Teach church volunteers and staff how to safely and efficiently manage cases and portable storage systems with this helpful case tutorial.
For more than 25 years, cases have been the key component of our storage systems. As such, it’s essential to understand the basics of these cases and how to use and transport them effectively.
Do you own any of our Portable Church Industries (PCI) cases? We hope you’ll use this case tutorial to help your volunteers and staff brush up on how to safely and efficiently manage the church’s investment in their cases. If you don’t own any and would like to learn more, feel free to contact us today to schedule a consultation.
If you want to jump straight to the sections, use the links here:
- What is a Portable Church Case?
- Case Tutorial for Safely Moving Cases
- Case Tutorial for Mastering Loading and Unloading Onto a Trailer
- FAQs: Cases & Trailers
Let’s jump in with our case tutorial to train those who are new to your volunteer crew or to refresh those who have been in the trenches for a while.
Portable Church Case Tutorials for Beginners and Experts
What is a Portable Church Case?
PCI cases are a testament to our commitment to providing the best possible experience for our clients. These cases are not only constructed on-site but are also carefully crafted to ensure that every detail is taken into account, making it incredibly easy for volunteers to transport and manage them.
Here are 3 things that make our cases unique:
1. Wood
PCI cases are constructed from wood, which has several benefits. Wood is light and durable, making it an ideal material for protecting your gear while also providing flexibility in the trailer and building. Additionally, the case is carpeted, which helps to reduce noise and prevent damage to your gear.
Bonus: If the case does get damaged or dinged, the carpeting can help to hide those imperfections.
Why are PCI’s portable church equipment cases carpeted? In addition to making it easier for volunteers to handle and transport, the carpeting helps to minimize damage caused by frequent usage or minor mishaps. Click To Tweet2. Placards
The placard, a sign on the side of the case, provides critical information about the organization of the system, including the trailer pack, case number, contents, and location within the building. With this information, it’s easy to ensure that the case contents remain consistent and that volunteers know exactly where to find what they need.
3. Casters
The shelf case has two swivel casters on the handle side and two rigid casters on the other side. It’s essential to push the case rather than pull it, as doing so can lead to accidents and injuries. The ball corners on the case are designed to protect your gear, not the venue, so care must be taken when maneuvering the case to avoid damaging walls or other surfaces.
In the case tutorial below, Barrett, one of PCI’s Launch Specialists, shares some case basics. He teaches viewers how to safely open the case and how to quickly read, understand, and follow the case placard and diagram.
Case Tutorial for Safely Moving Cases
Cases are an essential part of a portable church’s equipment. They serve numerous purposes, from carrying AVL equipment to transporting nursery gear, bins, and musical instruments.
However, handling cases can be challenging, especially when we lack knowledge of the best way to move them. As a result, we often develop bad habits that can lead to injury or damage to the cases the church has invested in, or worse–damage to the volunteer who’s handling them.
Churches must educate their teams on the correct ways to handle cases to avoid these issues.
In the video below, you’ll learn from a pro how to safely move these large pieces of equipment, including which side is the right one from which to push and pull your case.
Fortunately, portable church cases are designed to be moved easily and by virtually anyone who knows how to do it correctly. Even though the size might be intimidating to some, they are very manageable if handled carefully.
To help your team learn the best practices, this case tutorial has been created, featuring Jesse, PCI’s Director of Sales & Marketing.
Stay safe: 3 Security Measures for Every Portable Church
Case Tutorial for Mastering Loading and Unloading Onto a Trailer
PCI designs every church’s portable system to fit effortlessly inside designated trailers, but there is still order and sequence to getting it right. To make this process easier, Church Launch Specialist Debbie walks us through the steps to load and unload portable church cases into a trailer in two separate videos.
In the case tutorial for loading a trailer, Debbie covers several essential topics to ensure safe transportation, including:
- Reading case and trailer organization placard diagrams
- A simple system for keeping items in their designated cases
- Moving and loading cases safely
- How to secure everything with an E-Track strap
The biggest tip to make loading extra fast and simple is to stage loaded cases outside of the trailer before bringing up the ramp. This will ensure every item is safely packed away in its proper case.
In the case tutorial for safely unloading a trailer, Debbie explains how to:
- Easily unlatch the E-Track strap
- Strategically remove cases based on placard information
- Observe safe procedures for securing the area and removing cases.
By sharing these clips with your team members, you can remove the guesswork and avoid any potential damage or injury caused by mishandling portable church cases.
Loading and unloading cases with just the right technique may seem like a tedious task, but doing it the right way can save you time, effort, and money.
FAQs: Cases & Trailers
CASES
I see portable items online. What’s the difference between your stuff and what we see for sale on Marketplace or resale sites?
At Portable Church Industries, we offer more than just gear—we provide access to our 27 years of experience serving over 4,000 churches. Whether it’s sharing best practices, providing custom wiring, or creating cases for your equipment, all of these elements are vital to ensuring the success of your launch when partnering with PCI.
Is there a way to do this cheaper? We have people at our church who are willing to volunteer their craftsmanship skills and supplies.
Yes, there are definitely ways to do it cheaper—in the short run. If you want a dependable system that won’t exhaust your volunteers, our custom solutions are the way to go.
For example, here’s what Jody, Campus Expansion Coach and Campus Pastor at Cypress Church in the Columbus area, had to say about the security our cases provide:
“I have been doing portable church for 15 years in multiple states, in different churches, and in wildly different roles. While brands of AVL gear matter and some gear is better than others, nothing has been more critical to making AVL excellent in my ministry experience than PCI’s design of their cases in every environment— but especially in the AVL world. I’ve done portable AVL without PCI and I will NEVER do it again.”
Although it may be tempting to opt for cheaper alternatives, we hope you take experiences like Jody’s into consideration.
AVL crew? Church Techies Share The AVL Equipment They Don’t Want To Live Without
Can I get new placards made for my cases?
Yes, we can work with you on this. Simply contact our office and we’ll hook you up with one of our specialists.
TRAILERS
Can we use our own trailer?
In most scenarios, your trailer is not going to be tall enough to handle our cases since our trailers are a custom height. Often the specs on stock trailers are rated at lower weight tolerances as well. For instance, 8′ and 8.5′ trailers are common, which is too large. Sometimes churches think more space is better, but in most cases, this leads to hassles with dead space in the trailer, like wheel wells. Our trailers are a very tight and clean pack.
To see it for yourself, check out this video of one of our team members executing a trailer load:
What size truck do we need to tow the trailer?
You’ll need a 1/2 ton for 16′ trailers, and a 3/4 ton for 24′ trailers (both with trailer tow packages). Be sure to match the truck’s capacity to the trailer’s weight rating.
Can I use a box truck?
You can use a box truck but we strongly recommend a trailer purchased from PCI.
View cases of all shapes, sizes, and purposes in our gallery.
Build Case Care Awareness Among Volunteers
In conclusion, cases are an essential component of our storage systems and have been for more than 25 years. They are designed to protect your gear while providing flexibility and easy access.
Make sure to use the available training resources with your team to ensure everyone is aware of the best practices. Remember, prevention is better than cure, and investing in proper case-handling education is a wise decision for any church.
We hope your questions were answered and your volunteers found this one-stop-shop case tutorial helpful. If there’s anything else we can help you with, do not hesitate to contact us.
Does your church or ministry need portable church cases? We’re here to help! Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
