Vehicle rental recommendations

[edwinhurwitz]

Hi all!
I have a weekend long remote to do for a 3 day festival in northern Colorado. At first I thought I would be able to set up in a building at the site, but it turns out that the stages will be in a big field with no real shelter unless I bring it. I am thinking that perhaps I will just rent a medium Budget rental truck and get set up in that and improvise some air conditioning. It's not ideal but the budget is tight. Any other ideas to consider? It's possible that there will also need to be a video guy in there as well.

Thanks for any input.

Edwin

[Kalara]

Cool! I've set up many a time in the back of a Budget Truck. It's not glorious, but a little furniture, maybe a rug from the hotel.....it can be cozy. It's starting to get hot in some parts of Colorado...then really cold...then really hot. Cool.

If there's going to be a video guy as well. Maybe you guys can go in on a motor home or something. Unfortunatly, my racks don't fit into many RV doors, (I know I've tried). Be sure to check that. Unless you are camping, the price of a budget truck and a couple of hotel rooms might put an RV in the budget.

Take some pictures. I just went to go find a few budget truck pictures and it looks like I may have lost them.

Sounds like fun!

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by Kalara

Cool! I've set up many a time in the back of a Budget Truck. It's not glorious, but a little furniture, maybe a rug from the hotel.....it can be cozy. It's starting to get hot in some parts of Colorado...then really cold...then really hot. Cool.

If there's going to be a video guy as well. Maybe you guys can go in on a motor home or something. Unfortunatly, my racks don't fit into many RV doors, (I know I've tried). Be sure to check that. Unless you are camping, the price of a budget truck and a couple of hotel rooms might put an RV in the budget.

Take some pictures. I just went to go find a few budget truck pictures and it looks like I may have lost them.

Sounds like fun!

Thanks! The band will be giving me a room in a cabin, so accommodations are taken care of. I might bring along a portable swamp cooler to keep things cool. Not sure about heat yet. I looked into RVs and they start at $175 a day and the budget truck is $35 a day. Given about a $1k budget, I need to do it on the cheap. I'd rather blow my cash on some more pres or something like that!

I wish I could get an RV that didn't have all that crap in it! Who needs a stove, sink, etc?

Edwin

[Remoteness]

Ahh, rental vehicle recommendations

If booking a medium Budget rental truck is your only option I have some solutions for that scenario since I’ve done this a few times before.

We have setup in vans, RVs and cargo trucks. Let’s talk about the cargo truck situation.

You must bring sound (or moving) blankets so you can hang them around your control room area. Make sure you hang them so they are at least 3” or better from the walls of your truck body. I have used heavy duty Binder Clips that you can find at Staples to attach the blanket ends to the framing of the truck body. They work very well especially if you use the super larger ones.

Next on the list is creating two shelves, one for your console and the other for the speakers and video monitor if applicable. I usually setup my CRM looking out the back door if there’s a side door, but swap it around when we only have a rear access door available. 2X4’s work great as temporary shelves. Many trucks have ribbing inside the cargo area that you can attach the 2X4’s to. If that is not possible build a temporary shelf system.

There’s a simple solution for your a/c needs. Get a normal household unit and place it at the back of the truck on the floor making sure you leave at least one door open for ventilation. Angle the a/c so that the water from the unit drips outward. Hang sound blankets and plastic sheets around the a/c unit to create a barrier of sorts. Make sure you leave enough over lap so you can have a convenient entrance way to the CRM. If there was a budget I would have suggested building a short-term wall out of cheap plywood with a hole for the a/c unit and use the blankets and plastic sheets for the entrance.

[Remoteness]

Here's a few of pictures of a temporary van build out for a gig we did at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston awhile ago...

PortableVanGear

PortableVanGear2

PortableVanGear3

PortableVanGearFrontend

We built a wall that had a mouse hole for the cables.
A hole for the a/c unit which was just under the mixers.
And, shelves for the speakers and video monitor.
Sound blankets wraped the control area. You could not stand up, but the project worked out well.

[edwinhurwitz]

Very nice! I used to play the Paradise a lot back in the early 90s with my old band, Shockra. Fun place although some of the staff could be a bit cranky. I also met my wife there.

The van pics give me some great ideas. I don't think I'll be able to build a wall or anything like that (I have to hit the ground running 2 days after getting back from my road bass playing gig with Great American Taxi), but the packing blankets look crucial and I'll probably bring some GIK Acoustic panels out of my basement studio as well.

Edwin