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Your vehicle choice is critical to your success and well being as a gigging musician.

Having a great fit for your instrument, gig type, and physical health has a direct impact on your success at the gig.  If you have to rent a truck for every gig, you’re not going to accept gigs as often.  On the other hand, if you are in physical pain because of how tall your truck is, or how many times you banged your head leaning into your sedan, you won’t perform as well at your gig.  We all know what a bad performance means for your future, so here’s my comparison of the 5 Best Types of Vehicles for Gigging Musicians.

It’s true, I do know a guy that used to haul his kit around with a two door car, but he was more the exception than the rule.  He was never happy at load out!

I’ve had experience with several types of vehicles, as well as experience buying vehicles “with the goal in mind.”

When I shop for a car, I bring a tape measure!

Salesman always ask what happens if the car doesn’t “measure up.” When I tell them that I won’t buy the car, they start listening to what I want really quick!  Many salesman seem to be intimidated by the thought of an informed customer.

Here are my pros and cons for the “5 Best Types of Vehicles for Gigging.”

5.) The Four Door Sedan

Pros:

CHEAP! We once had a ’99 Corolla, and not only was it inexpensive to buy, but it got 35mpg on AVERAGE!  Beyond that, I think we could have replaced any part of the car for $3.

I mean, not really, but close enough.

Easy to park.  Parking lots are designed for sedans.

Great trunk space.  The interiors of trunks are way bigger than expected on economy sedans, because they just omit the finish materials.  This is great for percussionists, as the extra couple of inches make a big difference!

Cons:

Limited height.  Some instruments just do not break down far enough to fit in a sedan.  For instance, it is very difficult to get more than two timpani in a sedan.  It’s possible if the drums can be disassembled, but still difficult.  Bowls are a certain size, and that’s why you bring the tape measure.  Forget trying to get a 5 octave that has folding resonators in a sedan.  On the other hand, 5 octave marimbas that have resonators that break into pieces certainly fit in a sedan.  Hear that, manufacturers?!?!?!?!

Limited overall space.  Sedans are designed to move five four people in reasonable comfort.  They are not designed to move material.  Given this, they have a low height, causing unnecessary strain during loading.  They also have funny shaped doors that are great for people, but not great for bulky items,

Limited towing capacity.  Some performers will eventually choose to have multiple sets of equipment.  This will allow them to leave their gig set loaded in a ready to go trailer.  Their other equipment is used for teaching and rehearsing, and is never moved.  This is especially common in bands that need sound reinforcement, or those that play a lot.  Most sedans are limited to towing the weight of the vehicle, and that doesn’t allow for much of a trailer.

4.) Truck

Pros:

You can haul anything.  It doesn’t matter what it is, a pickup truck can handle it.  Whether you’re talking towing, bed space, or height, that truck can take it.  You can’t overload the thing, and even if you somehow manage to, just drive slow, you’ll be fine!

They run forever.  Most trucks last longer than most cars.  There are many theories about this, but I’ve had a couple trucks well over 200k, and no cars over that.  I tend to think that no one is embarrassed by a beat up truck, but that a beat up car is just sad.

Safety.  It’s true that trucks tend to rollover and fishtail, especially if you drive them improperly.  Slow down, and you’ll eliminate most of those issues.  In every other instance, a truck will be safer than other vehicles, and will protect your gear better.  Ever seen a truck after a collision?  Yeah, still looks like a truck.  How about that sedan?  Usually looks like a crushed tin can.  Personal experience plays a part in my bias as well–my car accidents have been way more terrifying than my truck accidents.  Your mileage may vary on this one, so choose carefully.

Cons:

EXPENSIVE.  Trucks are expensive.  The tires are bigger, there are more spark plugs, the gas mileage sucks.  16mpg was a GOOD day in my last truck.  Bigger brake pads, bigger rotors, bigger whatever costs more to replace.

Too tall.  If you’re lucky, you have one of those trucks from the ’80s or ’90s with a sensible height, and simple mechanics.  Both of my trucks were after the year 2000.  I’m still fairly spry, but there were many times I struggled to get in and out of the bed.  Newer trucks are made so that their tailgates are almost at loading dock height.  That is WAY too tall for anyone to easily load in and out of their beds, unless everywhere they go has a loading dock.

