Tour damage rarely happens on the road. It happens in the case: a clamp left on a yoke, a head parked where an impact drives it into its own stop, or a fixture packed with no support so it arrives with a cracked housing and a freight claim nobody can win.
The short answer
Remove the clamp and the safety bond, park and lock the head, support the fixture at the yoke and the base rather than on its lens, and photograph every unit before the lid closes. On arrival, power and run each fixture on the ground before it goes up. Most of this is ten minutes per fixture, and it is the difference between a load-in and an insurance claim.
What comes off the fixture before it is packed?
Everything that can act as a lever.
| Item | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clamp | Remove and pack separately | A clamp on the yoke is a lever in transit |
| Safety bond | Remove and pack separately | Same reason, plus it snags on other fixtures |
| Power and data cables | Coil and secure, do not wrap around the head | Pressure on the housing cracks it |
| Gobos and irises | Remove custom glass, pack in a labelled sleeve | Glass gobos break under vibration |
| Lens and display | Cover, never press | The two parts that cannot be repaired cheaply |
| Pan/tilt lock | Engage it | Stops the head driving into its own stops |
Our single hook clamp and rated safety belt are cheap enough that a spare set per case is worth carrying, so nothing has to be borrowed off another fixture at load-in.
What should the case do?
Hold the fixture still. That is the whole specification, and most case problems are a fixture that can move inside its own foam.
| Check | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Shake test | No movement with the lid closed | Any rattle |
| Support points | Yoke and base | Lens, display or the head itself |
| Lid clearance | Nothing presses when closed | Foam compressed against the lens |
| Weight distribution | Heavy end identifiable and marked | Case that tips unpredictably |
| Casters and handles | Rated for the loaded weight | Handles that flex under the load |
A case that passes the shake test survives normal freight. One that fails it will eventually produce a fixture with a cracked housing, and the crack will be blamed on the carrier.
What goes in the case besides the fixture?
A short, boring list that saves an hour at every load-in.
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Clamp, correctly sized | One per fixture, in the case |
| Safety bond | One per fixture |
| Power cable, correct plug type | The most common missing item on site |
| Spare fuse and a spare fan | The two parts that fail |
| Laminated patch card | Mode, footprint, addressing steps |
| Photograph of the packed case | Freight claim evidence |
What is the pre-tour checklist?
Run it in one order, and write it down. The value of a checklist is that it is the same every time.
| Stage | Checks |
|---|---|
| Bench | Power up, home the fixture, run pan/tilt full range, exercise every wheel, check the dimmer at low level |
| Prep | Record the serial number, set the mode and start address, label the fixture and the case to match |
| Pack | Remove clamp and bond, lock pan/tilt, photograph, close and shake |
| Load | Cases stacked by weight, heavy at the bottom, nothing stacked on a lid |
| Ship | Documentation packed with the load, not sent separately |
| Receive | Photograph any damage before unpacking, then inspect |
| Test | Power every fixture on the ground, full range, before rigging |
The last row is the one everyone skips. A fixture tested at trim height costs an hour of crew time and a ladder; the same fixture tested on the floor costs five minutes and a mains lead.
How should the load be documented?
Three documents, and they should travel with the load rather than in an email.
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| Packing list | Case number, fixture model, serial number, quantity |
| Photographic record | Serial number plate, housing condition, packed case |
| Declaration of value | Per-fixture value, for insurance and customs |
The declaration of value is where the catalogue pricing matters. Fixture value spans an order of magnitude, and a claim that says "lighting equipment" is settled at whatever the carrier decides.
| Model | Type | EXW, 1 unit |
|---|---|---|
| RG-ML70WS-KNNe7AH8 | Compact LED moving head | US$45 |
| RG-ML150BR-KNNW1H13 | Mini 150W beam | US$96 |
| RG-ML80B-KCRe8AH38 | 8-head beam bar | US$134 |
| RG-ML360WD-KTXe36AH12 | 36 × 10W wash | US$139 |
| RG-M300BH-KYH16 | 300W beam | US$285 |
| RG-ML400RS-KNNW1H21 | 400W CMY 3-in-1 BSW | US$459 |
| RG-ML500RS-KNNW1H20 | 500W CMY 3-in-1 BSW | US$569 |
| RG-M420BN-KH24 | 420W IP65 beam | US$757 |
What about the fixtures that go by air?
Tighter, because the handling is rougher and the weight limit is real.
| Consideration | Detail |
|---|---|
| Case weight | Air freight is charged on volume as well as weight |
| Battery and hazmat rules | Declare anything with a battery or a lithium cell |
| Lithium cells in fixtures | Some fixtures have a backup cell — check before booking |
| Time on the ground | Test on arrival, not at the venue |
| Spares in the same shipment | A spare fixture that arrives with the rig is worth two that arrive later |
What should be carried as spares?
One spare fixture per ten, plus the consumables that fail most often.
| Spare | Per 10 fixtures | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Complete fixture | 1 | The only spare that fixes anything instantly |
| Fan | 2 | The most common failure |
| Belt set | 1 | Pan/tilt drive on nightly fixtures |
| Power supply | 1 | The failure that takes a fixture out at once |
| Clamp and bond | 1 each | Cheap, and always lost |
| Gobos | Per design | Glass breaks |
Our spares and service guide covers which components fail and in what order, and the rental-house inventory guide covers the spare ratio at fleet scale.
What is the one thing worth doing first?
Photograph every fixture with its serial number, once, and keep the set. It takes twenty minutes for a twenty-fixture load, and it is the only piece of evidence that survives a freight claim intact.
Send us the fixture list and the shipment route, and we will quote the spares kit and the hardware that should travel with each case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should fixtures ship with the clamps attached?
No. Remove the clamp and the safety bond and pack them separately. A clamp left on a yoke becomes a lever in transit and is the most common cause of a bent yoke or a cracked housing on arrival.
What pan/tilt position should a moving head ship in?
Park it, then lock it. Most fixtures have a pan/tilt lock or a transport position; use it. If there is no lock, park at a position where the head is tucked into the yoke rather than extended, so an impact cannot drive the head into its own stops.
How much foam is enough in a case?
Enough that the fixture cannot move when the case is closed and shaken. The fixture should be supported at the yoke and the base, not floating on its lens, and nothing should press on the lens or the display.
What should be photographed before a shipment?
Every fixture: serial number, the condition of the housing and lens, and the packed case with the lid off. That set of photographs is what turns a freight claim from an argument into a form.
How should fixtures be tested on arrival?
Power each one before it is rigged, on the ground, and run it through its full pan and tilt range plus every wheel and the dimmer. Finding a fault on the floor takes five minutes; finding it at trim height takes an hour.
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