Double Bass DB in a 4 door '98 Camry?

[tyb507]

I borrowed a '04 Corolla for a gig in PA (from VT), and fit the bass in the passenger seat as described. Long story short, I wound up picking up a friend at the gig and heading to NJ to see another friend's band the next day...where my wife surprised me by hitching a ride with that band in their bus to NJ...to ride back to VT...with me, my buddy, my bass, my 4X10 cab, my big old Peavey Mark IV head, my 2X8 cab (an ampeg combo with the head cut off), and all of our luggage.

We put the 2/3 back seat down, and the bottom of the bass went in to the trunk that way, with the neck sticking up between the front seats. Nobody could see anybody else in the car, and there was a wicked blind spot, but it worked!

I'm on the hunt for either an old Checker or a funky old (40's-50's) station wagon, ambulance or hearse to recommission as a bass hauler!
Anybody got an old Volvo Duett for cheap?

 

[jwbassman]

I regularly put my DB in my Toyota Corolla with no problems. I think you would have no problem with a Camry. Never tried putting the DB in my wife's Camry, but it's got a lot more room.

 

[Mary Ann]

"All of those things will fit in a decent sized station wagon (Dodge magnum, any volvo wagon[I like the older 940], etc.), with decent (2-3) passenger seats. Just out of curiosity how big did you go?"
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He tried a Ford Flex wagon but thought it unwieldy on the road. He bought a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4x4 w/ 5.7 L engine for double bass, pop-up camper, snow, Hobie Cat, sand, etc. Poor guy was driving my 1999 Toyota Sienna mini-van w/ 170k miles so I'm very glad he got a vehicle that he likes. We looked at every small and mid-sized SUV made. Keep in mind that we don't have one adult hauling a double bass. We have a minimum of one adult and one kid when hauling it. Dh was using my car for a campout and I had myself, my mom, my kid, her bass and my mom's wheelchair in the Jeep with no problem.

 

[christw]

Ironically, after buying a 4 door ('07 Honda Accord) for more passenger room and as a future family car, I've got less room than ever for big cargo! It's my only car I've had without a hatch or bed and boy, I want a truck again already. I can't move my big bass cabs and I was afraid the upright wouldn't fit either! This thread gave me hope, especially with my plans to start gigging it soon. I need to find out...

The list of past cars that would have had no issue was: '80 El Camino, '88 Jeep Wagoneer, '05 Civic Si, '96 GMC Jimmy 4 door. In the middle I borrowed a '98 F150 2 door 4x4 long bed. Worked great! A '96 Jeep Cherokee also fits a DB without issue as well. I had to ask to borrow a friend's Jeep while I was without a car and moving between apartments. Thankfully she let me! She never let me borrow it when I lived with her though.

 

[StuFordBass]

i slide my passenger seat all the way forward and down, and then i recline it all the way. then i slide the bass, body first, in through the rear passenger-side door, over the reclined passenger seat into the seat. then i un-recline (?) the seat so it holds the peg box off my back seat head rest.

 

[Dave Irwin]

With older. Camrys and 626's, I've done it by
1. Fold driver and passenger back forward temporarily.
2. Fold back seats as flat as possible.
3. Slide bass in diagonally from the rear driver side, neck to the front.
4. Slide bottom of the bass into the trunk area as far as it will go.
5. Fold front seat backs back to upright positioning neck between the seats.. bass back flat on the rear seats.

Dave.

 

[Michael Case]

Just lay the front passenger seat down the bass will fit. My wife has a '97 Camary and I've had to borrow it a few times, my bass fit in just how I described. No need to roll down windows and stick the neck out.

 

[Texx010]

I have a 1993 Chrysler Concorde 4-door. In my limited experience I did this: I reclined the front passenger seat back as far as it would go. I slid the bass in through the front passenger door neck first. The fat bass body would sit in the front next to me with it up against the automatic gear selector in the middle. The neck would be facing towards the back with the front passenger seat raised back up just far enough to take any pressure off the neck. Fortunately I am barely able to shift from Park to Reverse to Drive, even with the bass up against the shifter.