# Ultimate Book Cart



## Paul S (Apr 9, 2010)

Here is a look at what I will be carrying my books into the PE exam next week. I will have some free space for snacks and drinks.

The costs are the $30 collapsible hand truck from Lowe's (150 lb capacity), and $22.50 for the three plastic crates from Staples. I then took it down to our "soft goods" shop and asked for a simple cover in case of rain - they went a little above and beyond what I was thinking, but did a nice job.













The 2" wide velcro on either sides of the flap is a little loud when opening, but aside from that I think I am set.

What do you think?


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## FLBuff PE (Apr 9, 2010)

Sweet setup, Paul!


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## Dexman PE (Apr 9, 2010)

Paul S said:


> The 2" wide velcro on either sides of the flap is a little loud when opening, but aside from that I think I am set.
> What do you think?


Very impressive. I wouldn't worry about the noise aspect since you're going to open it before the exam starts and you probably won't need to close it until you're done...


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## humner (Apr 9, 2010)

only 3 shelves?


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## NEED2009 (Apr 11, 2010)

nice

did you put all your books in and tried to wheel around with all your books in it?? If you didn't, I suggest you do a test run.

Good luck.


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## Supe (Apr 12, 2010)

And you should have no problem hiding bodies with it when the exam is over!


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## kevo_55 (Apr 12, 2010)

Whoa, that's a sweet setup!!

Have you tried to fit all of your stuff in it yet?


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## Capt Worley PE (Apr 12, 2010)

My wife got me one of those, minus the straps, to replace our more cumbersome hand truck for smaller tasks. In my experience, it has been pretty reedy, and I keep expecting it to fail, but so far it hasn't.

Its compactness when folded is quite handy.


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## Paul S (Apr 12, 2010)

NEED2009 said:


> nice
> did you put all your books in and tried to wheel around with all your books in it?? If you didn't, I suggest you do a test run.
> 
> Good luck.


I did a 10 minute walk around the shop with a fully loaded cart (parking lots and off-road) and got some very strange looks from employees, but the cart held up well. I thought of putting on some rain gear and having people spray me and the cart with water to test the water tightness of the 22 oz vinyl cover, but then I would get really strange looks.


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## Desert Engineer (Apr 12, 2010)

I initially thought it was excessive, until I looked at your profile and saw 'structual'.

Take Anyhing I say here as opinion, and constuctive criticism.

For the majority of people taking the PE, that many books would be more of a hinderance than a benifit. A cart 1/3 of that should be used for most people. You should decide ahead off time what you need ( based on sample problems) and pare down the library. If there was not time limit, all of those books would be great. Realistically, you will only use 3-4 books for the entire exam.

Good luck


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## bigray76 (Apr 12, 2010)

Nice set-up... in NJ, we had to keep the aisles clear, so I ended up taking my hand truck, laying it down and putting the crates on it face up... using it more like a file drawer under my table with one crate on the table.

Do you have the ability to break it down if they won't let you keep it in the aisle next to you?


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## Paul S (Apr 12, 2010)

Desert Engineer said:


> Realistically, you will only use 3-4 books for the entire exam.


I hope that is the case, but would kick myself during the exam if the answer to a question was in a book sitting back in the office.



bigray76 said:


> Do you have the ability to break it down if they won't let you keep it in the aisle next to you?


Yes that was a design criteria that I could break it apart quickly. It also works nicely laying down.


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## sac_engineer (Apr 12, 2010)

Paul S said:


> Desert Engineer said:
> 
> 
> > Realistically, you will only use 3-4 books for the entire exam.
> ...



After Friday, you'll have to post how your portable library fared during the exams. I'm certain you will get a lot of looks from the proctors. Honestly, unless you were taking the structural depth, you won't need that many books, but do whatever it takes for peace of mind.

Good luck!


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## RJs (Apr 12, 2010)

Good Preperation. Liked that!!!


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## cowboy_st_engr (Apr 12, 2010)

Sweet rig! I think that it is worth at least a couple of beverages the boys down in the shop. Kudos to them. :beerchug:


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## pugsx (Apr 13, 2010)

Just want to add my 2 cents.

I am a firm believer of taking more references than less. Of course, you should not be digging through books searching for answers (you should already have tabbed them right?!!). The advantage of having more references than less comes after you've done the first and second pass through the questions and answered them all as best you can. Then you start checking your extra references to try to confirm the answers to those questions you guessed on.

