My Review of the SysRoll Cart

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the warning Alex.

The cart has been outside for two months and I have not noticed any rust.  But, I might have missed it so I will conduct a close examination later today.

The cart is still outside.  Right now, we are having an ice storm in Toronto and a few icicles have formed upon it.

[attachthumb=#1]

Festool supplied the SysRoll for me to test.  So, in spite of the worry that some parts might not like to be left out in the snow and rain, I am going to leave it out all winter.

I use studs on my tires in winter.  They really help with driving on ice.  Are they legal for you to use on your island when driving the Sysroll? "Iditaroll" some body mentioned.
Tinker

What???  Yours didn't come with the accessory slip-on caterpillar tread floatation rig??? 

[poke]    [popcorn] 

I think Frank has his "Iditarol" sitting in his yard in Toronto.  Every body knows it don't snow much around there.  :
Now, if he were to take it up to his Island a few miles north of Toronto where they really do get a bit of snow, those tracks might just be a little more handy for him.  [popcorn]
Tinker

Right, the SysRoll is currently in Toronto.
The island is a bit more than a few miles north of Toronto  -in fact, about 600 miles (or 1,000 kilometres)

 

[Jeff Zanin]

I was looking at your island on Google Maps.  It is indeed well north of Toronto, in fact it is north of Kapuskasing which is (or was) the GM cold weather test centre.

So do you have access to the island in winter?  Does the channel freeze solidly enough for snowmobiles or quads?  Or dogsleds, for that matter?

It is not far from the Trans Canada but hard to tell if the secondary roads between the highway and the lake would be usable in winter.

Jeff

 

[Saskataper]

So I decided I have enough systainers to justify a sys-roll today and bought one just after picking up a half dozen boxes of drywall mud. Guess what fits perfectly on the roll.

 

[Frank Pellow]

I was looking at your island on Google Maps.  It is indeed well north of Toronto, in fact it is north of Kapuskasing which is (or was) the GM cold weather test centre.

So do you have access to the island in winter?  Does the channel freeze solidly enough for snowmobiles or quads?  Or dogsleds, for that matter?

It is not far from the Trans Canada but hard to tell if the secondary roads between the highway and the lake would be usable in winter.

Jeff

GM still has their cold weather test facility in Kapuskasing.

Lake Pivabiska freezes over each winter and the ice is usually solid enough from early December to mid April for snowshoeing, skiing and snowmobiling.  But, the last time that I was at the island in winter was in 1955 -that time I skied there from a point about 8 kilometres away.

The road to the lake from Hearst is plowed during the winter.

 

[Frank Pellow]

So I decided I have enough systainers to justify a sys-roll today and bought one just after picking up a half dozen boxes of drywall mud. Guess what fits perfectly on the roll.

Like you, I have found that the SysRoll is handy for moving lots of things other than systainers,

 

[FulThrotl]

So the million dollar question, is it easier to carry 5-6 Systainers and keep the $175 in my pocket or wheel them on the SysRoll?  No one can answer that for me, still, any feedback you (or anyone else) can give me is much appreciated.                       

well, i got all excited and pre ordered one, as i have been using a systainer dolly for a good long while.....

it's a mixed deal for me... it eats up a lot more space in my van standing up than the dolly did, obviously.
where everything fit pretty snugly, this thing is just big enough that nothing fits well, in my specific
situation.

it goes up down and around most places i need it to, but the castors on the front snag on the dolly and
don't want to swivel sometimes, so i need to shim them a smidge.

i'm a fan of most everything festool, but this didn't quite get it for me... it'll still get used for schlepping
stuff around, but i think i'm gonna look into making something a bit trimmer... between the thick frame
rails, and rear wheel positioning, it just hogs my van too much.

i was thinking about a 12 gauge stainless frame with semi pneumatic tires, and UHHMW strips for trips
up and down the stairs.... but it'll have to wait. i'm slammed with work for the next six to nine months.

 

[Frank Pellow]

So the million dollar question, is it easier to carry 5-6 Systainers and keep the $175 in my pocket or wheel them on the SysRoll?  No one can answer that for me, still, any feedback you (or anyone else) can give me is much appreciated.                       

well, i got all excited and pre ordered one, as i have been using a systainer dolly for a good long while.....

it's a mixed deal for me... it eats up a lot more space in my van standing up than the dolly did, obviously.
where everything fit pretty snugly, this thing is just big enough that nothing fits well, in my specific
situation.

it goes up down and around most places i need it to, but the castors on the front snag on the dolly and
don't want to swivel sometimes, so i need to shim them a smidge.

i'm a fan of most everything festool, but this didn't quite get it for me... it'll still get used for schlepping
stuff around, but i think i'm gonna look into making something a bit trimmer... between the thick frame
rails, and rear wheel positioning, it just hogs my van too much.

i was thinking about a 12 gauge stainless frame with semi pneumatic tires, and UHHMW strips for trips
up and down the stairs.... but it'll have to wait. i'm slammed with work for the next six to nine months.

