Rigwheels Is The Mother Of All DIY Dollies

Many of the video hacks we share are about dollies and sliders. It is not surprising as both make a huge impact on production value.

Most of the wheeled sliders we featured are using aligned skating wheels for smooth movement. This makes sense as they come with bearings and provide smooth motion. The only down side here is that the smooth movement is limited to the length of smooth surface you have.

Enter RigWheels. RigWheels is somewhat of a DIY product, but also somewhat of a high-end product, mostly depending on how you use it.

Travel Light

The basics element of their kit is a set of wheels. The interesting thing about those wheels is that they perfectly mount on any 1.5″ pipe (PVC or Aluminum) you get from a Homedepot store. For me this is a killer feature for any slider because it means that you don’t actually have to carry the railing system as you travel to remote location. If they have a Lowes or a Home depot at your landing spot, you are covered with up to 10 feet of sliding rails for about $15.

DIY or Ready Made

If you just get the set of wheels from RigWheels, you’re off to DIYing your slider. The video below shows some options for this, ranging between using them on a plaque of wood or metal, through putting them on a Pelican case. Of course, if you are DIYing it you have enough control to use them on practically anything, like a DSLR cage.

If you opt for readymade, RigWheels have a few versatile options for sliders using a custom plate. The basic kit is a regular on top the rails slider and the more advanced one has another set of wheels that goes underneath the rails. This makes it safe for the slider to be slanted or even 100% vertical. (If you check out their vimeo page, there are many more ideas for DIY configurations)

Modular

At $115 per set they don’t come cheap, but they are modular. That means you can buy a set of wheels or a basic kit and grow from there as your needs change. You can add the custom plate or another set of wheels only when you need them.

IF you do have the plate, you can use it with other mounting options like magnets or skate wheels. I have to admit that I have not tried any those options, and stuck with the basic kit.

You can but the kit at B&H or directly from RigWheels.

Disclaimer: RigWheels has been a long time sponsor of the blog. I would not have blogged it if I did not think they are totally rad regardless.