anyway.....I'm still 'open' to any further suggestions or considerations. I DO want this to work out well!!!........lol WC
 
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