Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: edwardofhuncote on June 01, 2016, 07:40:56 AM
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Lately I've been shopping for a newer gig-mobile. My daily-driver (2003 Mitsubishi Outlander) after doing double-duty for the past 5 years is close to 200K miles now, and while it's in fair mechanical condition, I just don't trust it on these 500+ mile weekends anymore. Will spend a little $$$ on it though, for brakes, tires, suspension work, and continue driving it back and forth to work, maybe for another couple years, but for weekend travel I need something a little newer, with lower miles and plenty of cargo space. Wouldn't hurt if it was also AWD. Also a plus if I can catch a rest area nap in it.
Of course playing bass, (especially an upright bass) imparts a few extra requirements. Most of the time, I'm carrying around a Mesa Walkabout/Scout 15 combo amp, and either 2 bass guitars, or my old upright and an Acoustic Image amp, and Flite 12 monitor cab, which is much smaller and lighter. That's at a minimum, but sometimes I'll have both. Less often, I'm loading up a small PA with one bass rig or the other. On average, I'd guess I'm carrying 400 lbs worth of gear, so we're not talking a big truck. It's just bulky stuff that doesn't fit well in a sedan. Station wagons or small SUV's have worked well so far.
The Outlander has performed spectacularly, but I've found the newer models of Mitsubishi's SUV are marketed more for comfort than utility, So I have set out to find the ultimate weekend warrior's gig-mobile... just wondering what you guys/girls are loading up your stuff in? Reality checks and radical ideas both welcome. ;D
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How about this? From the look of things you'd still have room for a small amp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWvI3QVjlv8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWvI3QVjlv8)
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My 2001 Toyota Highlander has over 220,000 miles and is still going strong. Lot's of cargo room, especially with the rear seats folded down.
Bill, tgo
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I just picked up a 2010 Nissan Xterra. Built like a truck but has good car manners on the road. All my stuff fits in the cargo area. Most of my stuff fits in the cargo area of my wife's 2015 Subaru Forester, which gets almost double the mileage. I haven't hauled the doghouse bass lately, so I can't really speak to that directly but I am confident it fits in either one. All of my basses are in gig bags, which frees-up lots of space. I know what you mean about modern SUV types being more about comfort than utility.
John
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2003 Subaru Legacy wagon, mostly. Sometimes 2010 Subaru Outback. the Legacy is more agile for grabbing those all-important urban parking spots close to the gig.!
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I love my 2012 Subaru Outback. The AWD is great for MN winters and I can fit my PJB 8T & 16B cabs, three basses and all the other gear I need in it with ease and have room for passengers. Though I Don't own an upright, with the back seat down I don't think there would be any problem fitting one in if you had one of the newer models. They have grown a lot in recent years with newer models a lot bigger than the originals.
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2010 Subaru Outback. Took my speaker cabinets to the dealer to be sure they would fit (with 1" to spare).
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2001 Subaru Forester with 280,000 miles on it and still running strong. I've had a drum kit, my bass + amp and the guitarists gear in there WITH two passengers in the backseat.
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2002 Ford Explorer. My second one (wife had a 2000). Great gigging machine! Seems like no matter what rig/instruments I'm carrying, I find a nice tight pack for everything.
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Ditto on the 2001 to 2007 Toyota Highlanders! Great rigs for hauling music gear.
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I'm on my 2nd Scion XB. Super dependable, good on gas, easy to park at gigs and fits everything I try to put in it. Also, as I do a lot of night time driving after gigs, it's nice not to have all of the dash controls in your line of sight (they are all located in the center console area).
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2014 Dodge Challenger.
Although the trunk is pretty formidable, I've still had do some some serious down-sizing. But, oddly enough, this has coincided with having to downsize my rig (and volume) for most of the places I'm playing these days...
Prior to that, I drove 4-door Jeep Wranglers and played bigger venues - yeah baby - let th' good times roll!
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Thanks for the input fellas. I'm narrowing it down... may move on one tomorrow actually. I've purposefully avoided car lots by keeping my search to private sales, and got 3 low mileage candidates, any of which would do the job.
It's funny - most of what you guys put up here were on my list. :D Almost everybody I talk to that has a Subaru LOVES it. Both my parents have one. They love them so much that by the time they sell it, they have 200K on them. I feel the same way about my old Mitsu.
