Living Car Free - Hauling PA equipment - I need ideas!

I've been doing the occasional live sound gig, perhaps a few times a year for the last three or four years. I've been able to get more work, and have 2 jobs tentatively booked for next year. However, I don't drive, and begging rides from friends or my wife isn't a viable option if I get a lot more work.

These jobs involve hauling around a hundred pounds or more of PA equipment up to 10 or 20 miles from home - amplifer, mixing board, large speakers, microphone stands, bins filled with cables and microphones, et cetera.

My not driving may or may not change in the near future - I'm epileptic - but I can't count on it either way.

I keep hearing arguments along the lines of "you can too do X on a bike", so... any thoughts about how I could pursue this car-free?

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Surly Big Dummy
Kona Ute
Xtra-Cycle
Huge ****ing trailer

I take your pick.

A long time ago, some friends of mine started a painting company. Of course, they did not own a bicycle, let alone a car.

They were able to get all kinds of jobs, but moving all the ladders and other gear proved difficult. Their answer was to take on a partner who had a truck. The new partner received generous expense money for his truck.

bikes at work trailer?

Visit the Utility Forum and look around.

If you have a bike up to the job, the trailer mentioned above is probably the cheapest solution. Perhaps the best would be one of the Long John bikes. But a good one can run a couple of thousand or more. http://www.longjohn.org/ for some pictures.

Some other considerations: Do you have time constraints? (You can haul a 100# by bike, but you'll probably be riding 10 mph, not 18.) Is it okay if you get there and you're all sweaty? How to handle rain? How about riding in the dark? Hills will make a huge difference with a heavy load.

bikes at work trailer?

:thumb: http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/Bike&Trailer1.jpg

Do you have time constraints?

Not if I plan well.


Is it okay if you get there and you're all sweaty?

I'd probably want to clean up when I get there, like I do when getting to work.


How to handle rain? A lot of my gear i in plastic totes, I'd have to do something similar for the power amp and speakers and mixer.


How about riding in the dark?

I have good lighting, that's a non-issue.


Hills will make a huge difference with a heavy load.

The answer to that is the same one to hauling a heavy touring load - keep pulling it, eventually you get faster.

A dedicated trailer may be the way to go for this. Keep in mind that it's a stretch to fit all my stuff in the car, let alone on a trailer.

However, the largest thing I take a long on these jobs is a large metal hand truck. A trailer I could pull around like a cart would be great.

A friend of mine is a drummer and uses a cargo trike that he built himself. For extra distance he has electric assist on it.
http://www.drumbent.com/trike.html

there is always electric assist
if you are pulling silly loads
up silly hills

bikes at work trailer?

+1

That is what I was going to say. Team that up with an Xtra-Cycle and your only problem after that is being in good enough shape to move it all.

:thumb: http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/Bike&Trailer1.jpg


With a trailer like this you are only limited to what you can tie on or stack up. :thumb:

The Bikes at Work trailer look pretty sturdy, but expensive! I can't see spending $500 on a trailer.

A dedicated trailer may be the way to go for this. Keep in mind that it's a stretch to fit all my stuff in the car, let alone on a trailer.

However, the largest thing I take a long on these jobs is a large metal hand truck. A trailer I could pull around like a cart would be great.

I have a cycletote trailer (see them here (http://www.cycletote.com/)) which rolls very easily even with heavy loads partially because the load is balanced over the axles of two full size bike wheels. It disconnects from the bike easily and can be used as a hand truck. Based on what you have said, it would probably take a couple of trips with this sort of trailer to get all of your stuff, or if you got a couple of the trailers, and got someone else to ride to gigs with you.....

Another thing to check out for inspiration is the group 'blind pilot' - they are an indie band who tour by bicycle - check out the cool custom trailer for the upright bass that is in this video: http://vimeo.com/2975715

The Bikes at Work trailer look pretty sturdy, but expensive! I can't see spending $500 on a trailer.

Can you see replacing your equipment due to trailer failure? Can you see the tax deduction for the trailer cost to run your business?

This is no time to cheap it mate.

There is a better solution. What if you could have a PA and not need monitors and mixers? What if you only needed two speaker cables? What if you didn't need an instrument amplifier with speakers? Your bulky equipment would mostly be gone.

Check out this system:http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_STATIC_PAGE_EVENT&url=/shop_online/speakers/portable_amplification_systems/index.jsp

There are several videos of this system in action on Youtube. You can't hear them the same way but you can see how others use them. I have something similar in concept and it works great. The speakers weigh only 32 pounds. I need a separate power amplifier and mixer to go with them. Those weigh about 45 pounds.

@Smallwheels: Interesting, but spending money on equipment really isn't in the cards right now. I will be keeping these in mind, though.

@Smallwheels: Interesting, but spending money on equipment really isn't in the cards right now. I will be keeping these in mind, though.
You could build your own trailer if you are handy and use recycled materials to save money (ie 16" wheels from discarded children's bikes)
Some instructions:
http://www.drumbent.com/trailer_big.html

@Smallwheels: Interesting, but spending money on equipment really isn't in the cards right now. I will be keeping these in mind, though.

They are a good thing to keep in mind, we bought a set of them for our church, and they are very versatile and easily moved. About the only thing which I wish they had done was integrated a wireless microphone receiver in the base unit.

Neodymium Speakers and Class D amps with a Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) Weight issue should be less of a factor.

I can vouch for the Bikes At Work trailer. I bought one of their old-style 64" trailers years ago, and use it to haul upward of 100 pounds of sand sculpture equipment to the beach. The design is simple, construction sturdy, hitch reliable. The new version should be even better. They come in two widths now, so if your equipment won't fit within the 21" bed of the narrow, you can get the wider one. They come in three lengths: 32", 64", 96".

Years ago I used a Bugger trailer to haul PA equipment. That was pretty gnarly because there was no way to control the position of the load, so it was severely rear-heavy. On dips in the road, the back tire of the bicycle would be lifted off the ground as the trailer pitched up.

If you can't afford a bikes at work, get a cheap kids trailer off craigslist and modify it. $50 for the trailer and another $50 for wood/screws to make it usable.

The guys at Rock the Bike in the Bay Area do it every weekend using Mundos and trailers:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockthebike/3806562103/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockthebike/3807376838/