What sort of car do you use for gigs ?

robert kramer · Post by **robert kramer** » 8 Aug 2012 9:03 am

Two musicians walk out of a studio and see a brand new gold Mercedes parked in the parking lot. One musician turns to the other musican and says: "I wonder what kind of instrument he doesn't play?"

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 8 Aug 2012 9:05 am

2001 Honda CRV

Allen Cain · Post by **Allen Cain** » 9 Aug 2012 8:27 am

Dodge grand caravan, With fold dopwn seats . You can put a ton of stuff in there.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 9 Aug 2012 9:06 am

VW Golf TDI from 1996 with almost 630.000 KM, about 400.000 miles.

Rick Schacter · Post by **Rick Schacter** » 9 Aug 2012 4:58 pm

Clinton Damron · Post by **Clinton Damron** » 9 Aug 2012 5:32 pm

i don't gig (yet) but I take my wife's 2012 Jeep grand cherokee when she lets me, otherwise it's my 2012 Dodge2500 4x4 diesel work truck.

If your looking, don't over look the KIA Soul. They are pretty inexpensive to buy and get good mileage.

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 10 Aug 2012 5:02 am

Works fine with the top down!

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 17 Sep 2012 1:10 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QvDsCtG ... re=related

I guess this will be the musician's car in Europe the coming years! JJ

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 17 Sep 2012 2:17 pm

This one for the little rig(steel plus seat plus NV112).

And this one for the big rig (steel plus seat plus Session 500 plus six-string setup-pedalboard,Bassman LTD & et

cetera)

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 17 Sep 2012 2:29 pm

And this one for big rigs plus the PA.

Inside view,facing back

Rear door with extension table deployed

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 26 Sep 2012 10:59 am

2008 Honda Fit, or Beth's 2011 Mini Clubman S, if I can borrow it - there's something to be said about a 175 hp Mini to haul a Vibrosonic and D-10.

Josh Yenne · Post by **Josh Yenne** » 26 Sep 2012 9:51 pm

I have a Toyota Prius..

I literally bought it cause of the "load in" factor.

It loads in flat. just like my old Subaru.... but it gets 50 MPG and EASILY hauls my entire rig... and I can even do a rig and 4 humans if I need to.

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 26 Sep 2012 10:34 pm

After having several pickups and vans over the years, I bought a new Ford Transit Connect Van. I only have two seats, and a metal bulkhead separating front and rear. I can haul a full Marshall stack, Fender Twin, Pro Reverb, Session 400, D10 Emmons, Sho-Bud pack a seat, and several guitars. So, I am covered for gigs from hard rockin' blues to hard core country, all at the same time if needed. Double doors in the back, sliding doors on each side, easy loading, in and out. 26mpg. Cold Air!! No side windows, dark tinted back windows, hard to see in, built low to the ground.

Carl Mesrobian · Post by **Carl Mesrobian** » 27 Sep 2012 3:53 am

Bill L. Wilson wrote:After having several pickups and vans over the years, I bought a new Ford Transit Connect Van. I only have two seats, and a metal bulkhead separating front and rear. I can haul a full Marshall stack, Fender Twin, Pro Reverb, Session 400, D10 Emmons, Sho-Bud pack a seat, and several guitars. So, I am covered for gigs from hard rockin' blues to hard core country, all at the same time if needed. Double doors in the back, sliding doors on each side, easy loading, in and out. 26mpg. Cold Air!! No side windows, dark tinted back windows, hard to see in, built low to the ground.

Throw in a B3, Leslie, and drums, too?

G Strout · Post by **G Strout** » 27 Sep 2012 6:38 pm

1987 Toyota pickup with 380,000+ miles on it. Bought it brand spanking new in 1987 for $8,997.00.
Still trying to get my moneys worth out of it.
Gary

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 28 Sep 2012 4:31 am

Here's mine - I like the additional security of the soft-top and it's the sort of car I'm not afraid to park unattended in the seedier areas of town.....

