So the band bought a Bus....

[smurfco]

Looks awesome.

About making the back part gear storage: You definitely need to add a cage or some sort of barrier between the gear and where human beings will be. I have read too many stories about people in bands getting crushed by flying gear in the event of an accident.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Looks awesome.

About making the back part gear storage: You definitely need to add a cage or some sort of barrier between the gear and where human beings will be. I have read too many stories about people in bands getting crushed by flying gear in the event of an accident.

No, no. It's all a myth. Myth!

 

[Modern Saint]

Nice!!!

You guys have moved on up.

 

[Gary Blanchard]

No, no. It's all a myth. Myth!

Hit or myth? You decide.

 

[Help!I'maRock!]

Hit or myth? You decide.

Yeth.

 

[Rick 381]

Instead of painting, look into a vinyl wrap instead.

http://www.buswraps.com/

We just bought 3 new buses and are having them wrapped. $8400 a piece. After a couple of years the vinyl noticeably shrinks and you can see gaps between pieces. Get hit and it costs a fortune to re-do that section. If I had any say in it we would never cover another bus but marketing and management make decisions and we live with them.

 

[Gary Blanchard]

Looks awesome.

About making the back part gear storage: You definitely need to add a cage or some sort of barrier between the gear and where human beings will be. I have read too many stories about people in bands getting crushed by flying gear in the event of an accident.

Seeing all the gear they have, I don't know how they plan to also put people on the bus.

 

[mikesr1963]

 

[mikesr1963]

 

[mikesr1963]

 

[mikesr1963]

And don't forget to put about 200 chicken lights on it.

 

[Steverino]

Good times ahead

But seriously, put a barrier in. I have a drummer buddy who's in a wheelchair because they didn't have one installed.

 

[Chicken Man]

We had a bus for a bit, but that was just because one of our members has a daughter in a wheelchair. He since traded it in for a panel van for round-town stuff and a mobile home for festivals.

 

[baimun]

We are definitely looking at a cage in the back for the subs and the cases with all the cables. I also want storage under the benches so we can stow guitars and keep them out of site.

As for painting versus a wrap.... I would love to do a wrap... but please remember that I majored in fine arts in college... and I own an air compressor... a paint gun... and an air brush.

 

[baimun]

Looking over some dimensions.... the area from the rear axle (dual tires on each side) is aprox 5 feet x 7.5 feet. Considering the available height, that area is bigger than the interior of my SUV.

The passenger area from the rear axle to behind the driver's seat is 6.5 x 7.5. which should be pretty decent for some benches.

Since the interior will be open to start, we can load our gear in the back, a couple benches up front, and decide where exactly we will divide the cargo area from the seating area.

 

[Jbird]

I take it there's not enough room to store all the gear AND sell Jamaican Jerk chicken out of it at the same time?

:(

 

[Scott Powell]

One of the bands i play in has a band bus. The bassist bought it when the county auctioned it off.It was a bus used to transfer prisoners,and I DO have to admit it's very very cool pulling up to clubs in the bus

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I am a fan of paint schemes on old vehicles that that can be touched up with cans of DeRusto. I had an old jeep in faded silver that received exactly that treatment.

And then you can experiment with street art.

 

[Honkridge]

too ez to break into...fail

 

[Gorgon90]

Definitely do an internal wall to separate gear and people.

The best security job I saw done on a band bus they welded metal sheets over the windows in the gear area, a metal bulkhead between the passenger and gear areas, and had rear doors so it was like a van at the back. They then built an inside wall out of plywood and filled the gap between the plywood and the metal with loft insulation. The idea was that if anyone tried to drill or cut through the metal, the power tool would get tangled up and jam once it hit the insulation and the thief would probably break their arm. They also had some serious heavy duty bolt cutter proof locks on the back and an alarm system built in that included a police siren and flashing blue light if tripped.

It would be overkill for some bands but they were out gigging every weekend at a minimum and kept most of the gear on the bus permanently so they made the thing into a mobile safe pretty much.