How to Pack Up a Scrambler: A 10-Step Guide to the Ride

Do you have a Scrambler stuck in your living room that you just can’t get rid of?

The ride has been a staple of both amusement parks and fairs for the better part of a century. In addition to being an enduring favorite, it’s also incredibly simplistic and robust by design. There’s a few different variations but when set up, they tend to appear like this;

But you can’t just load a Scrambler into a pickup bed and haul it down the road. When traveling between locations, like all good carnival rides they need to be packed up into the shape you see below. I was able to assist on one occasion and can describe the process in ten broad strokes. Should you ever need to do it, here’s how one packs up a Scrambler…

Step 1: Lights Out

Scramblers tend to have a signature crown of lights atop the ride. These can vary by design, but the light bulb strips on this one all fold down on top of the three arms.

Step 2: Pack Up The Cars

Each of the twelve cars can be compacted by unscrewing the front end and access step, which are then folded within its reduced volume. The cars are each equipped with their own protective tarps for whenever the ride is out of service.

Step 3: Cut The Power

This isn’t strictly necessary until later stages when dismantling other carnival rides (keeping lights on is useful in the evening), but in the Scrambler’s case most of the packing up can be done manually from here. The ride’s base frame contains multiple hatches; one of these can be used to store its electrical wiring.

Step 4: Folding Position / Introduction to Extra Frames

A Scrambler has three arms. One of these is aligned with the base, thus creating a symmetrical arrangement. This arm will be bolted down to the base using a steel ledger, the first of several extra frames used to secure the ride components in place. These pieces are as much a part of the Scrambler as any gondola or cog, as it is essential that nothing moves while on the road. This unit is painted purple and green; the extra steel is colored blue.

Step 5: Stack The Arms

Each of the Scrambler’s arms holds four cars. Or more accurately, a pair of perpendicular trusses holding two cars apiece on their ends. Like a game of jackstraws, one of these trusses must be stacked on top of the other… but how can you achieve this by hand?

5A: Remove The Bolts

There are a dozen pins total holding these arms into place while set up; six on each side with three at the top and three at the bottom. These are quite snug and you will need a hammer to force them out. The truss is also supported by a plate beneath, keeping it from falling to the ground. Below depicts the bottom pins that can and can’t be removed.

5B: Pulley System

Stacking the Scrambler trusses is accomplished by means of a pulley system, with a pair of guide wheels pinned to the top of the ride whilst a crank axle is attached to the stationary truss. Cables are hooked on to the truss that’s about to be raised, and therefore liftoff ensues.

5C: Crank It!

The crank pulley has a minuscule gear ratio, making the workload significantly easier for the average human being. It takes about a minute to raise the truss up to the three feet that it needs to go.

5D: One Third of The Way

Once the truss is attached to the unfixed connection points above, it can be rotated parallel and overtop of the stationary truss. Three sets of our blue steel beams are then used to secure the new structure form; two attaching the empty truss hinges to the frame and one spanning from top to bottom. In addition, a pair of cables are strung at the arm’s base to serve as extra assistance.

And with this completed, steps 5A-D are repeated on the other two arms!

Step 6: Fold The Ride

The most significant piece of movement throughout the process is when the ride’s three arm-stacks are folded onto the trailer. The first arm is already locked into the center as per Step 4, which means that the other two must swing in on either side. This means detaching multiple components from each arm.

6A: Bottom

The arm is connected to the base via two pin attachments on the sides and a gear axle that controls the rotation of each arm’s cars. Once these are disengaged, the assistance cables from Step 5D can be tugged enough to fully lift the arm’s base from its sockets.

6B: Top

Opposite the fixed arm, a pair of heavy-duty pins must be removed to allow the remaining two arms to swing inwards. This is accomplished via a small car jack, the size of which is integral since larger ones won’t fit. Once this is painstakingly done, it’s easy to visualize the motion that follows;

6C: Swing (The Fun Part!)

Given the amount of weight that needs to be moved and the momentum generated from it, this is recommended as a group effort. Once each arm is folded in, they can be fixed to the trailer surface using a larger car jack and another pair of the ledgers from Step 4. This is now essentially the ride’s traveling position, although the job is far from over.

Step 7: Hang Up The Fences

Each ride travels with its own supply of aluminum fencing, which is hung up on a fair of foldable bars (see the arrows above) on the two newly-opened sides of the column. Although large, the aluminum fences and footers are extremely light and versatile; while the latter are stored within the ride’s base, we can (with some difficulty) fit about 13 fences on each side plus an entrance and exit gate apiece before capping off the bars. A ratchet strap will encircle the stacks, as again everything must remain rigid while on the road.

Step 8: Ground Control

The last set of components to be packed up are the ride panel, manual brake, battery, and control center. With the brake locked in place, we can disengage everything from the ride base, which can either be bolted down or stored in the hatches.

The ride is powered by four truck batteries, and they’re NOT easy to move. I’d recommend hitting the gym, really.

Step 9: Liftoff

The range of motion for a Scrambler is flat, unbanked rotations on a completely horizontal axis via two sets of spinning axles. However, there is a third function; a pair of cylinder’s underneath the ride base that can raise/lower its landing gear legs. A remote control is dutifully plugged in, controlling the landing gear to tilt the rear of the base up into the air. Truly, it’d be a spectacle if the ride could run like this!

Step 10: Give It Wheels

From here on out, the Scrambler transforms into a certified semi-trailer, meaning that only the back part of it has wheels. The final piece of the ride’s puzzle is the rear dolly, which is moved into place with extreme precision and attached to the underside. The landing gear is then lowered on top of the dolly, thus hooking it into the base.

Ready for the Road!

The Scrambler is now officially packed up and ready to travel! Wherever they arrive next, they can be set up by following this entire guide in reverse. I would hope that your living rooms are eternally grateful.

How many Scramblers have you ridden? Can you stomach carnival rides? Let us know in the comments below!