Transportation in this Modern Economy

idResponse · #1 01-17-2009, 12:37 AM

Hello

My band is booking a summer tour but we are seriously lacking logistics regarding transportation.
We have a drummer with a very large kit (fits in the back of a saab 900 with the back seats down takes up the whole thing)
I play a 1x15 Cab with a head and two pedalboards, usually carry two instruments.
Guitar 1 has at least one guitar a ton of pedals in random state of organization, and runs a 1x12 marshall combo and a 1x10 fender combo.
guitar 2 has a bizzare few toys one guitar and some crappy 1x10 combo.
we also have a sax player, she doesn't have much in the way of gear, just a sax a flute and possibly bongos on a stand.

we also might have a keyboard player... i'm not sure if we do anymore...

how come the drummer and i are the only people who have decent gear and take care of it?!? geez... guitardists...

so either way that's 5 or 6 folks and a ton of gear...

now, i don't know what's going to happen to gas prices later this year, so that might be a problem. prices will probably go back up... so gas mileage is a concern of mine.

so... what would be the ideal vehicle these days for touring?

we don't really have any vehicles to pull the trick proper. what are you folks doing for tour vehicles anymore? we're going to have to either invest in a vehicle or rent one i suppose... i just don't know where the money will come from for that. currently we've been playing shows in town by carpooling between a couple vehicles. drums go in their own car, the rest in the back of a beat up toyota van with no front shocks.

SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!

2x4strgkramers · #2 01-17-2009, 01:07 AM

Rent a small RV.

T-Bird · #3 01-17-2009, 01:18 AM

Hi.

Judging by the prices they sell ~5 year old vans imported from USA here, I'd say one of You should buy a van. Seem to be super cheap.

You do know that the two main assets of a bassplayer are a van and the PA

. Been that way for ages.

Don't obviously know about the extent of Your touring/gigging transportation needs, nor your going price, but in here no-one would even consider to rent a van sized vehicle if there's any chance not to. All the money made would go towards the rent and the fuel. NOT FUN. Tour busses are an entirely different matter.

Regards
Sam

seanm · #4 01-19-2009, 12:49 AM

Get a trailer. Fix the front shocks on the Toyota Van and you are good to go.

As an aside, I didn't know Toyota made vans, or is it a minivan?

Jactap · #5 01-19-2009, 12:59 AM

I agree with sean m, get a trailer. Bringing less stuff would also help with the transportation issue as well and it wouldn't cost anything.

T-Bird · #6 01-19-2009, 01:24 AM

Hi.

OOPS, didn't see the Toyota was a van, being a Ford Transit guy those things kinda escape my eyes when talking about vans

. A Hi-Ace? Not a Lite-Ace

?

.

The van I was thinking about was a long Chevy/Ford with extra seats, perhaps with a raised roof.

But I do agree with the above posters, a trailer should do if You all fit comfortably into the repaired Toyota. Which I pretty much doubt.

Regards
Sam

Passinwind · #7 01-19-2009, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanm

Get a trailer. Fix the front shocks on the Toyota Van and you are good to go.

As an aside, I didn't know Toyota made vans, or is it a minivan?

If it's a mid to late 80s Toyota van, a trailer is probably a pretty bad idea. The manual for mine spec'd no more than 45 mph max driving speed with a trailer, and further recommended never driving in more than around 40 mph winds to avoid a blowover! The van by itself was already a real handful here in the often-windy place I live.

**butchblack** · #8 01-22-2009, 05:19 PM

How long and extensive is the tour? If it's just a few weeks and a few hundred miles away from home, fix the Toyota and use 2 vehicles. If it's longer and further consider buying an Econoline type van and maybe a small enclosed trailer. A possible option is the Dodge Sprinter vans. They're diesel, tend to get better mileage on the highway, but diesel fuel is about $1.00 a gallon more then regular unleaded and isn't as available in smaller out of the way places, so cost per mile needs to be considered not just MPG.

From the sounds of your post, is your band ready to do a tour? The question of whether on not you have a keyboardist and some members lack of equipment raises a few warning flags to me. Make sure your band is stable and ready for this before investing in a new to you used van, although a van is always a good investment for a bassist.

Good luck in any case.

**IvanMike** · #9 01-23-2009, 12:56 PM

a bit off topic but...................

"very large kit"????

IME, drummers that play out a lot bring four piece kits. every once in a while a five piece. The more they play the smaller those drums are likely to be. Get him to scale down and you can all fit in a station wagon..........

