Delivery and Setup

Arrival is a survey, not a drop

You pulled up. Before anything leaves the truck, walk the yard with the customer and look for the things that end setups. Overhead power lines and tree branches, which decide where the unit can go. The slope, because inflatables go on ground that is close to level. The sprinkler heads, dog waste, and garden edges that turn a tarp into a hazard map. The distance to the outlet, because a blower needs power and a cord stretched across a walkway is how ankles get hurt. Where the water spigot is, if this is a wet unit.

Ask the two questions that matter: where do you want it, and where can it actually go. Then decide together, on the spot, with you as the professional whose name is on the insurance.

Setup, in order

Tarp first: lay the ground tarp where the unit will sit and stake it so it does not shift. On a hard surface like a driveway there is no staking, which means ballast, which means sandbags at every anchor point. There is no version of a hard-surface setup without weights.

Unroll and position: remove the straps, unroll the unit over the tarp, and align it deliberately, because moving an inflated bounce house is dramatically harder than nudging a deflated one.

Blower and straps: attach the blower tube to the blower, run the extension cord to power, and wrap the transport straps around the blower tube rather than taking them with you. Operators teach this specific habit because the alternative is arriving at pickup with no straps and a vinyl mountain that will not stay rolled. Connect the water hose to the unit now if it is a wet one, before inflation.

Inflate watching: turn the blower on and walk the unit as it rises. Every zipper and air-tube cap must be closed or the unit will never reach pressure. A unit that inflates soft has a zipper open, a tube loose, or a problem, and you find out now, not with thirty kids waiting.

Anchor everything: this is the step that separates professionals from the marketplace sellers. On grass, hammer stakes at every anchor point, driven at an angle away from the unit. On hard surfaces, sandbags on every point, no exceptions, no "it's calm today."

Clean and sanitize before handover: vacuum out leaves and grass, wipe the contact surfaces with disinfectant, and let it dry briefly in the sun. The customer is watching this. A visibly clean unit is the cheapest marketing you will ever do, and the reverse, a dirty unit, is a one-star review with photographic evidence.

The walkthrough is the sale

Setup is not done when the blower is running. It is done when the customer can run the party without you.

Call them over and walk it together. Show them the blower switch and what a running blower sounds like, because a blower that has quit sounds like silence and looks like a sagging castle. Tell them to keep the fan intake clear of toys, balloons, and leaves. Walk the safety rules out loud: shoes off, no flips, ages separated so the four-year-old is not under the ten-year-old, an adult watching from the entrance the whole time, food and drinks and silly string nowhere near the vinyl. Hand them the printed safety sheet that matches your contract. Confirm the pickup time exactly, and set expectations for it: chairs stacked, tables folded, nothing left under the canopy.

Then the two closing moves that compound for years. Give a business card with a review QR code and say plainly that a five-star review is the best tip, and mention you are happy to answer anything during the event if they call. Every guest at that party is a future customer watching how you handled this one.

Photograph the completed setup, corners and anchors included. That photo is your record if a damage claim or weather question comes up later, and it is also next year's booking photo.

If the truck, trailer, and loading side of this work is the part you like, weekend muscle, trailers, and hauling gear are a whole adjacent trade, and junk removal's course covers it properly.

What goes out must come back, and pickup is where the real work, the real weight, and the real risk to your equipment live.