If I had a dollar for every time this happened I could have retired years ago. You park, ( city, country... doesn't matter) , unload go do the gig. Come back to your van, SUV, wagon. Only to find about 6inches between your rear bumper and the vehicle behind you. Murphy's law.
Better than evidence some over-imbibed individual failed to successfully negotiate those last 6 inches.
As long as the middle row seat is removed that'll work. My other lovely moments are when the lift gate struts start to go out on the mini van. Always when it's raining.
My choice would be a splitty hiroof with a flat-six in the back, updated/uprated brakes and suspension as well, of course. Plenty of room for your upright, a backup upright, the B3 player's gear, the guitarist and if a drummer's necessary drumkit can go on a roof rack...
the best way to get the person to not park their car too close to your rear bumper is to install a trailer hitch, and paint it a bright color. A trailer hitch will mangle a front bumper / grill, and that is the first thought that goes through their minds, "if I park too close, I am sure to get backed into ---"
My ride. Big doors, big interior, 2.5 SOHC Subaru, Audi brakes, pop-top so you can play double bass inside when its raining.
well, one of the tricks is to leave extra room in front, but of course if you do this,that car in front will leave and someone else will park right up against you hehe. One way to beat this, is to have a really beat up old van. Then you don't care, just 'bump and grind' your way out
Beautiful! Good mods, too. Cool! I'll be in Vancouver from the 30th to the 3rd, will see if I can get a coffee, a Canadiano...
Hey guys, how about Friday the 2nd or Saturday the 3rd at JJ on Commercial? I'll be in town at the store.
One time on my way to work (And evening job) I made a stop to do some errands. I parked straight & evenly between the lines. When I came back to the van I was borrowing there was a vehicle parked on either side so close I wouldn't be able to get in between the vehicles or open the door. They were both lower cars and they were lower than my side view mirrors. As it was a van I was able to go in through the back door, but it was a pain due to stuff in the back. And when I went to back out of the space I found out there was not enough space to back straight out & then turn to go--so I had to go back & forth several times to get out of the space-half way through I was tempted not to care about hitting the other cars due to their stupidity in parking so close to me (especially the car on my right--the driver would have had to get out the passenger side. I can see them doing something if I had parked like an idiot--but I hadn't--and neither had anyone else. ( I was gone about 10 minutes)
And folks wonder why they get their cars keyed! I typically have two cars, a sports car that I value and a utility van that I don't. Previously, I've had pick-up trucks instead of the van. I park both vehicles with thoughtfulness: the sports-car well away from any other cars and walk the quarter mile, I know, huge sacrifice, and the van in a spot large enough to park it and get it out afterwards, so I rarely run into these nincompoops, but I see them ALL of the time, and I marvel at their stupidity and extreme lack of consideration and selfishness. Sometimes, gigs have us parking in places we probably shouldn't - lug a bit further and reap the bounty of your selflessness. That's what carts are for.
I parked in a spot that was not parallel parking, but head in parking on the side of the hotel. The parking lot road was just wide enough to pull in and back out. There were large "No Parking" signs and the curb was painted red. I came out and parked against the road's curb directly behind me was a brand new Town Car. I was driving a 10 year old plymouth station wagon that I had already backed into a telephone pole. It took seven time of slamming into the Town Car before I could pull out. I know if he had a new Town Car, he had insurance. I don't care if he learned his lesson or not. It was fun.