What's your gigmobile?

[Burgerbob]

Ok, I know the gigs are scarce, but in normal times, I mean.

I drive 22-23,000 miles a year in LA. Some people want a cruiser, or a hybrid, or something with lots of room. I don't want to be bored. So I bought this in 2018:



I get 27-28mpg, it's reliable, I can fit 5 horns inside (including my contra!), and most importantly it's lots of fun.

What do y'all drive?

[harrisonreed]

I drive a Subaru R2. It gets insane gas mileage, like 45mpg. It's classified as a motorcycle in japan, even though it's a car. Cost $1200.

[mbarbier]

I drive a Subaru R2. It gets insane gas mileage, like 45mpg. It's classified as a motorcycle in japan, even though it's a car. Cost $1200.

oooooh that looks awesome!

I drive a 1990 toyota truck... the lack of ac isn't ideal for LA summers, but screw bell fits nicely behind the seat in the cab and there's not much on it that can break!

[Kingfan]

2018 Mitsubishi Outlander AWD Plug-In Hybrid Electric is our daily driver. Plenty of room in back for everything I can think of and more, especially when the seats are down. Traded in the Ram in the background for it. My summer driver is a 98 Mustang GT convertible. Can't carry as many horns and stands, let alone the PA, but a helluva lot more fun to drive!

5-31-2020.jpg

[MagnumH]

VW Jetta just now, which is a super smooth ride with great mileage, decent space, and heavy enough to handle the Western NY roads in winter. It starts to get full with the sousa and the sound equipment though, and honestly all the doors are a little too small to comfortably fit the sousa through. Eyeing up a hybrid hatchback or SUV as its eventual replacement - just itching on VW bringing over some of their European-market cars to the states. Would love a Golf or Tiguan.

Gotta say the new all electric ID.4 looks wonderful too.

[Burgerbob]

Gotta say the new all electric ID.4 looks wonderful too.

My plan is to drive fun manual cars right up until we transition to entirely electric. A Mach E looks like a pretty good option.

[SimmonsTrombone]

Electric bicycle, except I haven’t figured out how to get my bass trombone and my tuba on it, so on gig and rehearsal days, a 2012 RAV4

[MrHCinDE]

Electric bicycle, except I haven’t figured out how to get my bass trombone and my tuba on it, so on gig and rehearsal days, a 2012 RAV4

I also travelled to quite a few gigs by bike, though mine is entirely human-powered. Fully loaded I had my euphonium, stands, mutes etc. in a bike trailer (actually a dog carrier) and my trombone in a backpack case. The total ‚system weight‘ is about 140-150 kg so I had to make sure the bike (and the leg power!) is up to the job.

You might just about squeeze a small tuba into a trailer and have the trombone on your back?

[Kingfan]

My plan is to drive fun manual cars right up until we transition to entirely electric. A Mach E looks like a pretty good option.
[/quote]

My Mustang is a 5 speed. My wife has the exact same car except for color and an automatic trans. Hers is not near the fun to drive as mine.

[FOSSIL]

Daily driver....

[FOSSIL]

Bad weather car.....

[FOSSIL]

special trips car....

[JohnL]

My plan is to drive fun manual cars right up until we transition to entirely electric. A Mach E looks like a pretty good option.

It's fun when my wife and I go car shopping. I ask "Do you have one with a manual transmission?" and when they don't, the salesman (and use the gender-specific term intentionally) will immediately look to my wife trying to sell her on an automatic (or, as my late father called them, a "slushbox"). They might as well be trying uproot a redwood with a dessert spoon.

[sacfxdx]

Nice Rover.

[BGuttman]

I haven't been able to drive manuals for a number of years (since I tore the left quadriceps tendon) although I used to drive them for a long time. Even in New York City traffic (talk about exercise for the left leg!).

Last gigmobile was a Volvo S80 with 3 trombones, 2 Manhasset style stands (one is a Hamilton KB90), 4 trombone stands, a mute bag, a folding chair, and miscellaneous music folders in the trunk. More stuff in the back seat, including a Euph, more mutes, and some more stuff I don't remember. The three trombones were my King 7B, a symphonic size tenor (a pseudo Conn 88HO), and a Conn 40H. Sometimes I'll substitute a Bach 36C for the symphonic tenor. If I need a different trombone (like my alto or the "real" symphonic tenor) they go in the back seat. It's still parked in the driveway (although immobile -- as am I). Maybe I'll take some pictures.

