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Best trailer for touring (carrying music gear)

Old 01-29-14, 12:22 PM
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combatdecoy
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Best trailer for touring (carrying music gear)

Hey guys, I'm in the process of planning a tour from the twin cities to Chicago where I play gigs at various
towns along the way.. I've biked to local gigs before with a crappy trailer and my PA system suffered some damage in the process.
On this trip, I'd most likely be carrying two guitars and a pedal board, in addition to all the regular touring/camping gear. I've already been touring for the last 8 years so I've got a good system in that respect. The main difference is that I'd obviously be towing a trailer, which I've not done outside of 20 mile stretches.
I'm wondering if a burley cargo trailer would do it? The surly trailers are awesome but too expensive and heavy. I've got some guys here who've welded things for me before(they make beautiful snowmobile trailers) and they think they could do a powder coated steel smaller copy of the Surly Ted trailer if I would get the hitch. I'm pretty sure a b.o.b. won't fit both guitars. I've got to check dimensions to be sure. Also I've a Surly LHT and a Salsa Fargo and I'm not sure which one I'll be riding yet. I'm thinking the Surly because of the amount of pavement vs gravel/trails. Still on the fence.
Anyway, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
Take care
Mark
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Old 01-29-14, 06:05 PM
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Burley Flatbed? Load capacity should be adequate, but not sure how you'd keep gear dry. WP bags and a cover...
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Old 01-29-14, 06:11 PM
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How Much Gear ? https://hpm.catoregon.org/?page_id=83

Dry ? Calton and Pegasus Fiber Glass cases .. I have a Roland AC 60 It comes in a padded bag,
and I can Tarp over It..

Several years back somone got a longtail Xtracycle .. D TYPE guitar case fit on one side in back

they were Solo cycling-singer-songwriter-ing their way down the Coast..

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Old 01-29-14, 10:40 PM
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If your sticking to tarmac or hardpac I can recommend the Carry Freedom Y-frame trailer as a great all rounder that can carry as much weight as you can probably pedal if necessary.
https://carryfreedom.com/Y-Frame.html

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/a...r/rp-prod11357
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Old 01-30-14, 07:26 AM
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What kinds of guitars are you taking?
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Old 01-30-14, 07:33 AM
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I play double bass, so...

We need to know what gear you're taking!
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Old 01-30-14, 08:30 AM
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Great! I've not heard of those trailers recommended so I'll check em out immediatly.
I'm going to take two Yamaha acoustics. The LS16(parlor size) has two separate passive pickups and I figure if one pickup gets dislodged on the way I can work with the other one. I'm also taking my main gigging guitar which is a Yamaha LJX16cp(medium jumbo), which has a more elaborate, and I feel delicate pickup system. I'm thinking of padding the flooring of the trailer with foam or something because as I said before, I have a Fishman solo amp that took a beating from the dozen times I used it when biking to gigs.
I have a large big agnes footprint that we use to cover the bikes at night when we tour, so I thought maybe I would use that for weather, or a souped up tarp of some kind, if there is one...
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Old 01-30-14, 08:36 AM
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I do have a handmade guitar with a Calton case but its way too heavy and that guitar is way too nice to take on this trip.
The smaller yamaha I'll carry in a reunion blues gig bag, which is super tough, and made for air travel. Not sure how it would fare against the weather though. The jumbo I plan on carrying in its fitted, foam case. It has a canvasish material on the outside so I wouldn't trust that for a second...
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Old 01-30-14, 09:02 AM
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Why not create a travelling rig? A jumbo isn't really necessary, is it? A parlor size fingerpicking guitar -- James Taylor style -- would be enough. Heck, with the novelty of the bicycle gig, you could take a Martin Backpacker around with you! Plugged in, they don't sound too bad....
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Old 01-30-14, 10:44 AM
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Touring folkie I mentioned earlier , had a Carbon Fibre Rainsong ,
in a EPS Foam [think guitar helmet] case.

I play double bass, so...

We need to know what gear you're taking!
PDX Based (might be more bands than bike shops , there) Blind Pilot went on tour

3/4 bass viol ..had it's case with wheels fabricated for purpose
the and towed behind the bicycle ..

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Old 01-30-14, 12:08 PM
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In the beginning of my gigging guitar stuff I checked out all of the travelish guitars but couldn't deal with the tone. Sound is pretty huge to me and the Jumbo is incredible. The backpackers are lacking in that department, and also because I play finger style I need the bigger spacing by the bridge. James' guitar sounds great! But its about 30k. It's an Olson, and the custom guitar I have was made out of the same wood, and by one of the builders students. So, in order to get a great sounding parlor size, you've gotta spend some coin. The problem then is feeling comfy with taking it on a trailer 500 miles. And I find that parlors in general have balanced mids and trebles, but they have a tendency to be pretty shallow on the bass end. My backup is parlorish, and sounds pretty good, especially with my preamp, but the jumbo just kills across the board, and it plays really well. I used to tour with a washburn travel guitar but again, the sound is lacking. I would sacrifice the weight and trailer for the tone, for sure. I also figured my hands could be in rough shape depending on the day, so I also want to be as comfortable playing as possible. The trailers look pretty nice! I've got to look at them closer and check the specs.. Thanks for taking the time guys, I appreciate all of your thoughts and ideas!
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