| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic What Vehicle Is Best
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  What Vehicle Is Best
Paul King

 

From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 3:57 pm    
Reply with quote

I have completed my rookie season on the forum and have had a blast reading and replying as well. This topic may have been covered before but here goes. I am wondering what you players find as the most convenient vehicle for playing and hauling your equiptment around. I use a Dodge Caravan and take the back seat out. Also, do you find it better to tear down your steels or leave them setup when moving them around. I am curious as to what works best for everyone...Paul King
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
slick

 

From:
Calhoun Georgia
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:11 pm    
Reply with quote

Chevy Astro van,leave it set up.


Wayne
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Eric West


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:15 pm    
Reply with quote

Toyota Camry Wagon. Session 400 laid down face up with a piece of carpet over it. Steel with the rear legs off facing toward the rear over it, knee levers folded, Pedals over the front of the amp Gig case on the right side. Sometimes the Session 500 in the back seat.

B4 that it was ( and still is sometimes) a chev pickup with camper and the same configuration with a leather briefcase between the fretboard and the tailgate. Laid on a non skid rug for no skidding when applying brakes.

Havent tried it on the Panhead yet...

EJL
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Bobbe Seymour

 

From:
Hendersonville TN USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:24 pm    
Reply with quote

A bulldozer, I prefer a Caterpillar D-6, depending on where I'm playing and what the parking situation is. I hardly ever have any trouble with the "Cat". (I sold my "German Panzer'tank, imports are hard to service in Nashville.)

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Donny Hinson

 

From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:25 pm    
Reply with quote

I always pack mine up, and usually haul it in the car. A steel transported while set-up is far more susceptible to damage than one cased-up! It's nearly impossible to secure it solidly enough so it wouldn't come loose and be damaged in the average accident, or (heaven forbid), a "rollover".

'Course, there's always someone who will tempt fate, and there's those who are quite lucky, too!

I tend to be neither.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Jim Smith


From:
Midlothian, TX, USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:36 pm    
Reply with quote

My '96 Honda Odyssey holds all of my gear perfectly with the back seat folded into the floor. It's the older four cylinder model that still gets 25 MPG with all my gear loaded and the AC on.

I always pack my guitar in the case and stack the rest of my gear on my Rock-N-Roller cart for one trip in and out.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Eric West


From:
Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:38 pm    
Reply with quote

DH..

Something about
Quote:
the average accident
kind of hits my funny bone...

If you averaged mine, you'd have a car with 50% of the windows blown out, sitting 66.66% upside down, and 95% total damage, with 11.11% driveability, and 33.33% towability.

I think I've got them all tallied and divided by three correctly. The one that was "on purpose" I omitted.



EJL

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Frank Parish

 

From:
Nashville,Tn. USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:40 pm    
Reply with quote

Bobbie,
Love it!!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Danny Naccarato


From:
Burleson, Texas
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:53 pm    
Reply with quote

89 S-10 Blazer, with seat up, still holds N'ville 400 in Flght Case, Packseat, 3 sp rack, steel in case...They all fit in the back compartment. ALSO, I occasionally use my '77 Checker (for you guys familier with the old Checkers, you know how much will fit in the huge back seat AND trunk. Also, nobody gives you sh*t about taking a cab if you drink too much, cause you already brought one!!!!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bill Ford


From:
Graniteville SC Aiken
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 4:55 pm    
Reply with quote

Chavy Astro Van with dutch doors...

Bill

------------------
Bill Ford
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ben Lawson

 

From:
Brooksville Florida
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 5:40 pm    
Reply with quote

Astro van with barn doors
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bobby Lee


From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 5:44 pm    
Reply with quote

I drive a Toyota Sienna with the back seats removed and a carpet installed. I have a thick, padded cover for my pedal steel, and I just lay it down on that carpet.

------------------
Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Roger Crawford


From:
Griffin, GA USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 6:41 pm    
Reply with quote

Jeep Liberty. With the back seat up, the rear space is perfect for the guitar (in the case)a NV1000, amp stand, and pac-a-seat. It out runs Bobbe's CAT too!
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bill Myrick

 

From:
Pea Ridge, Ar. (deceased)
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 6:42 pm    
Reply with quote

Darn--I wish I could afford the cat D-6 deal and have an umbrella for summer and a winter front for colder times !!!
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Jerry Roller


From:
Van Buren, Arkansas USA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 8:00 pm    
Reply with quote

Chevrolet Venture Van. Like Wayne Smiff.
Jerry
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
John Macy

 

From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 8:16 pm    
Reply with quote

I can fit my D10 in a flight case, a 6 space rack, a pair of single 12" speakers, seat, and another case with misc. stuff in back of my Caravan without removing the rear seat, or even folding it down...
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bill Llewellyn


From:
San Jose, CA
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 8:46 pm    
Reply with quote

I think people can get pretty creative about packing whatever gear they've got into whatever vehicle they've got. To haul a whole buncha stuff to the steel jams I've hosted (steel, amp, receiver, speakers, CD player, coolers, sandwich board signs, even donuts) I've managed with my '95 Camry. Recently, when I needed to bring a desktop computer as well as all the other stuff, I hijacked my wife's Sienna minivan. And frankly, if I had to reassess which vehicle made the best pick for my all-around personal uses, I'd go Sienna. (Yeah, b0b.) But I do love my Camry.