Close to the Scion XB is the Kia Soul... and I like it but where I live is mountains in every direction, some of them severe. Just around town would have been fine but that little guy would be struggling to climb up the Fancy Gap on I-77 from North Carolina back into Virginia with a full load.
Update to follow.
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My vehicle is a 2004 Honda Pilot. Its on-demand four wheel drive gets me up my steep gravel drive easily; it holds a lot of stuff; and it's well made, dependable, and comfortable.
I agree with your strategy of sticking with private sellers and avoiding the dealers.
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The other guitar player in my band loves the utility of his Honda Element. Sort of a more mature Scion XB.
Bill, tgo
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The one thing I don't like which Subaru as well as others are doing is phasing out manual transmissions. It almost impossible in this neck of the woods to purchase new Outback or Forester with anything but automatic. The CVT system Subaru uses works quite well but I miss not having more complete control to myself.
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The overlord of this is a Suburban, or a Tahoe if you just need something a bit shorter. Subs are like owning a Prevost you can park in your garage. Almost as good as a full-size pickup, but then you can't lock up the bed of a pickup. I like Pilots and the like, but Suburbans and Tahoes just fit full-growed men better. Be sure and take your several volumes of George Strait's Greatest Hits and some Asleep at the Wheel for efficient operation.
I owned a early 2000's Buick LeSabre, and is insofar as I know, the only car I ever saw that had a trunk that would accept a full-size Series case, and it would also lay across the back seat with both doors shut without touching either end by just a bit.
Joey
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I'd avoid the Kia, Gregory; a friend of mine had one & 15 later still refers to it as "the Korean Deathtrap". The Lovely & Charming's sister has one now; low milage & staying that way, as it's hard to put miles on something that's in the shop more than not.
Peter (who misses everything about his old Suburban except the fuel gauge....)
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Well, I finally made a call yesterday, and bought a 2007 Dodge Caliber R/T, kind of a 4-door hatchback crossover vehicle. Clean carfax report, and 70,000 miles. Bought it from a local college professor who was the second owner. (coincidentally, he's also a drummer) Anyway, he had bought it for a teenage son as a first car, but the kid was freaked about the manual transmission. I got it for about $1800 under book value. Spent the rest of the day doing the DMV, insurance, etc.
Pictures after I have time to detail it, but I've already tried loading several combinations of amps, cabs, and basses (including the upright) in it. Even though it doesn't have the space my old Outlander has, I think it's going to work out great. It also came with a class 1 hitch, so I could tow a small trailer if necessary.
The other finalists were: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander. Tires were shot, and I had a bad feeling about the seller. It was a lien takeover, which seemed odd for a 6 year-old car to have a couple years left on a loan. It was exactly like mine though, just newer, so I gave it serious consideration. The other was a 2010 Honda Element. Great vehicle, but 145,000 miles was more than I wanted to think about. It was a tough call, because I really liked all that extra room. Heck, I've stayed in hotel rooms that weren't that size.
This evening's gig isn't very far away, but I'm going to give the new-to-me gig-mobile a good trial run. Probably load some extra gear, just to see how it rides and pulls on some winding country roads. Now, where did I put that Alembic logo bumper sticker Aunt Mary sent with my last order...?
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Trial run went very smooth - no problem with cargo space... I tried several combinations of gear successfully, but here's how it stacked up for Saturday's gig. This is after all, a 4-door hatchback, which is almost a necessity for hauling an upright, but also pretty handy for loading up heavy stuff. For starters, my Alembic is in a hardshell case (ALWAYS travels that way), and as you can see, it fits perfectly laying flat on the backseat. Backup (rainy-day) bass in the gig bag was my Tobias Growler. My only gripe here is that dang cup-holder... right in the way. We may have to do a little jigsaw alteration on that. That Mesa Walkabout/Scout combo is my primary bass guitar rig, and weighs in at almost 80 lbs. The Acoustic Image backup amp and cab on the left are my usual upright rig. (didn't know what I'd need for this one, so I brought both... because I could. ;) ) Any other time, my upright would be in place of the Mesa, with the 60/40 seatback laid down. I'm guessing this was about 250 lbs altogether.
