Home Theater Hacks

Hack #11. Move Your TV Safely

Even if you have a professional deliver your TV, you might eventually need to move it—to a new home, to a new city, to a new state. Avoid losing thousands of dollars by following a few simple instructions.

This might not apply to a short move, but it definitely applies to a crosscountry move, and everything in between. Whenever you are considering a move—near or far—that involves a big-screen TV, you should go down to U-Haul and buy half a dozen unbuilt cardboard boxes, and don't build them.

Instead, lay the boxes flat in your moving truck. Place them where the wheels or flat bottom of your TV or projector is going to go. Use two sets— one for each side of the TV—if it is an extremely long RPTV, such as a 73-inch unit. As you roll or lift the TV into the truck, set it down on these boxes.

Then tie down the TV very carefully (you've just raised the center of gravity for the unit) and allow the 12 layers of corrugated cardboard per corner to absorb the road shocks. You also should pad the large contact areas at the sides of the truck; hopefully you can place the TV in a corner of the moving truck. Just padding that area should do it there.

Be extra careful of the screen, of course, by keeping padding away from the screen's center. Try to ensure that nothing touches the TV screen, and if you can't avoid the screen entirely, just use the edges. Facing the TV up against the side of the truck should present the screen face with a safe parallel surface, ...