I spent the entire 7th hour of the exam flipping through books that I had never opened before and found answers to 3 questions I had guessed on.


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## bigray76 (Apr 13, 2010)

pugsx said:


> Just want to add my 2 cents.
> I am a firm believer of taking more references than less. Of course, you should not be digging through books searching for answers (you should already have tabbed them right?!!). The advantage of having more references than less comes after you've done the first and second pass through the questions and answered them all as best you can. Then you start checking your extra references to try to confirm the answers to those questions you guessed on.
> 
> I spent the entire 7th hour of the exam flipping through books that I had never opened before and found answers to 3 questions I had guessed on.


I am of the same opinion... after all the sacrifices, expenses, and preparation - I am glad that I carried a few extra books (transpo - 3 milk crates worth) than regretting that I had left a book at home.


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## PA_Mining_Engr (Apr 13, 2010)

bigray76 said:


> I am of the same opinion... after all the sacrifices, expenses, and preparation - I am glad that I carried a few extra books (transpo - 3 milk crates worth) than regretting that I had left a book at home.


^^ I'm in agreement.....I told myself I wouldn't bring too many references but as I was packing my bags (wish I had a sweet a$$ cart like you - would have definitely saved my shoulders!) I found myself throwing in a couple extra. I'm glad I did, I recall at least being able to answer 4 additional questions with a last minute add in book!

My advice echoes others....have all your main refs tabbed but if you have the room and time at the end of each session you may find it beneficial to have those other sources. Who knows, those couple of correct answers might get you the: arty-smiley-048: :bananadoggywow: :dancingnaughty: in 3 months!! my 0.02

Best of luck, look forward to seeing the happy emoticons in the results section!


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## Jay (Apr 14, 2010)

I'm doing something similar (found the same cheap cart at Lowes), and I'm taking the Structural depth, but I'm only using two crates. I bought three, just in case, though. I'm sure if I had more references I would fill the third crate and not think twice.


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## Paul S (Apr 19, 2010)

Update:

The cart worked very well. It worked well going steps. Luckily I was able to keep it as is against a wall and use it just like a bookshelf. I did get a couple of compliments.

I did not use every book I brought, but I would bring them all again if there is a next time!


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## Jay (Apr 19, 2010)

yeah, I kept mine right next to me and used it as a bookshelf.

people definitely wished they had done something like that instead of using a suitcase. When I saw people rummaging through their suitcases, it looked stressful. However, the tables have plenty of room, so you could store a lot on the tabletop if you had to.


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## archeng1 (Jun 8, 2010)

Seems way excessive, just go down into your basement and grab a nice medium sized luggage bag with wheels and you will be fine. I don't believe weatherproofing the cart is necessary, afterall its only about a 50 yard walk from the car to the exam room! But then again if you are structural you probably use a 3x factor of safety for everything. Good Luck!


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## mark.herrmann (Jun 8, 2010)

I just used a collapsible hand cart from Staples. It was pretty full, and had a little room for my snacks and drinks, but it worked out fine. I ended up using every book I brought, and did not need something I left home. I wasn't sure if I would have too much or too little information, since April '10 was my first time.

The woman at my table brought way too many books, books that had to be 100 years old, and she set them up on the table using those metal bookends. I swear she didn't use one of them.


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## Jay (Jun 8, 2010)

archeng1 said:


> Seems way excessive, just go down into your basement and grab a nice medium sized luggage bag with wheels and you will be fine. I don't believe weatherproofing the cart is necessary, afterall its only about a 50 yard walk from the car to the exam room! But then again if you are structural you probably use a 3x factor of safety for everything. Good Luck!



I used two crates, same cart, and bungee cords to secure them. I got lucky, and there were breaks in the rain when I was walking into the test and then out of the test. I had a poncho in my backpack to drape over it just in case. If you bring a luggage bag, you will not have a shelf right next to you, so you will have to look at the ground, dig around in a suitcase, etc, and that isn't very efficient. It was nice being able to look to my right and get a book quickly during the exam. I feel like it definitely helped me with speed. I saw plenty of people digging through suitcases frantically.

Maybe you could rig a luggage bag with an internal divider system that could act like shelves... but that would probably amount to putting milk/office crates into the bag.

The guy next to me was electrical, and had 2 books. So, of course, his 2 books were up on the table. Before the exam, I said "so... only 2 books, huh?" he said "yeah... I probably should have brought more." YA THINK?


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