Playing acoustic upright is one thing. Getting to the gig is something else altogether.

So my question is what do you drive around when you have to take the bass, and are there any special tricks to getting the bass in and out of your particular vehicle of choice or keeping it safe on the road.

What do you say when someone says, "Oh, we'll just put the bass in the back seat of my Prius and ....."

To answer my own question:

I carry around my bass in a Ford Escape. It fits with either side of the 60/40 back seat folded down. The scroll rests on the center console between the driver and passenger seats -- under my right elbow.

I have some extra padding to support the body so the neck doesn't end up carrying the weight.

I can carry one passenger with luggage or two passengers without. I've even had two basses and a passenger in there at the same time (with even more padding).


It goes in easy through the wide open tailgate.

I have a Honda Element and the same as the Escape, the scroll fits nicely between the front seats on or under the armrest depending how many banjos and guitars and mandolins get stuck in with it. The back seats fold up and out of the way and I have mine removed as when the doghouse bass isn't in there, two 165 pound Great Pyrenees Mountain dogs are!

The first thing I checked when I brought my DB home, was how it fit in the back of my Honda Insight. The answer - like a glove. The seats fold down and the hatch back opens up to allow "Bertha" to lay comfortably behind me with the scroll between the front two seats. Not a whole lotta room for anything else, but that isn't too big an issue for me. I am fairly certain that I could get a guitar or two in there to boot.
A semi-pro bass player friend totes his around in a VW Golf.

I have a long bed Dodge van. It doubles as my little camper for weekend festival trips. She sleeps safely strapped in her own bed with two fiddles and a banjo for company.

I used to have a Honda Civic hatchback, then I moved on to a Suzuki Aerio SX, but I now have a Dodge Ram pickup.

A good friend uses a small mazda compact sedan, with the passenger seat folded back. I had to see it to believe it. I personally drive a 2 door Explorer. I fold one rear seat down, I lay the bass on the ribs, and I found a wedge-shaped heavy pillow that I wedge under a C-bout to keep it from rocking, and falling over.

Subaru outback or Ford f100 pickup. The big guy has ridden in both.

I have a 1/2 ton GMC Sierra with a utility shell on the bed with swing up doors on both sides of the shell. In my younger days, I had a '59 VW bus with the rear seats removed." Haulin' instruments " has always been my priority in my choice of vehicles.

Volvo XC wagon and toyota tundra...
Brought the bass to dealerships with us to make sure it would fit comfortably.... So much for the wife's visions of a sports car!

Got a big old Chevy SuBourbon that can tote about anything I can think of, if I can afford to feed it.

Mine would never fit in my Lincoln Conti, so I use my girlfriend's Subaru Forester.

Paul Ryan
ryantunes.com

You can get it in there, I can get mine in my husbands antique Roadmaster if I have to. Put the front passenger seat all the way forward and let the back all the way down, open the driver side back door and angle it in neck first. Helps to have a hand at the front to guide it but not mandatory. You do need to keep the driver seat back up and as far forward as you can and still drive safely. Of course if you have a passenger they have to sit in the far corner of the back seat.

Mine fit nicely in both my Honda Fit and Toyota RAV4...although not at the same time.

Edited by - Bobbi G on 12/15/2009 03:01:53

Could be Jehanna. Just so easy to throw it into the crossover. That Lincoln model has a slanted back area, so not sure if the the bridge area would get in the back door. Maybe will try it ..I get a pretty large bicycle in there, so possibly the bass might fit.

Paul Ryan
ryantunes.com

Honda Pilot. I had to buy a large yet comfy vehicle for my day job around the time someone put an upright bass into my hands Like pets that find owners so do musical instruments and vehicles. The Pilot is big enough for all the stuff I haul to gigs: bass in case, amp, instrument stand, and the wheelie things - golf cart or Wifesaver (fretwellbass.com) that make it easy for me to take the bass anywhere. There's even room to spare after I've loaded on the camping gear and additional instruments when i go to festivals.

Chevy Avalanche! Great for festivals. You play all night or till you can't walk or stand, go back to the truck, blow up the mattress and with the middgate down you can sleep even in a hard rain with plenty of room for the bass. Of course my bass doesn't warp or rust when wet so sometimes I just leave it outside on top :{)