Paul Wade · Post by **Paul Wade** » 28 Sep 2012 5:23 am

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 29 Sep 2012 11:46 pm

Here's mine, a 1990 4.2 litre diesel Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier - affectionately known as the "Troopy" in Australia. Max weight 2.23 tonnes, average fuel-consumption 12.5 litres per 100 Km.

These things are un-killable! Here in Australia there are tens of thousands and they just keep on keeping on. The photos below show why this is a great vehicle for transporting steel-guitars etc around.

Here she is...a turbocharged 1990-model "Troopy".

View looking at the rear through the open doors. Plenty of room for a steel (or two), sliding in neatly on the cardboard (lower left) to prevent scuffing the usual carpet covering on steel cases. The trolley (upside down at right, on the top deck) is very useful for transporting the whole set of gear in and out of venues.

Amps (usually my NV112) lie on the front passenger's seat. That is a 5-speed manual stick-shift you're seeing there. Real 4WDs in Oz don't have automatic gearboxes. If I could fit a 9-speed Roadranger in it I would!

This old girl has travelled! Here's a shot of the odometer as of when I parked it this afternoon (Sat 30th September 2012). I estimate she has burnt nearly 63 tonnes of fuel to travel this distance, and still going strong. The rear differential wore out at 724,000 Kilometres. I'm thinking of sending it back under warranty!

The real measure of how well a vehicle works is what would you replace it with. In this case it would have to be another Troopy...same model, preferably with less than 200,000 Km on it.

Oh, on the subject of the trolley, this is what all the gear looks like once it's on the trolley to get in and out of the venue.

The Toyota Diesel Landcruiser Troop Carrier....don't leave home without one!

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 30 Sep 2012 10:33 am

Ned-thanks for the pic of your "trolley".Good ideas there,and I'm glad to see people showing how they get gear from the vehicle to the venue.Here is a pic of my collapsable four-wheeler with some gear stowed on it.There's usually more when I go to work,but I don't have pics.

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 30 Sep 2012 3:31 pm

I am not good enough to have any gigs yet.... But when I am, I've got a great ride - a SCRUM:

These are Suzuki minivans that have been bought as scrap in Japan then reworked here in the Philippines. Very tiny, with a 550 cc 3-cylinder motor, they are cheap and simple, yet it is 4x4, so can go just about anywhere.

Doug

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 30 Sep 2012 5:01 pm

I'm in Texas, so I've got to have a truck. I have a carpet type bed liner in it, it has room for a lot of equipment. The back seat folds up if I need more room.

The only problem is, I don't play gigs anymore.

Douglas Schuch · Post by **Douglas Schuch** » 1 Oct 2012 4:36 am

Darvin:

I'm in Texas, so I've got to have a truck.

Hey! Mine's a truck too (pic just above yours). Of course, it would probably fit in your truck's bed with room for your gear....

Doug

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 1 Oct 2012 5:18 am

I like your little "truck" Doug. I work for a large pipeline construction company and we have one very similar to this that we use on remote job sites to carry people and supplies back to the machines. Like you say, they will go anywhere.

Christopher Hillman · Post by **Christopher Hillman** » 1 Oct 2012 10:22 am

I like that Morris Minor! where i like in the U.K. theres a garage that just restores them, so i see a lot around here!

Unfortunately i can't bring anything that cool to the table... I traded my 1st Ford Escort for a Ford Focus estate as i had a heavy ZumSteel... a month after i did that i bought a keyless U-12 Excel which i love to bits!!

After a year and half of giging this car, i have no need for all that space:

I think i'm finely going to get to buy myself this 80s icon (in the U.K. anyway) as a 25th birthday present to myself!

JamesMCross · Post by **JamesMCross** » 1 Oct 2012 2:57 pm

Maroon 5, my good friend Brad the drummer named it on our way to a gig in Yoakum one night - there were 5 of us aboard. It now has over 250,000 miles on it.

but for the last few BBQ cook off gigs I've done I've had to park about a mile away from the tent I was in...

When that happens, I use my daughter's old Radio Flyer to haul my gear from wherever I am parked to get in and out of the cook off grounds ...

The Steel Guitar Forum

What sort of car do you use for gigs ?

Gigging truck

Re: Gigging truck

gig car

my 1996 Chevy Tahoe...