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Nicely packed!
My own point of pride is having me, anothe ~6' guy, a young lady, a D-28, a mandolin & a case & a half of imported beer in a Triumph Spitfire - with the top up.
Peter (who misses the Spit more than the 'Burb - except for the standing-by-the-road-cursing-Joe-Lucas part)
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And, of course, your beer was warm, Peter ... Lucas refrigerators.
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
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Naw - it was February in Northern Illinois, and the heat was Lucas, too 8)
Peter
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Meet my Ranchero GT with factory shell . I affectionately have named her "Galbani" .____ Just like that nice cheese !
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love that Wolf. a Ranchero or an El Camino would be high on my list of USA cars if I had some spare cash.
Graeme
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My big brother married his first wife when he'd just turned 18 & she was almost 17 (yeah, we be hillbillies); being a family man now, he sold his '66 Galaxie hot rod & bought a Ranchero; washed it once a week, waxed it once a month (including the bed) and wouldn't put so much a a sack of groceries back there. Very practical vehicle........ ???
Peter (who did, indeed, sit beside his siister-in-law at HS graduation. Cue the banjos.)
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Nice Ranchero, Sonicus!!
It's interesting how that body style disappeared from the American market, yet if you head to NZ or AU, both Holden and Ford sell a TON of 'utes' modeled after that car/pickup chassis. A lot of contractors who don't need true pickup capabilities, but need the bed and storage use them.
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Wolf I love your Ranchero. I have a soft spot for the El Camino SS myself.
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Oh man, Wolf... I haven't seen one of those since high school, and I don't recall ever seeing one with a camper shell. Nice!
Interesting how the 'crossover' car seems to have evolved. I'm really enjoying my new gig-mobile so far. I've got a bunch of upright jobs coming up soon, so will snap a couple pics of that. Monday night for a rehearsal, the new/old Distillate got a ride in it. ;)
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Thank you everybody for your nice comments about my Ranchero ! :) She is a keeper with that shell . Easy loading&unloading for equipment . I watched and hunted for the correct fit for close to a year.
Wolf
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My real favourite gig-mobile was an old Bedford van that had been converted into an ambulance and then sold. It had all these cool shelves and stuff where you could stash all the small stuff, and they were all welded in, so you could tie stuff down. Unfortunately, it had its problems. The windshield wipers never worked, so we literally had to operate them by stringing a clothesline around them and through the partially open windows, and pull them back and forth. And then, on our second trip out on the road, the transmission died and it cost more to tow it back in to town than it had cost to buy it in the first place, and pretty much all of the money we had made on the gig. But it was charming, and it taught us a lesson, about things that are charming.
I am sure we all have old road-mobile stories. Maybe that deserves a thread all on its own!
R.
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Okay, but now I have actually looked at the picture of the Ranchero, and it is now my favourite gig mobile.
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Sounds like fun, Richard. First band I ever did sound for (an Elvis imitator in SE OH when E was still alive) hauled the gear in the lead player's VW van; as he'd brought me in, I rode with him. It had a manual clutch - not a manual ttransmission, a manual clutch; he'd step on th epedal, shift, then reach down & pull the pedal back up. We'd lift the side door off, load/unload, then handg it back on - until the night it wouldn't go back on, & rode home in the drummer's trunk.
This is winter, in Appalacia, and we'd been - well, gigging - all night (my pay for that band was all I could drink, and things may have accidentally been passed back & forth in the van....). So we're going around these mountain curves in that condition, he's bending over with every shift, the winter is pouring the missing door, and every time we turn left, I have to reach back & hold the drums from flying out. Good times!
Peter (who 1) misses those days and 2) is amazed he's alive)
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We were headed back late one night to the band's home town of Burlington, NC from a three day stand at the Palomino Club in Charlotte. The drummer, who was the band leader, was driving the equipment truck (I guess it was an old bread truck or something) and I was riding with him. I'm pretty sure it was raining; probably cold. The truck broke down somewhere on I-85. I don't recall how I got home, but I must have hitchhiked.
When I heard from the drummer the next day or so, that incident had been the last straw for his wife, and that was the end of the band, and my two years at trying to make a living playing music. After that, I got a job as a truck driver.
