Driving with bass in the car

[cjmatt]

Ok, so I play praise and worship every Sunday. I take my bass with me in a rather nice/expensive gig bag and put it in the back seat with the kids. When the weather cools down I put it in the trunk....we live in the deep south! If we plan on making stops, it stays at church until Wednesday night.

I know it sounds like overkill, but this is just the way I have always been told to do it. Don't leave your guitar in the trunk! Ever! Even if your just running in to to a store to by a coke.

So my wife ask me last Sunday, "what do touring musicians do with their instruments"? I told her I would ask you guys.

We know that some people move all their gear in trailers behind the van or truck. The big boys have theirs in semi-trucks. But do they leave them there? What about heat? What about the rule?

So? What do they do? How do they defend against heat and other ominous dangers of instrument transport? Am I being weird about this?

Thanks in advance!

[Pilgrim]

Weather permitting (no extreme heat or cold), I have no problem with leaving an instrument, radio/tv gear or other equipment in the trunk while making a stop for lunch or other short-term reasons.

If I have to take a bass to work, it usually comes in the building with me rather than stay in the car all day...but if it's 60 degrees outside and the instrument is well concealed or in a trunk, I may leave it. Car theft is not a big problem on the college campus where I work.

My absolute, inflexible rule is that nothing stays in the car overnight.

If I were a touring musician, that might not work...but it has worked for me through 30+ years of professional video production. No matter where I am or how many flights of stairs, the camera and other critical equipment come up to my hotel room overnight.

[fdeck]

My electric bass has handled the heat and cold enough times that I don't worry about it.

[tplyons]

Amps and gear has gone in the trailer. Instruments ride with the players... That's how we've always rolled.