------------------
Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Al Udeen

 

From:
maple grove mn usa
Post  Posted 3 Nov 2003 10:28 pm    
Reply with quote

I have always put the Steel, Amp. & Seat, in the trunk of whatever car I have driven, who needs to have their Wagon, Van, or SUV broken into & have everything ripped off?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gene Jones

 

From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 4:52 am    
Reply with quote

Dodge-Ram Conversion van. Whether I stand my steel behind the rear seat, or tear it down and put it in the case, depends upon how far I'm going.

Like Jim....everything else is loaded on a rock&roll cart and then rolled into the van through the side doors.

...and of course I can also sleep in it if necessary! www.genejones.com

[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 04 November 2003 at 10:29 AM.]

View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Roger Rettig


From:
Naples, FL
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 7:03 am    
Reply with quote

When I went to North Dakota last year, I needed a lot of stuff to get me through the three months.

This is what I got in the trunk (I call it the 'boot'!) of my '95 Lincoln:

TWO 'Steeler's Choice Sidekick' seats.
ONE Evans FET500
ONE Peavey NV400
TWO D10 steels
My effects rack
My G&L Telecaster
My golf clubs (WITH a pull-trolley)
A Banj* in a hard case (I know this last item could have been put on the roof, but it would have impaired the car's fuel consumption)

I was amazed! Only my suitcase had to go inside the car....

RR
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Gerald Menke

 

From:
Stormville NY, USA
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 7:03 am    
Reply with quote

I am partial to my 1993 F-150 with a fine cap by Swiss. A number of band folks looked askance when I showed up with a truck with an 8 foot bed, until they needed me to pick them, their drums, amps and 7 guitars up. My gear and the Magliner have plenty of room to breathe when I'm traveling alone. I pack the steel up anytime I am traveling, cannot even imagine putting it in the bed set up, let alone navigating a New York club full of drunks with an assembled pedal steel.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Steve Stallings


From:
Houston/Cypress, Texas
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 7:43 am    
Reply with quote

I've got a 2003 Dodge One Ton 4x4 Diesel Crewcab with the Laramie package... The neatest thing about this is the back seats which fold up flat. Underneath is a fold out metal floor which is flat across the back.
There is a lot of room here. It can be done in sections as well so that someone could sit in the back. Since my amps and a pak-seat stay with the band trailer, I just carry my steel, an 8 inch deep flight briefcase, and my electric guitar. If I had to carry amps, they would fit in the back or in the bed. I also have a 16 foot enclosed trailer if I need more room.

A lot of the time we haul everything in our 30 foot travel trailer. Depends on where the gig is.

------------------
God Bless,
Steve Stallings




[This message was edited by Steve Stallings on 04 November 2003 at 07:45 AM.]

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 8:14 am    
Reply with quote

I'ver found the best vehicle for me..after all these years..is one that starts when the gig is over and has enough gas in it to get home !

I have a Chevy Venture Van..no far rear seats..and I keep my Steel set up and tied down .

I guess if I get in an average wreck..I'll go home without a Steel or perhaps without a complete Steel...

Ok..as long as the Tele' is safe..
there..that should turn a few eyebrows...

tp

ok..here's the reasoning for my Tele' comment..

It is way easier to replace a Steel that plays well than a Tele' that took forever to find..

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 04 November 2003 at 08:15 AM.]

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Peter Siegel

 

From:
Belmont, CA, USA
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 8:59 am    
Reply with quote

Tony,
So does that make you a "Tele-commuter"?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
George McLellan


From:
Duluth, MN USA
Post  Posted 4 Nov 2003 9:01 am    
Reply with quote

Jeep Cherokee. Up in this part of the country - including the UP of MI & Northern Wisc., four wheel drive is a must in the winter. Back seat folds down and that's plenty of room for amp, steel (ALWAYS IN THE CASE), seat, which ever six stringer I feel like using that night and junk bag.

Hey Bobbeee, why such a small cat? You havn't lived until you cruise in a D11 w/ripper.
------------------
SUAS U' PHIOB
Geo


[This message was edited by George Mc Lellan on 04 November 2003 at 09:07 AM.]

View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron