Double Bass Strapping the bass to the roof

[krfoss]

Im taking the bass to the shop but couldn't fit it, the wife, and two kids in the car all at once, so I had to strap it to the roof. This was definitely the most nerve-wracking 30 mile freeway drive of my life, and I've driven my wife to the hospital for two childbirths!

I used two nylon straps, the cargo netting, and pads under the body and under the neck. How would you have done it?

 

[Groove Doctor]

Is it legal for children to ride on the roof in your State of California?? Asking for a friend.

 

[lermgalieu]

Actually, that looks like a decent way to go. I'd be more concerned about yanking the straps too tight than anything else.

 

[Levin Hannaford]

According to my good friend Trip Rogers, back in the mid-90s he booked a gig several hours away and planned on carpooling with his 75-year-old bass player. The bass player showed up to pick up Trip in a Country Squire station wagon with his bass, a 1939 American Standard, strapped directly to the roof! No case, no bag, just a couple feet of rope and that was it! Apparently, they went through a McDonalds drive-thru on the way up to the gig and the entire restaurant gawked at them! Oddly enough, I now own that bass.

 

[james condino]

Looks like another day on the playground around here.....

 

[rickwolff]

Another use for 3M Dual-Lock (full disclosure - I am an endorsing artist for Dual-Lock).

 

[AGCurry]

 

[krfoss]

View attachment 4280205

I wish I felt nearly this cool about the drive...

On the plus side, the bass did make it to the shop and back without any problems. And, I was much less paranoid on the drive back. Whew...

 

[Ed S]

Is it legal for children to ride on the roof in your State of California?? Asking for a friend.

Didn't they make a big deal out of Mitt Romney packing his dog in a rooftop carrier?

We used to have a clamshell rooftop carrier. One time up at our vacation place - when the kids were really little - they asked what it wold be like to ride in it. Well, I never was one to stand in the way of a learning experience, so I lined it with outdoor seat cushions, snapped the kids in one at a time, and slowly drove around a private dirt driveway.

I remember talking to the kids sometime later and they said something along the lines of, "What the HELL were we thinking?!" Good times!

 

[AGCurry]

I remember talking to the kids sometime later and they said something along the lines of, "What the HELL were we thinking?!" Good times!

Whenever I tell a story about something I did when young, the end of it always goes "What could go wrong?"

 

[Ed S]

Whenever I tell a story about something I did when young, the end of it always goes "What could go wrong?"

Yeah. Our family also likes, "Hey y'all, watch this!" Accompanied as needed by, "Hold my beer!"

 

[Jim Dedrick]

Im taking the bass to the shop but couldn't fit it, the wife, and two kids in the car all at once, so I had to strap it to the roof. This was definitely the most nerve-wracking 30 mile freeway drive of my life, and I've driven my wife to the hospital for two childbirths!

I used two nylon straps, the cargo netting, and pads under the body and under the neck. How would you have done it?

I don't think I could do it. That's a 2 car trip.

 

[MrLenny1]

IMHO the family would have stayed home.

 

[MattZilla]

That is the only good use I've seen of these recently very fashionable roof racks. Hats off to you.

The least bad option is almost as expensive as a whole second car if you want full collision protection- trailer with a crmo roll cage built in.

 

[krfoss]

That is the only good use I've seen of these recently very fashionable roof racks. Hats off to you.

The least bad option is almost as expensive as a whole second car if you want full collision protection- trailer with a crmo roll cage built in.

I like the rack a lot and have gotten a lot of use. While I drive an outback, when you have a weekend camping or family trip with two kids, you find you pack a lot of stuff. It was much easier with just me and my wife doing a backpacking trip. We packed everything into her little Mazda 3.

 

[MattZilla]

I like the rack a lot and have gotten a lot of use. While I drive an outback, when you have a weekend camping or family trip with two kids, you find you pack a lot of stuff. It was much easier with just me and my wife doing a backpacking trip. We packed everything into her little Mazda 3.

They seem great for that.

In my area I only see them on shiny toy SUVs rolling on desert tires with the rack holding a full size spare desert tire despite there being no other off road equipment on the truck and no desert in a 1000 mile radius.

 

[krfoss]

They seem great for that.

In my area I only see them on shiny toy SUVs rolling on desert tires with the rack holding a full size spare desert tire despite there being no other off road equipment on the truck and no desert in a 1000 mile radius.

Yah... Those people are out there too. I'm probably posturing too much with the rack as it is, but it only goes on when I need it.

I'm posturing too much by claiming I play upright bass too.... And yet here we are....

 

[MattZilla]

Yah... Those people are out there too. I'm probably posturing too much with the rack as it is, but it only goes on when I need it.

I'm posturing too much by claiming I play upright bass too.... And yet here we are....

I'm definitely more than a little bit of a hypocrite: I doubt that if I could afford to own & maintain 5 Porsches, I'd be able to resist the urge to have my main daily driver of the bunch be mechanically identical to an '84 Dakar racer but have shiny modern metallic paint under layers of local pollen & dust. The only possible reason I'd wouldn't is if it became a trend. I'm forever a trend-averse fourteen year old.

 

[neilG]

We packed everything into her little Mazda 3.

I have two cars, one of which is a Mazda 3 hatchback. One bass fits perfectly, and two is doable. I love that car. By driving in a civilized manner, I've gotten to the advertised 36 mpg highway mileage.

 

[g-dude]

I have two cars, one of which is a Mazda 3 hatchback. One bass fits perfectly, and two is doable. I love that car. By driving in a civilized manner, I've gotten to the advertised 36 mpg highway mileage.

I have never gotten anywhere close to advertised mileage on anything!

I actually had better mileage in a Mustang GT than in a Subaru Outback with a 4 cylinder, and the Mustang was definitely not babied.

That being said, my big complaint is that when carrying my wife and son, my son needs to have his seat belt buckled before I can put the seats down and get the bass in. Really annoying when I'm putting the bass in and my wife reminds me that I need to take the bass out, put the seats up...you get the idea.