[Burgerbob]

special trips car....

My Mustang is a 5 speed. My wife has the exact same car except for color and an automatic trans. Hers is not near the fun to drive as mine.

Exactly!

[bbocaner]

There's nothing quite as satisfying as nailing a double-clutched heel and toe downshift where you get everything synchronized just right and the shifter just goes "blip" right into the notch with no effort whatsoever. While manuals are so much more satisfying to drive, automatics have caught up and surpassed manuals in pretty much every way. The latest automatics are even faster than fancy sequential gearboxes, they can handle more power, they're just as efficient, you can pack more gears in, they are much easier to integrate into hybrid drivetrains, and they require less maintenance. It's sad, and I have a "keeper" manual car which is not my daily driver that I am going to be careful about obsessively maintaining so it stays nice as long as I can keep it nice -- and I'm hoping to get a second one, but I understand why it's becoming more and more rare on new cars.

[Kingfan]

Yep. I drove manuals starting when I got my first car in 1976 because they were cheaper, faster, and more fuel efficient than automatics. Now, a car with an auto will accelerate faster and get better fuel mileage than a car with a stick. My Mustang has 18" wheels, lowering springs, tubular control arms, aftermarket sway bars, Koni shocks and struts, etc. and is a blast to drive. The exhaust note is music to my ears. I enjoy all the features on my Outlander, but for fun I'll take the Mustang.

[marccromme]

My Harry versus Larry cargo bike for distances under 20 km, can load one tuba or two trombones plus euph. My wives VW Caddy otherwise, takes easily two tubas, one euph and three trombones. Or the Fiat Qubo, taking a little less.

All with stick and manual gears, of course. Cause we are European. ..

[stewbones43]

special trips car....

Chris, I like your stable, but I liked the Jensen you used to have even more.

My present drives are a 2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 170bhp 6 speed manual or my wife's 2004 MINI hatchback John Cooper Works 211 bhp 6 speed manual, 1600cc supercharged.

Both are FUN to drive.

Cheers

Stewbones43

[Burgerbob]

My present drives are a 2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 170bhp 6 speed manual or my wife's 2004 MINI hatchback John Cooper Works 211 bhp 6 speed manual, 1600cc supercharged.

[FOSSIL]

special trips car....

Chris, I like your stable, but I liked the Jensen you used to have even more.

My present drives are a 2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 170bhp 6 speed manual or my wife's 2004 MINI hatchback John Cooper Works 211 bhp 6 speed manual, 1600cc supercharged.

Both are FUN to drive.

Cheers

Stewbones43

I liked the Jensen too...but 15mpg was pretty sore...the reg on the Merc is from the Jensen...the Merc is faster, quieter, more comfortable and does almost 50 mpg...it's a no brainer really. The Jensen was auto as is the Merc...Powerful cars work well as autos...there's a Smart roadster as well...flappy paddle auto. The Rover and Land Rover are stickies, and are my babies.
Minis are great...my wife had three in a row and I had a lot of fun in them...and managed to keep my license too.

Chris

[Peacemate]

My Harry versus Larry cargo bike for distances under 20 km, can load one tuba or two trombones plus euph. My wives VW Caddy otherwise, takes easily two tubas, one euph and three trombones. Or the Fiat Qubo, taking a little less.

All with stick and manual gears, of course. Cause we are European. ..

How stable is it? Have been thinking of replacing my daily buss rides (it really isn't reasonable to have a tuba and a trombone with 2 extra bags) with bicycling, and it's between 3 wheel and long john. I'm guessing you just need to get used to it?

[Mamaposaune]

A 2017 VW Golf R with a 6-speed. (Slides and stick-shifts are just more fun!)
I also have a '94 Volvo 960 wagon with 120k miles. A inheritance from my dad. It was always his 2nd car too, for transporting the dogs and hauling stuff. Same thing I use it for.

[Burgerbob]

A 2017 VW Golf R with a 6-speed. (Slides and stick-shifts are just more fun!)

That's a sweet ride! Nice!

[LeTromboniste]

For everything in town and within 15 km or so



For everything further than that

[marccromme]

My Harry versus Larry cargo bike for distances under 20 km, can load one tuba or two trombones plus euph.

How stable is it? Have been thinking of replacing my daily buss rides (it really isn't reasonable to have a tuba and a trombone with 2 extra bags) with bicycling, and it's between 3 wheel and long john. I'm guessing you just need to get used to it?

