Mid Arm Quilt Machine Set Up In Toy Hauler?????
 

I know some of you might think this is a dumb question but I major in dumb.

I know that many ladies and perhaps a few men quilt in an RV or travel trailer. I have a friend that her and her husband have a 42' toy hauler and she sets her sewing machine up in the back room part. Works out great for her.

My question is has anyone ever seen anyone that had set up their mid-arm quilting machine frame up in a toy hauler? My Block Rockit 15" machine sits on an 8 1/2' Grace SR2 frame and would fit in a large toy hauler along with my sewing machine. It would be on rollers so that it could be moved back and forth as needed. If I ever went full time RV'ing I would want to take my quilt frame with me if possible.

In all my research I haven't found where anyone has done this.

Anybody know of one.

David

Sorry, I have very seldom taken my Bernina with me on vacation. No time to sew.

i would be afraid of what the vibration would do to the machine

With my longarm, it's very important that the frame be level and steady. The bolts need to be tightened after leveling. If you are planning to be in the same place for long periods of time, perhaps you could spend the time to steady the frame after each move, but I don't think you could assure the frame's integrity if it's constantly being moved. You would also want to protect the head of the machine while you're driving down the road. If it were me, I might take along a sewing machine and work on tops, but I would wait until I got home for the quilting.

I agree with dunster. Not only that but lord forbid you'd be rear-ended. I would not chance it. One thing to take a machine to piece another to actually long arm. When I go on vacation, I take a couple go bags for hexies or yo yos. I usually have to much fun meeting up with family and friends.

Not only what Dunster said, but if you are using a toy hauler, I am assuming you have off road vehicles, which means dust, sand, etc. drifting in the air, as toys come and go from camp. That can get in the motor and other places and cause havoc with the machine resulting in $$$ repairs. (Just another thought.)

I agree with the others - the rear end of a camping trailer is the area with the most bounce when traveling down the road - pretty hard on the machine and frame. Maybe you could look at one of the sitdown machines?
We RV a lot but not full time, if we did I would have to figure out some way to take my machines too!

I do take my regular sewing machine with me on trips longer than a week or two when I plan on having electrical hookups (we dry camp a lot too). However I store my machine under the bed which is next to the hitch, the smoothest place in the trailer or in the back seat of the truck. Even there, I find my notions are quite jumbled up in their box that sits next to it. I would not want to store a mid arm or frame at the back of a toy hauler due to the excessive vibration. Is there a place to store the setup near the hitch or immediately above the axles? When you set up camp you could move it to the back for working. Obviously this wouldn't work if you move every day, but it might work if you are staying in one place for a while (snowbird maybe?).

I would second the recommendation to look at a sitdown machine. They pull out of their table easily and don't take much setup. If I was going to be staying somewhere for 2-3 months, I would certainly try taking my Handi Quilter Sweet 16 sitdown. For the trip durations we are looking at now (maximum a month), I just piece on the road and quilt when I get home.

BTW, for those who can't imagine taking a machine on a camping vacation, I really do use mine on those rainy or cold days that seem to come on all my trips. Before we retired, our trips were 1-2 weeks long, generally staying in one place 4-5 days at a time. Now our trips are 1-4 weeks long, and they include early spring and late fall when the sun goes down early. Sewing is much better for me than watching TV. I even have a hand crank Singer 201 that I have taken on long trips where we don't plan on electricity. Now that is an attention getter, sitting at a folding table under the awning and enjoying my work.

Pam

That sums up my thoughts.

If your set up and not going anywhere it would be fine. But if your traveling no! The bounce back there is pretty hard and does a bit of damage to more sensitive items not heavily strapped in or packed. You would need to take your machine off and wrap it up and probably store it up front in the front bedroom that is the softest ride as it is over the truck axel That is where I store anything electronic or sensative when we go down the road in ours. Things can really get damaged in the back if sensitive to vibration.

So you would need to decide how to handle it and how often you would be moving and traveling. You would need to relevel after every move as you seldom end up set on a perfectly level spot. Then unpack your machine and remount it. You would not be able to just leave it set up while you move and would have to really secure the frame to the tie downs so it would not move around either.

I have set up my short arm on a king frame in my travel trailer. Stored machine under bed & stored dismantled frame behind couch when travelling. We stayed put for several months (snowbirds). So it is doable. I would never leave it set up for traveling. Wasn't there someone on this site with hers set up in a ulity trailer. Hopefully they will see this and add some insight.

Personally I would not as the jogging and bumps of general road travelling and swerving round bends would make it move about, especially if the machine is kept in situ. I would take a domestic machine I could store in a cupboard etc as I travel.
i have a caravan which I towed. The machine went in the boot of the car well packed and stable like going to a class. I did leave it out once set up in the caravan when I arrived at location.

We have a 38ft toy hauler and the bounce in the garage are is pretty intense. Would not recommend it unless you were stationary.

If you are that determined to quilt while on the road, try hand quilting or check out each stop area and see if there are any quilt shops that have a long arm you can rent time on.

Ok, I am a travel nut in our camper and that thing doesn't go out of the driveway without my sewing machine and plenty of projects. We stay in it for months at a time and there are many days I quilt all day long. About your mid arm, you have to protect it the best way you can, locking it down and keeping it clean. Leaving it exposed in the back of the toy hauler would not be a choice for me, it will get knocked about a great deal. If you can take it apart easily enough and store it while driving, then do it. We have been pulling a camper now for over 23 years now and I have stories I can tell you about the things that fell or came loose while traveling, we never know what to expect when we open the doors. Good luck.

We have a 5th Wheel and travel a lot. I always take a machine, it is stored under the bed up front where the bounce is minimal. I just piece and quilt when I get home. On long trips of several months or over the summer I make Quilt As You Go table runners, placemats and tote bags. I am working on a twin size QAYG now. We are leaving Saturday and will be gone for 6 weeks. I quilt my tops when we get home.

Check out the forums at RV.net. You may find someone on the fulltiming thread who has done something similar.