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How do you transport your gear?
- Thread starter Matt Dean
- Start date
Got tired of squeezing my gear into a '23 WRX and picked up a '26 Forester. Not as fun to drive, but my auto insurance dropped by 50%. Heh. No tickets or accidents, just if you have a WRX they assume you'll drive like an idiot.
I should have added the story of what kicked off the decision. You can fit two Subway cabs in the back of a WRX. I went to a local dealer and bought the third cab assuming it would fit. Guess what? 2 is the limit, but my wife was a trooper and carried it on her lap in the front seat.
It seems to change drastically every decade or two for me:
In the 70s I’d either get a lift from my Mom, or my drummer would haul everything in his gigantic Buick station wagon.
In the 80s and 90s I drove compact cars with a hatchback that, if you folded the back seat down, could easily accommodate all my gear. Plus maybe one bandmate. (In the mid-80s I also briefly owned a 1964 Chevy Greenbriar van, which could easily haul the entire band’s gear, but that van was a flaming POS so I went back to compact hatchbacks.)
In the 00s and 10s I lived in New York City, so I mostly used the MTA subway to get to gigs, 95% of which had venue-provided backline. For the few that didn’t, either a bandmate with a car, a taxi, an Uber, or, in a couple instances, the aforementioned subway…while carrying a pair of lightweight speaker cabinets, a Class D head, and my bass! Not recommended
And now in the 20s I’m driving an enormous Honda Pilot SUV which is so huge I have to strap the seatbelts around my cabinets to keep them from sliding around.
In the 70s I’d either get a lift from my Mom, or my drummer would haul everything in his gigantic Buick station wagon.
In the 80s and 90s I drove compact cars with a hatchback that, if you folded the back seat down, could easily accommodate all my gear. Plus maybe one bandmate. (In the mid-80s I also briefly owned a 1964 Chevy Greenbriar van, which could easily haul the entire band’s gear, but that van was a flaming POS so I went back to compact hatchbacks.)
In the 00s and 10s I lived in New York City, so I mostly used the MTA subway to get to gigs, 95% of which had venue-provided backline. For the few that didn’t, either a bandmate with a car, a taxi, an Uber, or, in a couple instances, the aforementioned subway…while carrying a pair of lightweight speaker cabinets, a Class D head, and my bass! Not recommended
And now in the 20s I’m driving an enormous Honda Pilot SUV which is so huge I have to strap the seatbelts around my cabinets to keep them from sliding around.
LOL, my first paid gig was in a pit orchestra on cello, for a community musical theater production. My mom had to drive me because I didn't have my license yet.
Mazda5. Fits an Ampeg 810e. LOVE the sliding rear doors! Good mileage. Sporty handling. ZERO problems over 13 years and 170K+ miles.