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One night coming down a switch-backed old mountain road from Hot Springs to Clifton Forge, I lost the brakes on a '77 Dodge Tradesman 3/4-ton van, and had to ride the transmission and hand brake home. Four musicians in varying states of sobriety, and all our stuff rode it out. That was four or maybe five gig-mobiles ago. (and almost 30 years)
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We were headed back late one night to the band's home town of Burlington, NC from a three day stand at the Palomino Club in Charlotte. The drummer, who was the band leader, was driving the equipment truck (I guess it was an old bread truck or something) and I was riding with him. I'm pretty sure it was raining; probably cold. The truck broke down somewhere on I-85. I don't recall how I got home, but I must have hitchhiked.
When I heard from the drummer the next day or so, that incident had been the last straw for his wife, and that was the end of the band, and my two years at trying to make a living playing music. After that, I got a job as a truck driver.
3 years & 4 bands after the VW, I was riding in a breadtruck; the bass player, who owned the PA, was driving down I-94 in Chicago about 03:00 heading home from the gig & we see 2 wheels go bouncing past us together.
Then they seperate, one going for the right shoulder, one for the left.
Then the back right corner of the truck, which they had been holding up, hit the road.......
Peter
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We were headed back late one night to the band's home town of Burlington, NC from a three day stand at the Palomino Club in Charlotte. The drummer, who was the band leader, was driving the equipment truck (I guess it was an old bread truck or something) and I was riding with him. I'm pretty sure it was raining; probably cold. The truck broke down somewhere on I-85. I don't recall how I got home, but I must have hitchhiked.
When I heard from the drummer the next day or so, that incident had been the last straw for his wife, and that was the end of the band, and my two years at trying to make a living playing music. After that, I got a job as a truck driver.
3 years & 4 bands after the VW, I was riding in a breadtruck; the bass player, who owned the PA, was driving down I-94 in Chicago about 03:00 heading home from the gig & we see 2 wheels go bouncing past us together.
Then they seperate, one going for the right shoulder, one for the left.
Then the back right corner of the truck, which they had been holding up, hit the road.......
Peter
We had a very similar experience in my band Shockra in 1992. On our first tour to Colorado, our right two rear wheels on our box truck came flying off at 60mph. We were in Ohio on a bridge over a ravine. We skidded to a stop on the shattered brake drum. The cops sent a tow truck and the company at first sent a regular one, you know, for cars. Then the owner of the tow company brought out an old 1950s Mack truck tow truck with the bulldog on the front. It was February and it started drizzling freezing rain. He hooked up the truck, hit the lever and the rear end went up about 3 feet and the cable snapped. It took him another 45 minutes in the freezing rain to get that fixed and finally he took off barreling down the highway with our truck. We followed him in a van driven by his helper. We ended up at a junkyard in Painesville OH and he told us to get lost for 5 hours. Not too many places to go on a cold rainy Saturday. We got kicked out of three diners. Finally we came back and he had completely rebuilt the right rear of the truck. New axle, etc. We gave him most of our cash, a check we told him not to cash for 3 weeks, a couple hundred bucks on a credit card and a couple of band t-shirts and we were on our way. Made it to the gig in Steamboat Springs on time. We had many harrowing adventures in that thing, from losing our brakes on McClure Pass to not being able to start it (it was a diesel) after the gig at the Wetlands in NYC because of the cold until the opening band the next night started their set.
Anyway, I had a 1995 Subaru Legacy that was great for mountain gigs here in Colorado. Last year I replaced it (240,000 miles. The final straw was no AC and I didn't want to cook my 2 year old.). The criteria for a new vehicle was AWD and the ability to haul my bass gear, with all my recording gear, and keep the child seat in the car. 2007 Honda Pilot with 60k miles fit the bill perfectly. It's nice to have a car made in this century. Not crazy about the mpg, but what can you do. My next car will be a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle.
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Mercedes Ml350 4matic
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my other gig mobile.
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Old #12 rides in style - Nice! 8)
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she gets the best!!!
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3 years & 4 bands after the VW, I was riding in a breadtruck;
[/quote]
Upon further reflection, no - it was 5 years & 6 bands later.........
