Telescope Reviews: MultiCart by ScopeGuard

I've been hunting high and low for a quality cart to haul my OTA and EP cases on and finally found one that will do that and a whole lot more! Looking thru the classifieds here on CN I checked in the MISC category and found ScopeGuards ad for their MultiCart. I hopped over to their website and looked at what they had to offer and found not just a handcart but a cart that acts as a rolling office/ workstation.

The MultiCart comes in several sizes and can be configured in many different ways. I picked the R8 cart along with the carpeted deck and carpeted shelf options. The cart/workstation can be either 28" X 16" in its compact configuration or 50" x 16" when extended. Plenty of room for EP cases on the carpeted bottom deck and when extended there's room for a laptop, charts and plenty of other stuff on the upper shelf. It has 8" pneumatic tires on the back and 5" swivel wheels with one that locks on the front. The frame is sturdy and solid as a rock, no flexure at all.

The cart shipped via DHL and arrived in 3 days as promised. Well packed in 3 separate boxes and delivered without a scratch or mark on any of the boxes or the contents. (I think DHL rocks, they delivered my APT wedge in pristine condition as well.)

Initial assembly took about 15 minutes because the shelf option requires switching out the handles. You could do it in about 7 if you choose the cart w/o the shelf/deck option. All you need is a crescent wrench, needle nose pliers and a BIG flat bladed screwdriver to attach the wheels. EVERYTHING else is already assembled. The shelf attaches with wing nuts and the deck just drops on to the rails. If you remove the shelf and deck the whole cart collapses down to a size small enough to fit in the trunk of a compact car.

The Multicart is NOT cheap but the quality is well worth the price. The R8 carts sells for $154, the shelf is $70 and the deck is another $50. Shipping ran $46 for a total of $346.40 cause I paid TX sales tax.

ScopeGuard is in Houston, TX. and they make custom road cases for delicate equipment like telescopes and electronics. They answered my e-mail with-in an hour and the order was processed via PayPal without a hitch. I am very pleased with the whole transaction and the MultiCart met all my expectations.

I'll post some pictures on Wednesday nite of the cart after I get it all set-up with my laptop, EP's etc. Since no Astro purchase is complete until you "tweak" it, I'll be attaching a powerstrip and a clamp-on red light along with any other bells or whistles that come to mind between now and then.

Surf on over to the ScopeGuard website and check it out.
ScopeGuard

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1965Healey (Karen)
Woodlawn Lake Observatory
Celestron CPC 800/FT MIcro/APT Wedge
SV NHNG 80mm #0261/CG5-GT
Celestron Omni 150 XLT
Losmandy rails/rings
Starizona CWeight system
Celestron Neximage
Sony a100 DSLR/ZigView S2
Meade DS60's w/Autostar (2)
Meade LPI/Meade DSI-C/DSI ProII
750cc Honda Shadow Spirit (Thanks Dad!)
1965 Austin Healey 3000 MKIII