What vehicle do you use for carting your gear ?

[Blue JC]

1997 Chevrolet Suburban. I can get all of my gear (Kurzweil PC2x, Hammond XB2, Leslie 142, JBL Eon G2s, stands, cord box, gig bag, etc) in the way-back plus I have full use of the front and middle seats which double as my girl singer's dressing room for some gigs.

 

It's a great truck: 250,000+ miles, fully-loaded gets 24 mpg highway in overdrive and plenty of room for a big guy (6'5") like me. I'll probably never get another one. They cost more than a house now.

 

My cord/pedal box is an old Rubbermaid-style 3' x 2' toolbox with a flat locking lid that makes a perfect beer table. It's even waterproof when it's closed. It's important to have priorities.

[eric]

Originally posted by Is There Gas in the Car?:

Originally posted by The Pro:

Now I'm shopping for a cheap toy car to drive around in when I'm not working.

This is a good idea.

 

Lots of people here are buying Mini-Coopers. I think they look best with female drivers than an old fart like me behind the wheel.

 

Our other car is an Accord, 5-speed w/sunroof. Nice car. Like I said, my wife looks a lot better driving it than I. Of course, she'd look great wearing overalls, driving a FORD tractor down I-40 with a piece of straw hanging out of her mouth.

 

My buddy, Blueskeys, has a nice Miata convertible. He usually drives it around town on two wheels. I won't ride with him anymore because the stain is so hard to get out of my pants.

I belong to the "toy car" club in terms of having something exclusively for commuting to and from work to save on gas. A friend sold me his '95 Civic 2-door for a song about 3 years ago and it gets 40+ miles to the gallon. Perfect for my daily commutes, which can rack up to 50+ miles a day, depending on whether I go out for lunch or not. Plus, the Civic is surprisingly large...when I fold down the rear seat, I can actually squeeze in my S90 flight case. So it could be an emergency gig-mobile if necessary.

 

Our other vehicles include my official gig-mobile, the '92 Isuzu Trooper that was our original nice family vehicle back when we got it in 1994. Since then, the miles have accumulated (near 200k) and it keeps on going strong (still looks new, too!).

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/eslawson/electro_trooper.JPG

 

We got a second Trooper in 2002, which is the wife's daily driver and current family truckster. The nice thing is that the dimensions are identical to my older Trooper, so I use it for longer road trip gigs (slight bit more reliable than the old one).

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/eslawson/vehicles.JPG

 

Finally, I have a 1981 Chevy pickup (8' bed) I inherited from my granddad when he passed away in 1990. No frills truck, with 3-on-the-column shifter, no power steering, no AC...just an honest-to-goodness work truck. It only has 70k miles, since I use it for trips to the dump and Lowe's for home improvement projects. It is rusting out, but otherwise works great.

 

One day we may retire the SUVs and get something like a Subaru wagon or similar. 4WD is very handy for us in the winter and we live in a very hilly neighborhood.

 

Regards,

Eric

[EscapeRocks]

I see someone else uses what I use....

 

My gear goes to gigs in a '05 Dodge Ram QC. The vehicle doubles as the transport (with trailer) for my race car. Yeah....two much too expensive pursuits. I get double GAS between keyboards and race car parts

[The Real MC]

I'm on hiatus from gigging now. When I do go back to gigging, I plan on purchasing a trailer. After years of using buses, trucks, and a 1993 Saturn I've concluded that trailers are the way to go.

[skykeys]

My Yamana S90ES keyboard (in Gator case), Roland RD-500 amp, various stands and miscellaneous stuff, fit in my Subaru Forester nicely. If I need to haul additional equipment, PA for example, I use my Toyota Sienna.

[jon from oz]

Fantom X 88 , VR760 combo , 2 x Peavy BW speaker cabs , powered Yamaha desk , stands/bags of cables etc and any gear the rest of the band needs a hand with in a 1997 Toyota Hi Ace SBV with 400 000 kms on the clock . I live in a big state .

[carpetbagger]

X2 for Subarus

 

My '03 Subaru Legacy wagon is big enough to fit a full ATA case for the S90 ES (all 62 inches), and the high roof lets me pack the rest of my gear (amp, rack, NE73, stand, stool, cable case, laptop, etc.).

 

With upgraded swaybars, the Scoob handles great even fully loaded (which is a help in the Hill Country around here). Not to mention that you still have the tow hitch option . . .

[soundscape]

Originally posted by Dave Horne:

he following link helps to put things in perspective .... http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html

In the UK, the duty on gas--that's not gasoline but the natural gas piped to households' central heating systems--is taxed at, if I remember correctly, a mere 5%. Why's that? Pensioners might get hypothermia if they couldn't afford to heat their homes.

 

BTW, China is building one coal-fired power station a week. So, if you are worried about human-induced global warming (and I've steered away from that one since, although it is a purely scientific issue, it rapidly becomes politicized), it may be as well to realize where the a good percentage of the growth in CO2 emissions will come from.

[Chris Link]

... self-loathing is only popular amongst the 60s types. [/QB]

 

Oh no, it's actually quite popular among the younger 60's wanna-bes, too. It's the converse of the "my country- right or wrong" attitude- more of a "my country's wrong- even when it's right".

[Chris Link]

"The following link helps to put things in perspective .... http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html"

 

No kidding. We'd all be in Mini-Coopers and hybrids at these prices.

 

There's nothing wrong with making the political decision to limit fuel consumption by raising taxes on fuel. It sure beats giving the Saudis billions of dollars a year to fund jihad.

[superpowter77]

Honda civic 2000, too much trouble to put 2 full size keyboards, 2 guitars(hard cases) and a motif rack es on it 4 times a week. Will get a honda element o honda odyssey for christmas.

[bluesdisciple]

2004 Dodge Grand Caravan--carries my Hammond C3, Leslie 122A, Peavey KB100 amp, stands, two big gig boxes of cables, pedals, etc. a Casio WK3700, organ bench and other assorted items when needed. It all fits perfectly in it..just like a glove.

 

BD