article / 7 min
A complete, printable FRC pit and competition packing list — tools, spares, batteries, safety, laptop/software, paperwork — plus a robot self-inspection pre-check mapped to the 2026 rules.
/ 1,195 words / 8 sections
Bring, above everything else: a fully stocked toolbox, a complete set of spares (motors, wheels, belts/chain, and every control-system electronic), and at least three charged robot batteries with a charger. Add ANSI-rated safety glasses, a laptop with the offline WPILib installer already run, your pneumatics datasheets, and the paperwork inspectors ask for — then run the self-inspection pre-check at the bottom of this page before you roll up to the inspection station.
Print this list and tape it inside your pit toolbox lid. Tick every line during load-out and again during tear-down — the second pass is how you avoid leaving a battery charger or a $30 sensor behind in an away venue.
The inspection numbers below are verified against the 2026 FRC Inspection Checklist (Rev. 0) and Game Manual. Weights, sizes, and software versions can change each season, so re-check them against the current-year checklist before your first event.
Bring a spare of anything you could reasonably break and swap back in under ~30 minutes.
Run this yourself before the official inspection. It mirrors the categories and rule numbers on the 2026 FRC Inspection Checklist, so passing here means very few surprises at the station.
<R103><R408>; total inspected weight with swappable mechanisms ≤ 150 lb (68.04 kg) <I103><R104>, with a non-articulated perimeter <R101><R405><R402-B>, with ≥ 2 in (5.1 cm) of legal padding <R402-A> and a cloth cover <R402-C><R406>; segment gaps < 1.5 in <R401>; hard parts don't extend > 1.5 in past the perimeter <R404><R411, R412><R410><R202, R205><R203>; stored energy is safe <R203><R204><R601, R607><R612>; PD and breakers visible <R613><R609>; breaker-to-wire sizing correct (40A→12 AWG, 30A→14 AWG, 20A→18 AWG) <R621, R622><R611>; no more than 4 propulsion motors <R502><R615>; RSL wired to the roboRIO RSL port <R709><R808> and stored/main pressure ≤ 120 psi <R807><R811>; an accessible manual vent plug valve <R813><R810>; components rated ≥ 70 psi (working) / ≥ 125 psi (stored) <R801, R802>2026_v1.2+ and DS 26.0+) <R701, R901><R105–R107><R707, R905>Weigh the robot on your own scale the night before, dry-fit both bumper colors, and power-cycle it once fully assembled. A team that clears its own pre-check almost always passes inspection on the first try — which means more practice matches and less scrambling.
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