Couldn't do without my dolly !

Since I now bought a challenger, its all about efficiency. I cant use hard cases anymore, takes up 35% more room in a car. so soft is the way to go. I cant even take a trap like you have...I use a road runner bag for cymbal/tom stands...another one for throne/hi hat stand/snare stand/..........these bags end up being pretty heavy. I told my wife last night after the gig we played, I'll never get to old to play the drums, but moving this gear in and out of car to stage, back to car, then going in the basement can wear me out more than playing. LOL..I need a roadie

They way its been going for you, you will have a roadie soon.

I thought about building a custom case from wood with heavy duty casters to haul my stands and hardware in. Have it designed like a wagon so you could place drum cases on it, basically like Vibes cart except the cart would be a box with stands inside of it. But then for about 200 you could buy a nice one.

I have mixed hard cases and soft cases that came with drum's purchased over the years. I think the old vintage ludwig hard shell cases are my favorite, just because they are cool!

When I was younger and only used/had one kit I always left everything packed up and loaded in the van. Now that I'm older and have lots of drums I use a different kit on every gig. I have all my drums upstairs in the house so the morning of the gig I packup and load everything in the car. I make sure I rest or nap a few hours before I leave for the gig. I leave my stuff locked in the car overnite after I get home. The next morning I unload the car and haul everything back upstairs. I do this 2-3 times a week. i just keep telling myself that I'm getting paid to haul equipment and that I play for free. :)

I have soft cases for all drums and a cymbal bag. The dolly I bought off of craigslist a few years ago might be the best $75 I ever spent.

I would like to have a case for the hardware, but there's no room for it in the Corolla and it'd be too heavy to get into the trunk all at once anyway. I'd get one if I had a van.

I have a huge Yamaha rolling bag that I use for hardware on the one occasion each year when someone will be moving my drums for me.

Al

I use these. A kit fits in two cases and can include the following:

1- Bass drum 20" - 24" anywhere from 14" - 20" deep.

2- mounted toms

2- floor toms

2-4 snare drums depending on depth

6-8 boom cymbal stands

2 snare stands

2 hi-hat stands

2 thrones

2 pedals or a single and double pedal

legs, clamps, etc.

SKB Cymbal case

spare kick head

Case 1: Bass drum, 16" floor tom, 10" mounted tom, 2 pedals, possibly a drum throne top, spare kick drum head, cymbal case

Case 2: 12" and 14" tom, 3 - 4 snares, hardware, misc. slot for drum throne tops, stick bags, whatever.

If I need an 18" floor tom, that is when I pull out that taller case in the back. While it is no taller than a 16", a 16" would normally go in the case with a bass drum. An 18" will not and that changes the entire configuration of the second case.

The drum kit in this picture just got back from a week long rental so everything inside is a little askew as I did not have one of my techs on the event.

Load out takes about 10 - 15 minutes tops. Of course, then you have to have a truck, crew, possibly a fork lift. These stack two high and fit two wide in a standard box truck or semi so I can get two entire kits in 30" of truck space. Unfortunately, they will not fit in a car.;) I have managed them by myself with no problem in one of the 12' U-Haul trailers though.

Wow! I like those cases Scott! I have a small box truck that I drive everyday so I don't have a vehicle problem. I will have to keep my eyes open for one (or two) of those. Talk about overkill for the once a year gig guy here,lol!

Bags and rolling cases for my hardware. Will post some pictures. Hard cases proved a pain after a while.