What is the best RockNRoller trolly for videographers?
Having the right tools for all your videographer work is essential for doing a good job. However this usually means a lot of camera gear. If only there was a solution for transporting your gear from your vehicle to the location you're filming in. Enter the RockNRoller trolly.
RockNRoller have several trollys that could help transport your videography gear. So which one is best for you? In this post I'll breakdown our setup and why its an essential piece of kit.
Do videographers really need a kit trolly?
Working as a videographer in London is a busy job. If you're a top videographer working in London then it's likely you'll be working back to back days on filming jobs. If you're continuously moving gear by hand from your vehicle to the location you'll soon tire yourself out. Saving your energy for the filming part of your job is important. Having a good quality kit trolly will help you in this sense. It will also save you time. Load the trolly, wheel it to your location and get filming. No back and fourth trips which enables you to maximise the time your client is paying you for your videographer services.
The RockNRoller R18RT
When we purchased our videographer kit trolly we looked at several of the models from RockNRoller. However we settled in the R18RT. The reasons for this were its ability to extend and detract as required. Need it smaller to fit in a lift, no problem. Need it longer to fit much more kit, no problem either. That flexibility is a great feature of this model. It also has one set of slightly larger wheels which feel more robust for those longer journeys from car parks to your location. Especially useful when you're working as a videographer in central London with red lines located on roads here there and everywhere.
Worthwhile additions
Whilst the stock trolly is fantastic, we did add a couple of additions to make our life easier. These are in the forms of bags. A bag will take awkward sized objects that don't stack easily on the trolly. Stands and tripods fit in the bags easily . RockNRoller do a great bag that fits one end of the trolly. We also purchased a second jumbo sized bag by GripnGaff which is huge and fits on the other side of the trolly which has slightly wider handles and wouldn’t take a RocknRoller bag anyway. For me these add ons are a must for any videographer operating in London.
Replacing the plastic insert in the RockNRoller trolly bag
One thing to mention is that the RockNRoller bag comes with a plastic insert at the bottom to stop the bag from ripping. However I found this brittle and mine broke quite soon after purchase. However I came up with an innovative solution to add a drinks tray made from a more robust material to the bottom. The GripNGaff bag doesn't come with a plastic insert at all so I purchased these for both bags. 40cm for the larger GripNGaff bag and 28cm for the smaller Rock N Roller bag.
A trolly could easily be overlooked by a videographer. However I love this piece of kit which is now an essential for me. The time and effort it saves are more than worth it. You may even enjoy customising your trolly like I have.