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Tired of playing on a gooseneck trailer


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I played another nice gig a winery out here in the Texas hill country this weekend. The place is great and very friendly. I've played a lot of gigs there as a hired side-guy and always had a good time.

 

But we always play on a gooseneck trailer they haul out... they've been doing it that way for the last 3 years, I think. I'm worried that the old guys I play with are gonna fall off the folding chair or whatever they use to get us up on the deck, which would be bad for everyone.

 

They probably won't listen to me, but I want to at least put a bug in their ear about better ways of doing stuff because I like the owners and I'd hate to see someone fall off the trailer and get hurt.

 

The issue (in addition to already owning the trailer) is that they want to be able to remove the "stage" occasionally or move it to another part of the property.

 

Can anyone recommend a staging product that can sit outside for the long term but occasionally be broken down or moved? I'd like to be able to say "buy 6 units of this decking, a stair riser, hardware, and some railing from XYZ", but I'm not sure where I'd look or what I'm looking for. What they have right now could be replaced with a 15 x 20 deck 4-5 feet off the ground.

So here are my questions I want to ask before I call them up:

 

is there a semi-permanent portable stage that can weather being out in the generally pleasant texas hill country all the time for a couple of years?

 

If there is nothing that would stand being left out, is there something that is fairly easy for a couple of untrained dudes to pull out of storage every other week and setup?

 

How much would the costs be on something like a 15 x 20 deck 3-4 feet off the ground?

 

Where would you source that from?

 

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is there a semi-permanent portable stage that can weather being out in the generally pleasant texas hill country all the time for a couple of years?

 

If there is nothing that would stand being left out, is there something that is fairly easy for a couple of untrained dudes to pull out of storage every other week and setup?

 

I'm of the experienced based impression that a trailer/stage is likely tough to beat for the application. Stairs should be supplied that are safe... I'll suggest mobile office trailer stairs.

 

 

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Good stairs and a railing at the back would go a long way to improving safety on these. My bench is often less than 3" from the edge of these things. Makes me nervous, but so far I haven't died.

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Only played on a trailer once. No monitors so I could hear the guy next to me and the drummer (just). Basically I was just playing the progression in time to the drummer and hoping everyone else was playing the same thing.

Didn't fall off but didn't feel totally safe either.

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Toe boards all around the sides and back are also helpful. If you fit, it's hard to beat. I've worked on stages that were made up of 2 x 40' flatbed trailers side by side making a stage 40' wide x 16' deep. The extra width makes fine sound wings. These trailers have substantial leveling capabilities.

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Trailer is a fine size for the little bands and PAs around here. I'll focus my discussion with them on getting some kind of stairs... it was seriously scary watching my buddy get on, and even worse watching him come off...

 

I'll suggest mobile home dealerships or modular office dealerships. I bought used but nice pair of commercial grade steel prefab stairs with handrails and a nice platform at a modular office outfit for somewhere around $100 for each set. They're easy to move and set-up, tear down, store, etc... I think my stairs were from or for temp school room modular use.

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