The bed.  The bed is awesome.  You can put anything in there.  But anything can also go in there.  Including rain, dirt, logs, road debris, etc.  If you put a cap on the truck…you have to strap your gear in at the back, or crawl to the front of the truck bed every time you want to unload.  Regardless, you have to strap things anyway, or you’re sending god knows how many dollars of equipment sliding around your truck bed on every turn.  We’ve already talked about how the bed height is too tall anyway–complicate that with a cap that you have to dodge when you’re jumping in to your truck, and you’ll understand why I was always rubbing my forehead when I got to a gig!

3.) Van

There are two types of vans–a large panel/passenger type van, and a mini van.  The panel/passenger van is an enclosed truck, and has exactly the same pros and cons as a truck, but with much easier access to the cargo area.  For some reason, their load heights tend to be more sensible than trucks, and you can just walk to the back from the front to access gear.  Vans also tend to have handy side doors, which makes them better than a truck.

Large vans are even worse in terms of safety than trucks, though, as they generally steer as well as a drunken whale at a packed Christmas party.

A mini van is kind of a combination of a truck, sedan, and station wagon.  They’re generally awesome, run forever, and get better gas mileage than trucks.  My main problem with them is that they’re minivans.  I know.  That’s silly, but I just don’t want to be a soccer mom, ok?

2.) Station Wagon/Hatchback

Pros:

They are huge, but still a car.  I had a station wagon once, and I could fit 4 timpani, a xylophone, a vibraphone, bells, and most of my drumset in it.  At once.  As a bonus, with the seats down, I could sleep in the thing without hitting my head or feet on anything, and I’m 5’10”!  I also once hauled all the students in a drumline with me to an event, at once.  It was a small drumline, but we still had 8 people in the car, all with seatbelts!  Gas mileage wasn’t as good as a sedan, but it was close.

Long! Those folding 5 octave resonators?  Yeah, no problem.  Plus I had a passenger with me.

Cons:

Height.  Station wagons on the inside suffer from a lack of height.  They are REALLY LONG, and kind of short.  This is an issue if you have to turn a one-piece frame on its side.

Blind spots.  GEEZ!  I had to turn my head so hard so many times.  I don’t understand why someone makes a car way longer than the sedan version…and then puts the same size mirrors on it!  You would think vans or trucks had larger blind spots, while my experience is exactly the opposite.  I could see anything anywhere in my truck, and almost nothing anywhere in my station wagon.  The bubbled off windows of my station wagon didn’t help, and this whole rant may be model specific, but still!

They’re old.  Take a look around.  To get a decent sized station wagon, you have to buy an old car, or a Volvo.  Everyone will gripe that a Subaru is a station wagon-no.  I went to buy one, and took my tape measure.  That thing was a sedan with a hatchback trunk.  Seriously, I looked at an Outback and a Forester, and they both barely out-measured my old Dodge Omni.

1.) SUV

Pros:

SUVs have all the advantages of a large van, but with better handling.  Most get almost the same mpg as a minivan, though there are some exceptions.  Buyer beware.

Height.  SUVs tend to have a great load in/out height, and have plenty of interior height.  For instance, I also got 4 timpani, a set of vibes, and a bunch of drums into my escape.  I didn’t have room for a passenger, but I generally only take me to the gig anyway.

Access.  You can reach anything from anywhere in an SUV.  It’s kind of crazy.  My two favorites are the escape and the explorer.  The escape for the mpg, and the explorer for the increased room and towing capacity.  Small SUVs are iffy on towing, though they can handle much more than a car, loaded properly.

Cons:

Gas mileage.  My current escape gets between 24 and 30mpg, which is way better than most of my cars, but still not as good as that Corolla we had.

Expensive.  Kind of.  They tend to be larger than cars, and so suffer from some of the increased size cost, but this varies wildly from model to model, and from year to year.  For instance, my current Escape is slightly more expensive than that Corolla to maintain, but not by much.

Rollover risk.  Just slow down.  They aren’t cars, so don’t drive them like they are.

There you have it, my 5 Best Vehicles for Gigging!

Please take a look at my entry in Sheet Music Plus’s Holiday Contest: Mary, Did You Know? For Steel Drums. It’s an awesome arrangement, and I could use some validation of my “New Direction!”  Also, check out the score video here.