My minivan died. Any suggestions for a reliable new or used one?

[jimiv]

I've used a minivan for the past few years. Works great..can take out the back two rows of seats and all band equipment fits. The only thing is just one other person can ride. I have been thinking of adding a hitch and buying a small trailer so I don't have to take the seats out and still haul all of the band equip. Worried about the effect on the tranny though. With gas prices the way they are, any out of town gig works best if everyone can ride together.

[tlbonehead]

I've used a minivan for the past few years. Works great..can take out the back two rows of seats and all band equipment fits. The only thing is just one other person can ride. I have been thinking of adding a hitch and buying a small trailer so I don't have to take the seats out and still haul all of the band equip. Worried about the effect on the tranny though. With gas prices the way they are, any out of town gig works best if everyone can ride together.

everything? Even drums? My full sized van is usually pretty full and that is without the drumer's or bass player's stuff.

[jimiv]

If I have to bring the big mains (which I had to do this past Sunday because the throw for the FOH was at least 175'), There is not enough room for drums. Thats why I want to get a trailer. But usually if I only have to bring my PA on sticks, which works well for most weddings and indoor stuff, then there is enough room. We don't bring alot of backline because we mic everything through the PA. No more gigantic SVT bass rigs, Marshall Stacks, etc. Small amps with pedal boards that model different amps and effects are what works best for us because we have to cover so many different sounds. If I could get away with just going direct to the board, I would do it and it would be even less equipment to haul. I'm close to going that route. If I could get everyone on IEMs, everyone, except the drummer would go direct and even less equipment to haul. I'm hoping to get there next year. Thought I would be there this year, but had to make some personnel changes suddenly and I'm back to square one right now.

Probably more info than you asked for hehehehehe. Been off this board for awhile so it just comes gushing out I guess.

[tim_7string]

For this past Saturday's gig, I decided to leave the middle row seats in the vehicle and load up as much as I could.

 

I folded the back seats into the floor, then loaded the subwoofer, mains, floor monitors, guitar combo amp, rack cases (one 4-space, two 2-space), speaker cord bag, xlr/line cord bag, pedalboard and mixer. Across the middle row of seats, I laid a blanket down over them (leather seats), then put the mic stand/speaker stand bag on top of it, along with some guitar stands and the LED lights.

 

Everything fit just fine with room for more if we wanted it. My wife and I were in the front seats and comfortable. She could even lean her seat back.

 

The drummer brings his own car with his drum set, cymbals and hardware. He's kind of fussy about it, since it's a nice custom Ludwig, so he is fine with doing that. The bass player lives 45 miles from where we live, but he was only 20 miles from where the gig was scheduled, so it was an easy drive for him with just his bass guitar, amp and small bag of stuff. A little more of a drive for us at around 75 miles one way (kind of like driving to Fargo from Grand Forks).

 

If we absolutely had to, I'm pretty sure we could fit the drum stuff in the vehicle or the bass guitar and amp, but probably not both (his Peavey bass amp is pretty wide).

 

Now for the report: the ride was still very smooth and the back end did not buckle down or drop at all. In fact, it was almost as if there wasn't anything in the vehicle at all! Usually when you hit cruise control, you'll feel a slight lurch, right? Not in the Odyssey. It acted as if I was still driving with my foot on the accelerator. And the ride back home was equally smooth. Wonderful!

 

I'm sold!

[tim_7string]

 

But usually if I only have to bring my PA on sticks, which works well for most weddings and indoor stuff, then there is enough room. We don't bring alot of backline because we mic everything through the PA. No more gigantic SVT bass rigs, Marshall Stacks, etc. Small amps with pedal boards that model different amps and effects are what works best for us because we have to cover so many different sounds.

 

 

Our PA packs away pretty nicely, even with the subwoofer. I have one speaker on a stick, one on the subwoofer. It's fine for the small bars that we play, which are the gigs we do the most anyway. Really no need to haul a gigantic system for these small clubs. Transportability and quick teardowns are what I like. It took us less than 30 minutes on Saturday night/early Sunday morning to tear down after the gig, even with me waiting for payment and helping with packing up and rolling cords. Nice.

 

 

Probably more info than you asked for hehehehehe. Been off this board for awhile so it just comes gushing out I guess.

 

 

Nothing wrong with that! That's why I love reading this forum. All the different experiences are interesting to me.

[MusicalSchizo]

That's truly awesome, Tim. Seems you're having the same experience I had with mine...

Brian V.

[JIM683]

we have had 7 Dodge Caravans over the last 20 years. The only one that ever gave us trouble was the one and only grand version. It seems the trans on those don't hold up well. We had little trouble with the other we owned.

With all the seats out (except the front two), I can haul my entire pa, 2 18" subs,
2 "12 tops,. 4 monitors, mixer, amp rack, mics, cables, etc to run a gig. I still have room to add more as it grows. I might be able to get a small drum set in there also, but not my big one.

I have not tried the cargo thing on top, but that would add some additional storage at least to transport.