side rails

[donatello b]

on one side of the RED i clip on 2 side rails ( one near front, other rear)
i tighten them down as tight as they go ... i lay the RED on it's side with foam under it ... i then pick it up by the 2 side rails - approx 2 ft up one side rail falls off ? ... i can pull off the one side rail ( not as in sliding it to the end of the rod- it pops on & off the rod where i mount it ) and put it back on ( with side rail bolts as tight as they can go ) ??? is this normal ??

[Shawn Nelson]

Not for me, when I tighten down the allen wrenches on my side handle, that sucker stays on tight, I have to loosen them quite a bit to get them to pop off. Now granted, I've never tried to hold Red only by it, so I've never tested it in this manner (I will only grab it by the rails themselves or the top handle).

[Sam Druckerman]

Hi Donatello,

Like Shawn, mine are rock solid, in fact I Have used the Side Handles to mount the RED W/ larg-er lenses (S4's), rods & MB, twice......

Two Side Handles were used to mount to the side of train, that ran about 25 mph. Also, inside a Nascar at 160 mph. And they worked great.

Is it possible you didn't loosen the Side Handle bolts up enough for the side handles to completely "Snap In" before tightening?

Another idea to check is on the Top Mounts, a little bur could prevent a perfect flush mount....... A bur would cause a little twist making it hard to align the TM's &/slide the rods in and out. It's possible a twist caused by a bur could prevent the side handles from being lined up properly on the rods, thus making it difficult for the Side Handles to "Lock Up".

To check, just loosen the Top Mounts a little and see if the Side Handles "Lock Up"....... If they do, pull the top mounts and inspect the inside face that flushes up to the body.... if you see a bur, just clean it up and try remounting everything.

[donatello b]

i'm going to guess that 27 & 81 have side rails that were machined & have near if not perfect fit to a Rod ..
the ones i have are cast ... comparing my 2 rails .. the one that doesn't pop off or slide along the rods has a good fit ( the 1/2 circle that clamps to rod ) to the curve on the rod - the other rail has a large gap between the curve of the rail and curve of the rod so it is not getting a good hold on the rod - IMO it's the one rail ...

[Brent@RED]

Donatello, there is a little guide nub that has to be aligned to allow the two sides to compress. If the SIDE HANDLE is really loose, it can slip out of alignment. Try getting it lined up and then reapplying to the rods.

BC

[donatello b]

the nub is aligned ...
to make sure it wasn't my error .. when i returned some items i had the camera tech at rental house look at it and they could NOT get it to stay on..
tried removing spring to see if that helped but it didn't ....

IMO ... the side rails should wrap around the ROD 1/4-3/8" more ...