Peter (who became an historian & not a mathematician for a reason)
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When I started with my last band, they had this big van which was converted to propane and due to being the new guy and lack of seating I hung out in back with the gear and two large and rattling gas bombs; apparently they were properly installed and legally inspected but it sure didn't sound like it inside...being in back was actually kinda good, as the steering was shot; on the few times (I quickly learned not to look) I did watch Marcus driving I would see normal action of the wheel; then he would hit a bump and the steering would go all loose like 90 degrees turns of the wheel just to go straight the have it go back to normal after the next bump...better not to see that...thankfully he got something safer after...Tony
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In my high school years one of the guys had an old Divco milk truck that we used to carry gear. It even carried the markings of the defunct dairy he had bought it from.
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these stickers last forever.....4 years in winter all weather!!!!
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these stickers last forever.....4 years in winter all weather!!!!
Yep, and I've got one for my gig-mobile waiting, but I need to prep the surface so it'll stay. I'm thinking about affixing it to the back glass.
Fun turn this thread has taken... I like the stories - let's keep them going. ;)
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I remember those manual clutches. Weird as a two-dollar bill.
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Well, the new gig-mobile did a number on me this weekend. I was camping with friends/bandmates at a music festival this past weekend... a fantastic jam broke out that lasted until well past midnight.
Still wide awake, and just an hour away from *my* bed, I loaded up to head for home. No dice. This little red lightning bolt icon pops on, the engine idle is very rough, and the gas pedal does *nothing*. (see... before we had fly-by-wire cars, you could give the gas pedal a good stomp and cure most ills like this - not so with Electronic Throttle Control) So I figure to just deal with it in the morning, grab a blanket and pillow out of the back (having learned long ago - NEVER, EVER leave home without overnight contingency plans/provisions) and sack-out in the passenger seat. The next morning, I ran through a couple reset checklists to no result. Finally, just when I'm about to call a wrecker, one more twist of the key and the engine fires up, the light goes out, and it runs like a scalded dog. ??? (?!?!)
So I headed home, cruise control set at 75 mph... it didn't so much as sputter once, even after I stopped for gas at my exit. Hasn't done it since. :o (?!?!)
Some online research indicates the most likely culprit is the throttle body itself. Apparently this problem is common to the three models of Chrysler cars that use the same part. Aftermarket products it turns out, appear to be superior to the OEM part. Luckily, the part itself wasn't too expensive ($136 w/shipping) and it looks to be a pretty simple job to install.
Not too happy about this, but I guess it could be worse. Heck, it might be worse and I just haven't realized it yet. I'm gonna' wait a few more days before I put the coveted Alembic logo sticker on this one. :-\
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Cave-mobile - 4wd 4Runner with a slight lift and a little armor for the under-belly. 2004 with ~240,000 and tons more to go (my '89 4runner was sold with 485,ooo miles 8)
Just enough room for everything. If not enough room, rooftop carrier and hitch-hauler (or 5x8 trailer)
Stephen
PS - notice the rear badge ;D Christmas present from my son. He has the Desert Dune '98 4runner
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My Kia soul+ has the room for my amps and my basses, my Series 1 will fit in the back, it get's 30 mpg, great car, I own 2 Kia souls a 2013 and a 2015
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We road tested - or at least load-tested - the Subaru Outback and Forester to make sure the upright bass would fit (lots of curious looks from other browsers in the Subaru dealer). Fit in both. Fits in the older legacy also - the legacy is deceptively large, a smaller looking vehicle but the floor is comparatively lower so leaves enough room. The thing I like most about the Legacy, apart from its agility compared to the Outback, is that low rear deck - much easier for my aging body to get the amp in and out of, less lifting.
They don't make a Legacy wagon anymore, but you can often find them used, they last so well the used ones are often in pretty good shape.
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Updated - I put a new throttle body assembly on this morning and went for a strenuous test drive. Seems fine, so the Gig-mobile is getting a second chance this evening. I'm taking the Distillate along, so maybe that extra 10 lbs of awesome will bring good fortune. Fingers crossed... ;)
**edit- the above procedure seems to have cured it... me and the Distillate arrived at the gig yesterday evening right on time, after an hour of crooked old country roads. ;D