Cars and Cabs?

[Ric5]

I know there have been threads on this before, but searching isn't bringing them up (except on the UB side).

My wife and I had our mopeds stolen, so we're in the market for a car; preferably something decent on gas, and unique.

We've found a 1973 VW Super Beetle.

Now that my band is going to start gigging, I'm going to be buying a bigger cab. I've read that you can fit a standard guitar 412 in the back, but I want to know what the biggest cab I can fit in it is.

What kind of car do you drive, and what kind of cabs can fit? Post pics! Fictitious awards for the most cab in the least car!

A 1973 VW is a 40 year old car. It will cost a lot in maintenance to keep it running and could prove unreliable. Get something made in this century.

 

[SpinyNorman]

A used Ford Focus wagon will haul a ton of gear. I had one for years, and it was a very reliable car.

If you have more cash to spend, a Honda Fit has an incredible amount of space. My buddy has one, and we fit a 50" rear projection TV in the thing.

 

[klejst]

I have never sat inside one of the old Bugs, however at glance I would say you could maybe fit a 2x10, 1x15, 1x12, 2x12 and maybe 4x10 in it. Or possibly two 2x10's or 1x12's...it depends. I drive a truck so I don't have problems hauling my cabs around.

 

[Mykk]

'94 Saab 900s with the backseats removed:

Fender 8x10, Mesa, 2x15, 4 space rack & 2 space rack, stands, five basses in bags (I'm sure cases could fit too) and my girlfriend with our luggage.

This thing has been great. I picked it up for next to nothing, it has 191,xxx miles on the clock. It gets between 25-27 MPG on road trips loaded with equipment. (18ish around the city unloaded) with a non-turbo 2.5L V6. I've done some minor modifications/fixes to keep it going (Replaced the electric fans and wired them for continuous duty, when the IAC failed I bypassed it and set the idle blade stop screw to maintain idle, tie rod end replacment. I made a performance air intake for it, use synthetic oils and 91 pump gas. I have taken this thing all over the west coast, Arizona, Utah, Las Vegas and more.

My other equipment haulers:

 

[Jim Carr]

I have never sat inside one of the old Bugs, however at glance I would say you could maybe fit a 2x10, 1x15, 1x12, 2x12 and maybe 4x10 in it. Or possibly two 2x10's or 1x12's...it depends...

FYI...The Bug backseat folds down part way. I've no pics of that, but this may give you an idea of the interior.

 

[flavman1]

I routinely fit the following in my 1996 4 door Honda Civic Sedan:

Schroeder 1212L cab
Ampeg PB-210 cab
Eden WT-800 in rack case
3/4 scale double bass
Electric bass in gig bag
Pedal board

 

[3mrhythm]

I had a 2008 Toyota yaris which was awesome on gas and had TONS of room in the back with the seat down.. Eventually i grew tired of payments so i sold the car and bought an 89 vw cabriolet..

I have a custom 15" cab built into a flight case.. and i have to put down the top to get it in the car..

Find a hatch back.. This summer i would like to get a golf or even a jetta wagon. Luckily one of the guitarist in the band has a saturn wagon and the drummer has a minivan.. Last show we were down to two vehicles.. which was super rad. the show before we had 4 vehicles because the drummers wife had the minivan

 

[J Posega]

Thanks for the input. I've done plenty of research, I know why I'm potentially getting into, but the owner of the VW has maintained it very nicely for a long time.

I always really love when people make asinine suggestions. Like an SUV or minivan that gets 12 MPG. Thanks, but no thanks.

 

[3mrhythm]

the car has become reliable.. but since april i've dropped about $1400 into the car.. (but i only paid $1000 for it)

i plan to drop another $1000 into it this summer and then it should be right as rain

 

[zfunkman]

I drove 72 VW Bug in H.S. and played in a band. I had a 2x15 Peavy Cab. If I took the passenger seat out I could fit my cab in its place.

 

[3mrhythm]

if the bug is aircooled start learning how to tune the carbs.. the more you know about your vw the better..

i can do the timing belt on my cabriolet in under 20minutes and that includes timing it

 

[3mrhythm]

I drove 72 VW Bug in H.S. and played in a band. I had a 2x15 Peavy Cab. If I took the passenger seat out I could fit my cab in its place.

vw seats are incredibly easy to remove.. one bolt.. slide out!

 

[gkbass13]

I am a huge fan of older Saab hatchbacks. A lot of fun to drive, comfortable and can fit a ton of stuff with the back seats down.

 

[Josh Thatguy]

The Snaab loaded up seems like the winner this time around! That's a ton of stuff.

I'd like to see how well an 810 aids weight transfer off the line in his other 11&12-sec 1/4mile rides.

