The gainingSTEAM VEX IQ trailer carries six complete fields: the floor, the walls and every game element. Two or three people can empty it. This guide covers getting everything out of the trailer and into the venue. Then comes building the fields.
If you're new to setup, read the setup & teardown role guide first.
What's in the trailer
- Floor sections. Each field travels as a few large floor sections, already snapped together, not as loose tiles. Some sections have walls still attached along an edge. They lie flat on the trailer floor in two stacks.
- Wall strips. The straight wall pieces ride on top of the floor sections nearest the door.
- Game element boxes. This season's game elements are in cardboard boxes.
- A cart for wheeling the game elements in. The venue may have more carts; ask the Event Partner.
- Bean bags and the smaller game pieces.
Before you start
Find the Event Partner. They decide where everything goes when it first comes in, so check with them before you carry anything inside.
Find out how many fields your event is taking. The six fields usually serve two events, an elementary school tournament and a middle school tournament, with two competition fields and one skills field each.
- Both events at your venue? Unload everything.
- The other event somewhere else? Unload only your three fields' worth. Leave the rest packed exactly as you found it, because another crew is relying on it.
The trailer has a rear door and no ramp. Everything comes down from the height of the trailer floor by hand. Nothing rolls out.
How to unload
The trailer is small, so split the work however suits your crew.
- Game elements come out first, onto the cart. Load the boxes and the bean bags onto the cart and wheel them in.
- Then the floor sections and walls, by hand. Carry each floor section flat, with a second person for the big ones. Bring the wall strips in alongside them.
- Keep each section in one piece. Don't pull a floor section apart to make it easier to carry. It goes back together at the field in the same shape it travelled in.
- Close the trailer door once it's empty, or once your share is out.
Which floor sections matter
Most floor sections are interchangeable, and any of them can go into any field. The exceptions are the corner sections that hold the pyramid corners, and the corner sections with the red and blue strips. Those have to end up in a specific spot on the field, so keep them easy to find as you stack things inside.
Section labels are being added to the walls. Until every section is labelled, use this photo to see how a field splits into its sections.
This season: the pyramid corners
For this season's game, Level Up, each field has a red and a blue pyramid corner. They travel in their own boxes to protect them. Carry these boxes upright and don't stack anything on top.
Lift safely
- Two people for any floor section that's wider than your arms.
- Don't jump down from the trailer with something in your hands. Hand it off first.
- Bend your knees, not your back. Six fields' worth of trips adds up by the end of the morning.