I'm sorry that the SysRoll has not worked out as well for you as it has for me. 

I like what I hear of your custom designed version and hope that you do get to make it some time.  Not having the time to make it because too much work is coming your way sounds like a good problem to have.

I don't understand how it is possible for the castors to snag the way that you mention.  Can you be more explicit?

 

[peter halle]

My wife was kind enough to give me one for Christmas.  I have had one of the original dollies and haven't used it much as a portable contractor.  If I were to stay on one site for more than a day or so (very unusual for me) I would probably use the dollie more.

I wanted the Sysroll because although I will have to repurpose the interior of my trailer (long overdue anyway) the fact that it can be used as a hand truck and then when dropped back down as a dollie, was the best compromise of all.  Ultimately because of the transport space I have I can foresee the possibility of multiple units that can be strapped upright to a trailer wall for transport.

I have some very specific ideas for uses that may or may not include systainers, but are likely to integrate ideas shown here by others in other situations.

Right now it is backing in the sunlight in my office safely protecting all my rare or unusual systainers.

Peter

 

[Saskataper]

I always figured the maxi sys woulnt fit on the sysrollmbut then it dawned on me that it would sideways as it is the same depth as regulars are wide. Sweet!

 

[Frank Pellow]

I always figured the maxi sys woulnt fit on the sysrollmbut then it dawned on me that it would sideways as it is the same depth as regulars are wide. Sweet!

I never thought of trying that.  Thanks for the tip. [thumbs up]

 

[tazprime38]

Does anyone know how much the sys roll weighs, as I have to arrange a courier to have one that I have bought picked up?

 

[tbellemare]

Does anyone know how much the sys roll weighs, as I have to arrange a courier to have one that I have bought picked up?

A little over 20 lbs.

Tom

 

[tazprime38]

Thank you Tom. So that would be about 10 kg. I forgot to ask about the height of the sys roll?

 

[peter halle]

In non-metric 43 3/8".

Peter

 

[tazprime38]

Thank you Peter. Now I'll be able to arrange the collection for my sys roll.

 

[Saskataper]

Tried out my putting midi on the roll today, took it down three flights of stairs right after this pic. I love this thing! I wasn't sure about it before but after using it for a while I love it. It sits behind the passenger seat in my van with a good stack of systainers on it and doesn't go anywhere, I'm amazed as I thought for sure that I would have to strap it in so it didn't tip.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the warning Alex.

The cart has been outside for two months and I have not noticed any rust.  But, I might have missed it so I will conduct a close examination later today.

The cart is still outside.  Right now, we are having an ice storm in Toronto and a few icicles have formed upon it.

Festool supplied the SysRoll for me to test.  So, in spite of the worry that some parts might not like to be left out in the snow and rain, I am going to leave it out all winter.

Just to let those who are interested know that my SysRoll is still outside and now it is under a whole lot of snow.

[attachthumb=#1]

I have not had cause to use my SysRoll in the last couple of months and we have had a lot of snow in Toronto.  I will be digging it out and using it this weekend.

 

[Tinker]

Frank,
I am a couple of miles south of your area. (about half as far south of you as you are south of your island) We have just had two small snows about 6" and 8" within the last several days. (It looks like you have a bit more where you are)

The 8" turned very soggy as the storm changed over to rain and sleet and we already have a row of icecicles about 6 ft long all along the eaves.  I have no gutters, but even if I did have, there would still be a lot of ice hanging down.  The ends of any icecicle will continue dripping as it continues to grow.  As the snow melts away, all of that dripping from above will grow into a solid mass of ice along the foundation.  Especially on the side of house that gets the most sun.  I am thinking that in a few more weeks, your SysRoll Cart will be enveloped in a solid mass of ice.  I know that if you can extract it at that stage, you only need to get it to a warmer location and the problem will be gone.

It will be at the stage where you need to break it out of the envelope of ice that I think it will get very interesting.
Tinker

 

[Frank Pellow]

I wouldn't leave anything Festool outside. The cart is mostly plastic and aluminium, right, but it must have some iron parts too. Festool iron rusts like crazy.

I'm happy to be able to report that Alex was wrong when warning me about leaving the SysRoll out in the snow.  It spent most of this very long and snowy winter outside and emerged from the snow a couple of week ago undamaged.

[attachimg=#1]

I can find no rust or damage of any kind on my SysRoll.  [smile]

 

[hemdale]

Hi everyone,

After several weeks of hard use, I find that I don't like the wheels on mine. The rear wheels are simply made of plastic and when you roll the cart in the street you have lots of noise and vibrations. Did anyone thought of changing the wheels on the sysroll ?