The ideal pianotech vehical??

[John Ross]

Robert Goodale wrote:
> 
> It's nice to see this topic of piano tech vehicles has come up, as I
> have been kind of thinking about a purchase sometime soon myself. It is
> interesting to hear others talking about what they drive.
> 
> Currently I drive a 1987 Honda Civic, by far the most reliable car I
> have ever owned. With over 123,000K on the clock it still runs smooth as
> silk and gets over 30 MPG. Being such a small car, however, and in
> anticipation of eventually getting into more rebuilding activity, I'm
> starting to think "truck". The used market for small pickups seems
> hopeless, as they are so popular that few reasonably priced good ones
> come up for sale. The dealers only seem to have former lease trucks and
> they cost barely over a thousand less than a new one. So what kind of
> new truck to buy? My thought is to get a shell to cover the back and
> then customize the inside to fit tools, equipment, a place to transport
> an action, and so on. If I get to the point to where I want to buy some
> pianos either the shell could come off or I could invest in a small
> trailer.
> 
> I test drove a new Nissan Fronteer a few weeks ago. It seems like a very
> nice truck, very comfy inside and has some reasonable power. I can get
> the extra cab version including A/C and AM/FM cassette for about
> $11,000- not bad. I was getting pretty excited about it until the
> following week when the national insurance safety crash tests came out.
> They found the Fronteer to be the second worst truck on the market in
> terms of potential driver injuries (35 MPH off-center front end
> collision). The Dodge Dakota ranked worst, and Toyota ranked third. The
> Ford Ranger performed better but also costs about 3K more. The S-10
> falls somewhere in between.
> 
> Of course then there are the other expenses that go along with a new
> vehical. I called my insurance company and discovered that my rates
> would go up nearly double what they are now. And of course, registration
> fees also go up. I have also grown acustomed to the great gas milage my
> current car gets, something that trucks notoriously fall short on.
> Nobody ever said life was cheep but it sure gets you wondering.
> 
> So, has anyone else looked at, purchased, or test-driven a small truck
> recently? What conclusions have you come up with? What positives and
> negatives have you heard about?
> Just curious.
> 
> Rob Goodale, piano dude.
Hi Rob,
I currently drive a Dodge Mini-Van Long wheel base. I remove the seats,
put some carpet over the origional, put a unit that was a childs room
chest of drawers. (From when my kids were young, they are 36 and 37 now)
I can clamp it, using the seat brackets. 
The drawers can store a lot, and the large space in the one side I store 
my player tubing, my 1/2" drill etc.   On the back of the cabinet I have
a couple of multi drawer cabinets installed, with ready use parts.
I cover an area about 1 1/2hr. radius from home. I want to be sure to
have what I need, to save having a double call.
I have plenty of room to bring an action or player assembly home to my
shop.  The seats are only used if it is a family occasion where the
extra seating is required. They are easy to remove or install.
I have about 60K miles on it now, and the only trouble I have had was
the A/C.   
It drives like a car and has the room for the extras.
I was interested in the comment about the fellow that drove the
Cadillac, may'be my vehicle is too good.  But I do like it!
Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, N.S. Canada
P.S. See you all in R.I.