Seems to me like the OP is mindset on getting the old Beetle.
I'm sure there are those of us out here who have had the same mindset... only to have the cold, stinging hand of Reality change our minds several months down the road. For me, it was a TVR 280i that looked so cool, I just knew it would be different than the rest of them and not have the same problems and issues as all the rest, because mine was just gonna be different......

.......not........

Experience is a harsh, expensive teacher sometimes.


As an addendum, I guess I'm one of the "asinine" contributors that the OP refers to later in the thread, with my suggestion for a mid-90s Land Rover Discovery as a chreap haul-everything-even-in-apocolypse-storms vehicle. Fueleconomy.gov, which is nototriously pessimistic even when compared to new-car window-sticker mpg, does list the 1995 Land Rover Discovery as 12 mpg avg between city and highway. However, fuelly.com has a sampling of Discovery owners reporting 19, 15, and a couple of 21s. I'll just make a mental note to not offer future suggestions to bassists who ride mopeds (?!), as they are apparently much more intelligent than I am.

Asinine? Well, 'tis better to be hated for who you are, than loved for who you're not, as an old friend once said. Cheers!

 

[dhsierra1]

I drive a '91 Toyota Camry Wagon, the 4 cylinder version. Cheap, utterly reliable, very little maintenance, boring looking so as not to attract attention, and very good gas mileage.

Can load a lot of gear with the back seats down (or even up) including double bass, cello, bass guitars, 2-15, amps, etc in one haul.

And still have room for a passenger in the front

 

[garmenteros]

Suzuki Grand Vitara 2007 model if memory serves me right.

Ampeg heritage on the right and a couple of basses on top of my acoustic 370. I just need to have the left side passenger seat down. I've also folded down the right passenger seat and fit my guitarist halfstack and guitars in there comfortably. MPG is quite reasonable as well. I do about 700 miles a month on 3 tanks of gas.

 

[Razman]

Seems to me like the OP is mindset on getting the old Beetle.
I'm sure there are those of us out here who have had the same mindset... only to have the cold, stinging hand of Reality change our minds several months down the road. For me, it was a TVR 280i that looked so cool, I just knew it would be different than the rest of them and not have the same problems and issues as all the rest, because mine was just gonna be different......

.......not........

Experience is a harsh, expensive teacher sometimes.
<snipped>

+1000. I have my own share of experiences for my credentials. IMO, get something inexpensive yet reliable that your wife likes (not you). Something that won't leave her stranded on the side of the road (like an '80 Stinkin' Lincoln - at least she could push the bug out of traffic).

I'm totally with you on the uniqueness vibe thing, but save that until you can afford it. Then, get what YOU want, but keep your wife happy too - that will earn you points for the long haul.

To me, good gas mileage is better than the '89 Suburban I had that got 8-10 mpg. It was a great gear hauler, got props on the road, but was hard to feed (and keep it full). The '01 Quest I have now isn't as large but gets 18-22 mpg and is reliable as can be. The AC will freeze you out of it, and it's got 18x,xxx miles on it and doesn't leak a drop of oil (try that in that beetle).

Others have recommended Toyota hatches/wagons; older Accords would fit the bill too, net you 27 mpg or better around town, and run forever.

Note to Josh: it only took you a couple of months down the road for reality to change your mind? You were a lot sharper than I was.

OP, in all seriousness, best wishes for you if you do get the VW, I hope it works good for you.

 

[will33]

Beetles are cool, but you are not thinking practically, though trying to haul a gig size bass rig on a moped, even less so.

Think hatchbacks and "mini station wagons". Or become a singer.

 

[nostatic]

For the same price as an old Beetle, which I'm guessing is in the $1,500-$2k range, you can pick up a Land Rover Discovery series 1 or series 2 on Craigslist, and load two 810s, a 10-space rack case, 4 basses in cases, pedalboards, and have room for a passenger or two.

And the Disco might actually get you to one or two gigs before it needs $3K in repairs

My first car was a '67 bug. I hauled gear in it. Don't buy the '73 super beetle. Not great on gas compared to modern small cars, surprising amount of space inside but hard to get things in/out, and it will require regular (and potentially expensive if you don't DIY) maintenance.

Hatchback or wagon FTW. Seriously. Honda Civic hatchbacks from the 80s or 90s should be cheap and plentiful and if they were maintained, will run a long, long time. Or any Honda/Toyota/Subaru/Nissan wagon would work great as well.

 

[PluckyThump]

A VW Beetle is not a practical car for hauling gear. It's a fun little car to take out for a sunny weekend drive, that's it. Heed the advice given here, get yourself a more modern vehicle. A small hatch or wagon will get better fuel economy than the VW and it will be much safer and have a lot more cargo room. If you get the VW you better learn how to repair and maintain it yourself because it will need a lot of maintenance. Trust me I have two friends who owned them in the past and I saw what they went through with constant tuning-up, brake adjustments, no heat, electrical problems, rusted out sheet metal, rotten exhaust system, broken seats and so on.