Very stable, very nice transmission, of course heavy, but when you got it up to speed it runs very free. My best purchase in 2020. See thread with pictures here https://www.tubaforum.net/viewtopic.php ... bike#p3767

Picture here

[spencercarran]

Sturdy steel frame bicycle I bought in grad school. It's got a comfortable upright posture that is (a) better suited to navigating city traffic than aggressive racing-style bikes (b) lets me carry any case with backpack straps easily.

(It usually doesn't live in front of my couch; this is from when I brought it in the apartment to install a new chain)

bike.jpg

[LeTromboniste]

Sturdy steel frame bicycle I bought in grad school. It's got a comfortable upright posture that is (a) better suited to navigating city traffic than aggressive racing-style bikes (b) lets me carry any case with backpack straps easily.

(It usually doesn't live in front of my couch; this is from when I brought it in the apartment to install a new chain)

bike.jpg

Upright posture bikes were a revelation to me when I moved to the Netherlands. So much nicer when carrying an instrument on your back. Also open frames, very practical when wearing concert clothes!

[AndrewMeronek]

I have a Prius. 50MPG, pretty good cargo room with the hatchback. I've toted around dressers in it.

The engine and wind noise are very low, which is great. And there is very little added soundproofing, which is nice when I can hear other vehicles around me, but is not nice when tire noise gets high on some road surfaces. I'm thinking of getting a set of Cooper Ultra Touring tires for my next set due to alleged lower noise.

Speaking of which - if anyone has any thoughts on good or bad noise reducing tires, I'd love to hear them.

[deanmccarty]

I drive a Toyota truck when I have multiple horns, or my tuba... it’s big and I can carry everything with no problem... if it’s just one horn, I drive a Toyota Avalon.

[harrisonreed]

This topic reminded me of a funny scene in one of Ricky Gervais' programs:



The gig mobile

[Doug Elliott]

My Harry versus Larry cargo bike for distances under 20 km, can load one tuba or two trombones plus euph.
...

A friend of mine sells those Harry versus Larry cargo bikes here.
https://www.kasperscargos.com/

[ronnies]

A 2006 Peugeot 407 SW six speed manual transmission.

But since most actual gigs are in the centre of town a Lothian Bus is more likely.

Ronnie

[EOlson9]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

[Burgerbob]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

Someday I'll get a manual Fit to replace our Accord.

[EOlson9]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

Someday I'll get a manual Fit to replace our Accord.

I love my Fit, other than that I could use just a few more inches of legroom in the driver's seat. It's a great little car!

[Doug Elliott]

For European readers, the Honda Fit in the US is the same car as your Honda Jazz. I only wish they had kept that name here.

And Harrison... When you come back from Japan, see if you can bring me an N-Box!!!

Right now I'm driving an Element.

[harrisonreed]

For European readers, the Honda Fit in the US is the same car as your Honda Jazz. I only wish they had kept that name here.

And Harrison... When you come back from Japan, see if you can bring me an N-Box!!!

Right now I'm driving an Element.

The N-Box! Yes they have some sweet Kei-cars here that seem to defy physics with how much gear you can jam in them while still being the smallest cars on the road. Clowns take notice! The only problem I could see is that the engine will still be way small and underpowered for his much you can load into the cargo area.

I had looked into something like the N-Box but couldn't pass up the deal on the R2.

[ArbanRubank]

It's a very short commute.

[Matt K]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

Fit user checking in here too! I have a 2018 Fix LX too and I absolutely love it. If I really want extra space I can fit probably all of my instruments in it with the back seats folded down. But I also built a little shelf for it so I can put my horn under it and then stuff on top of it and also keep the back seats up, but I haven't used it in over a year (obviously!). Just got my first call of the year about 20 minutes ago though. (Yes, I'm immunized!)

[SwissTbone]

Alfa Romeo 147JTD from 2004. It will soon have 200'000 kilometers on it. Really fun to drive! Not terribly reliable though

If that car could tell stories... it spent 3 months of it's life on an Italian island. I was there for vacation and it broke during the holidays. Took 3 months to find somebody to bring it back to Switzerland.

It was also interesting returning home from an Italian island to Switzerland by public transport...