Jim Campbell · #10 01-23-2009, 07:23 PM

for me a 1/2 ton has been #1 for ages ......if you sit down and factor the cost..... just what is over what your normal car costs are the real xtra cost....trailers can be towed.....load them right and they dont tip, camper shells etc can hold a lot of gear,offer a shelter in a pinch and band mates can chip in for fuel...

...the cash ive saved on trips to the lumberyard ,dump etc,access to deals on freebies etc actually put my old dodge into the plus side of the ledger.....being able to cart stuff has been the ticket for lots of good used furniture etc...... all free........gas aint cheap but ive learned to make up the difference by driving less for pleasure or trips the corner store.....

trucks are plentiful and hold up value wise......to me trying to cram a 8/10 into a toyissuzukia or whatever is nuts.....i guess if you live in a really crowded downtown area it could be a problem but......

a full size american truck will cost less to fix usually than the 1/4 tons or mini vans and the difference will buy a lot of gas

Dave Muscato · #11 01-23-2009, 11:41 PM

Standard issue band transportation:

sound of bass · #12 01-24-2009, 12:00 AM

Right on Mama Dave.

txbasschik · #13 01-24-2009, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanMike

a bit off topic but...................

"very large kit"????

IME, drummers that play out a lot bring four piece kits. every once in a while a five piece. The more they play the smaller those drums are likely to be. Get him to scale down and you can all fit in a station wagon..........

Most drummers I know use no more than a six piece. And that sixth is often just a bitty little tom or some such.

My very first band (Back in The Long Ago...you know, the 80's) had this drummer with a big Pearl double-bass kit...two kicks, two snares (big-n-small), toms 'til tomorrow, and more cymbals than a Chinese New Year's parade.

We played a lot of punk. He got so MAD when he had to cut his kit down! "Dude...be in two bands. You have enough drums, you've got complete kits for two bands."

He didn't like that suggestion. Can't understand why!

Cherie

**IvanMike** · #14 01-25-2009, 03:07 PM

if you can get a deal on a midbus (yeah a short bus) they are roomy for gear once you take out some seats. and they are deisel so mileage can be better although see if deisel ever comes down in price. not sure if the final $$$ would be in favor of that or not.

seanm · #15 01-25-2009, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanMike

if you can get a deal on a midbus (yeah a short bus) they are roomy for gear once you take out some seats. and they are deisel so mileage can be better although see if deisel ever comes down in price. not sure if the final $$$ would be in favor of that or not.

The short buses here, I assume you mean those short school buses, tend to be gas.

A long time ago, when diesel was much cheaper than gas, I asked a local contractor why his dump trucks where gas. He said that since he didn't have them running all winter it didn't pay. The first major repair would wipe out all the gas savings.

I would assume it is only worse now that diesel is much more expensive than gas.

Dave Muscato · #16 01-25-2009, 07:46 PM

The other big problem with short busses is that you can't park in regular parking spaces. With a van + trailer, if you need to run errands, you can detach the trailer at the club or hotel (ALWAYS with the back against a building!!! so no one can break into it, and a lock through the hitch so no one can steal it) and take the van off to go do what you need to do.

Conversion vans are also much more comfortable for long trips. They have MUCH better, more comfortable bucket seats, compared to oversized vinyl benches that are really intended for children; many have a TV/DVD player & multi-zone A/C and heat, cup holders! (which you will never see on a busses except tour busses), small compartments throughout for storage of personal items, etc, and offer a lot more privacy inside than short busses (although I suppose you could paint or tint the windows, but that would either kill visibility for the driver, or cost a lot). It's also relatively easy to break into a bus by forcing the door open; you would not want to leave your equipment in there unattended overnight.

P.S. As someone who used to work for a title loan company, I can tell you that one of the best places to get a deal on a van is a repo auction. I have seen conversion vans with Kelly Blue Book values of $15k go for $600. They may need some serious cleaning, and some need mechanical work or replacement parts (generally speaking, if someone knows he's about to lose his car, he will stop maintaining it, and will also take out everything that isn't bolted down: TV, spare tire, etc), but for $600 you can't really complain. This is the place the company I used to work for used to auction our repossessed vehicles, and they're open to the public (as opposed to just dealers) once a week now, I believe:

http://www.moaa.biz/

As a disclaimer, I used to work for a loan company that contracted with these guys; I no longer work for that company and have no affiliation with them personally or professionally anymore. However, I can say that they are good guys who do their jobs well and have I-wouldn't-believe-it-if-I-hadn't-seen-it deals on used vans & trucks.