If last time saw us discussing the foundation of the house, this will be the bedrock it’s build upon- and many people don’t realize it. This week: Choosing Your Trailer: Trailer Size And Scope
What do you think about when you’re running through your checklist before you dive in to Mobile Axe Throwing? It’s important to check every box, and the trailer size and scope is often overlooked as a large factor.
Scope
Taking a deep dive into what the scope you’d like your trailer operating on means looking down the road- potentially a long way: For instance, Do you plan to take your trailer to big pay-to-play events or is it likely to just be a private party earner for you?
Number of lanes is important because no one wants to look back in a year and wish they’d built more (or less). If you’re planning to be a private event-exclusive company, you may be okay with 2 lanes. Less infrastructure, less setup time, less replacement costs, and less work- Some trailers even get by with 1!
Think about fairs. The festivals. The 500-person charity events. It’s never a good thing leaving money on the table, but you have to know if that’s your wheelhouse.
A side throw trailer can house 3 targets on trailer- more if you’re willing to let the risks climb. A downside here is the build-out space required.
Safety was a big priority for us. We separate lanes between throwers with caging and keep them at maximum distance apart from each other. I’m not going to suggest anything else here; think through how much risk you’re willing to endure.
Size
This plays into the same methodology. Mobile Axe Throw Trailers run the gamut from 6ft all the way up to 30ft+.
Most mobile axe throwing operations today follow the WATL standards for lane requirements or, in other words, your minimum throwing distance will be at the 12ft mark. This means players will be required to throw axes before this line.
Most 2-lane enclosed (i.e. the throwers throw from inside the cage/on the trailer) trailers are going to fall between 16 and 24 feet- and it stands to reason: The 12ft distance required plus throw room requires a minimum of about 15ft.
Odyssey Axe Throw builds exclusively 18ft axe trailers, and there are a few reasons for this:
- The Length is comfortable enough to have an axe thrower and, should it be necessary due to insurance or other reasons, an axe throwing coach to comfortably stand along the backside of the trailer.
- It isn’t too long. This is an important point: at high traffic areas where you are charged for the footprint of the game, managing the size of game often means it’s going to cost you less. Requiring addition space = $.
Width is an important factor too which we covered to a degree in a previous post. It’s worth bringing up again- you need to find yourself exactly what is going to fit your company.
The width is another oft-debated topic, but something to keep in mind is target width. If you plan on running WATL rules, the lane width is constrained by target size.
WATL uses five 2×10″ boards side by side which comes to an overall width of 46.25 inches for one target. The maximum width for most trailers in the US is 102 inches wide. This allows on trailer cage styles to place 2 full size WATL targets side by side.
Next Time: Towing Your Axe Throw Trailer