Sargeant, MN
When transporting games from the pre hinged back box era, do you prefer to completely remove the head or lay it down on the pin with wires attached? (Lay head on moving blanket and shrink wrap to secure.)
(Topic ID: 258594)
I remove the head because that is the only way it will fit in my truck with the shell on.
But shrink wrapping I don't find necessary.
I like to remove the heads on both early solid state and electromechanical machines. This would entail removing all Molex/Jones plug connections to prevent significant damage.
It’s just easier that way to me because the head won’t be sliding all around 
5E422A08-98AE-4CD8-8A72-3779804755DA (resized).jpegGo with the Anne Boleyn method, but use the connectors in the BB.
Completely depends on the situation. If it’s an easy move I’ll keep the head on with the connectors fixed as well.
Truth is it’s often easier to move a game in one piece rather than two, and of course it saves setup and breakdown time as well.
Even EMs I’m sometimes leave the head attached (but will disconnect the 3-4 connectors)
Some of the early solid state backboxes tend to be deeper than with newer games, so if you have a limited amount of height clearance in your vehicle, you might have to keep them separated.
Otherwise, if you keep them together, just make sure you wrap things up well so the backbox doesn't shift around and cause damage to the cabinet or wiring.
I had a Game Plan Super Nova that I set up for shipping. There was no way in hell I could disconnect any of the wire connectors that went from the head to the body without destroying any of them, they were so tight. Don't know if that is just a Game Plan thing. Only one I ever owned.
I left them connected and laid the head down and shrink wrapped the heck out of it so it would not move. It seemed to make it across the country OK.
Winnipeg, MB
Never a bad idea to de-head. Much easier going up stairs . If you are that point, 10 more minutes to yank the playfield. Then its a piece of pie. Too often people try to save time. That time will dissapear later in life when it takes 10 minutes to get out of bed.
If no stair-climbing is involved, no need to de-head.
I have moved hundreds of machines since we got into the hobby about 12 years ago and I always prefer moving machines in two pieces when possible. 99% of the time I am moving machines by myself and I find it much easier moving two lighter pieces than one big & heavy machine.
I don't really think there is a right or wrong way it really all depends on what works best for you. If you are moving machines with heads on them (folded) I have found stretch wrap works much better than straps to keep things in place. Typically when I am doing a fold down head type machine I put cardboard on the top of the cabinet then stretch wrap that cardboard to the body before folding head down. (You can do the same thing with two piece machines) Doing it that way then stretch wrapping everything protects the front of the head and also keeps the head from sliding around.
As I get older I really hate moving fold down head machines more & more and love not having an extra 100 pounds on the handtruck when I move machines in two pieces!
I really hate messing with wiring with a machine im unfamiliar with, like just bought.... so ill leave it on then. Later after im familiar with the harness after owning it awhile ill take it apart to move, like to a show. Sometimes ive had to take it apart to get it down my stairs, like f2k. The widebody was a pain.
Quoted from Phat_Jay:I really hate messing with wiring with a machine im unfamiliar with, like just bought.... so ill leave it on then. Later after im familiar with the harness after owning it awhile ill take it apart to move, like to a show. Sometimes ive had to take it apart to get it down my stairs, like f2k. The widebody was a pain.
If you take photos of all the connectors before taking them apart, that will help if you're not familiar with the game.
For me it's lay down the head and leave the wiring alone if possible. This has only been so since I finally got a roll of stretch wrap. As mentioned, there are all kinds of different situations you can find yourself in which can change the calculus. No right or wrong answer here.
Why not leave the head on for transportation of em machines? Im going to pick two machines up thursday that will fit in the back of my truck. One is a em machine that i would like to leave complete if its not going to cause a problem. If i need to know something please let me know.
More often than not I have to move a game by myself. While I like to think I've still "got it" I'm also trying not to strain myself or put myself in a position to get hurt moving heavy objects.
I'll take the upper cabinet off for ease of moving/lifting. I've hauled enough early Ballys and Sterns to know what connector goes where but if its something new I have a sharpie in my pin kit to write locations on the connectors themselves.
On one occasion I had a super tight fit moving a Flash Gordon from a basement -- I removed the upper cabinet, glass, and playfield itself to make sure I could move the game without damaging the home owner's walls!
Games are easier to load/unload in the back of the Jeep for me in two pieces. . . now if I could just remember to pull/drop the power cord out before putting the upper cabinet back on at home!
Quoted from codered9394:Why not leave the head on for transportation of em machines?
Because the backglass is expensive and fragile and the head is only secured with two bolts, designed to keep it upright while on location. They aren’t designed to keep it secure while driving around, possibly in the weather. On top of that the wood joints may have degraded over the past 40+ years to the point where one hard braking maneuver and the head just separates and falls off.
At least strap it appropriately if you’re not taking it off.
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:Because the backglass is expensive and fragile and the head is only secured with two bolts, designed to keep it upright while on location. They aren’t
Will do thanks.
10-4 on the ex, 
but what's your thoughts on the games LTG ? Were ops always removing bb's entirely to move games before the hinged bb? Were they folding and stretch wrapping? Did some visionary op call one of the companies and say "hey, we fold and move these anyway, why don't you idiots just put hinges on these things?
Quoted from dozer1:10-4 on the ex, but what's your thoughts on the games LTG ? Were ops always removing bb's entirely to move games before the hinged bb? Were they folding and stretch wrapping? Did some visionary op call one of the companies and say "hey, we fold and move these anyway, why don't you idiots just put hinges on these things?
Most operators don't drop the head or even take the legs off when moving. They even have a fancy cart that holds the pin by its back legs and tilts so you can move the whole thing quickly.
Old time OPs don't regard machines at the same high level as we hobbists do.... it was a way to make money, period.
For the OP, hinged heads, leave on, all others, take off. I have done it almost all the ways people have listed here and that's just what works for me. Always secure and pad the folded heads. If you search RGP from several years ago, there's a sad story of someone who lost their CFTBL translite because it blew out of the head (and it was folded down, but nothing around it.) - this was when you couldn't get replacements. Someone also lost an entire machine because they didn't secure it in the back of the truck (Silverball Mania IIRC) - it fell out onto the interstate when they went around a curve. The playfield was super nice on it, too, I tried to buy it but it went for too much $$$ on ebay.
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