[PhilE]

Hi Chris

Is your bad weather car there a Santana Land Rover?
It looks a bit different to the regular LRs.
I had a Series 3 Stage 1 for a while, leaf sprung but with the constant 4WD and V8.
The significant thing about it was that it had SAE, Whitworth and metric threaded fasteners throughout.
I guess LR standardised on one of them subsequently.

The Rover 90 is a beauty. I had one of those back in the 70s. It was a bit thirsty. It had a button on the dash board which when pressed turned the fuel gauge into a sump oil level indicator. A classy car.

My gigmobile is a Holden Commodore wagon (2000 model) 395,000 km on the clock and still going well. It was made by GM in Australia. Sadly no longer manufactured any more. GM exited Australia a couple of years ago and killed off the Holden brand after 60+ yrs of production.

[soseggnchips]

Good to see so many enthusiastic Jazz/Fit owners chiming in - we've been considering one of these for my other half's next car. The fold-flat seating seems like such an obvious feature for a small car - I can't believe more manufacturers don't offer it.

For my part, I've been running a 2005 Toyota Celica for the last few years. I bought it for £1800 as a runabout and it's been completely hassle-free.

[stewbones43]

Hi Chris

Is your bad weather car there a Santana Land Rover?
It looks a bit different to the regular LRs.
I had a Series 3 Stage 1 for a while, leaf sprung but with the constant 4WD and V8.
The significant thing about it was that it had SAE, Whitworth and metric threaded fasteners throughout.
I guess LR standardised on one of them subsequently.

I think Chris's Land Rover is a special lightweight model made for the military and used for pushing out of the back of C-130 Hercules transport aircraft (with a parachute!!!)

Cheers

Stewbones43

[Kevbach33]

My daily driver, a 2017 Chevy Sonic. A base model sedan with manual windows but has power locks, A/C and an automatic.

It doesn't transport people as well as my previous car, an 01 Hyundai Sonata, but I fit better and the boot (trunk for America) is better shaped. I could probably fit more gear than before despite the Sonic being 2 classes smaller than the Sonata.

[FOSSIL]

Hi PhilE,
Stewbones43 is right, my Land Rover is an ex military Lightweight model... Truck 4x4 Series 3 FFR. Issued to 44 para and ended up with 131 marine commando eng. Got my first lightweight 36 years ago and this one will be my last....probably....
The Rover is a delight...1954 and yes, the fuel gauge becomes and oil level gauge at the press of a button...there's a fuel reserve, see through sun visors, wood and leather interior. 25 years since I had one...nice to be back.

Chris

[EOlson9]

My daily driver is a 2018 Honda Fit LX. Can fit me, a couple trombones and a tuba, as well as music stand, folding chair, and my wife!

Fit user checking in here too! I have a 2018 Fix LX too and I absolutely love it. If I really want extra space I can fit probably all of my instruments in it with the back seats folded down. But I also built a little shelf for it so I can put my horn under it and then stuff on top of it and also keep the back seats up, but I haven't used it in over a year (obviously!). Just got my first call of the year about 20 minutes ago though. (Yes, I'm immunized!)

Wonder Twin Fit powers activate! I bought the shelf from Honda for the hatch area when I got my car. I hide my horns underneath that if the seats are up as normal.

[NorthernEuph]

My current gigmobile is a 2006 BMW 330i. Has enough space for a trombone, euph and music stand in the trunk.

My favourite gigmobile of all time was my friend's '72 Chrysler Newport (aka The Shark). We could fit my Rhodes Suitcase 73 with speaker and his entire drum set in that vehicle with room to spare.

[Matt K]

Good to see so many enthusiastic Jazz/Fit owners chiming in - we've been considering one of these for my other half's next car. The fold-flat seating seems like such an obvious feature for a small car - I can't believe more manufacturers don't offer it.

For my part, I've been running a 2005 Toyota Celica for the last few years. I bought it for £1800 as a runabout and it's been completely hassle-free.

It's a really great little vehicle. You don't have to make your own shelf as they do make one (that Eolson has) you can get for it, I was just cheap!

The hatchback is great and I think you'd be hard pressed to find more car for the price. The only thing I wish is that they'd have made it hybrid. You still can't get one in the states as far as I can tell. Although it gets crazy good mileage for a full gas powered vehicle. When I used to commute with it, mostly uphill, I'd only fill the tank up once or twice a month. If I had a plugin hybrid, I probably could have gotten away with never fueling it as I went downhill the entire ride home. The gas probably wouldn't have kicked in at all for that commute.