Nearly every drummer has watched a flute player walk up to a gig with her small instrument case. She\u2019s not out of breath, and her hands don\u2019t hurt from carrying her flute from the car. And we think, \u201cWhy did I pick the drums?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fitting a drum set in a car is necessary for most working drummers, and almost any vehicle can hold some semblance of a drum set. If you buy a vehicle with drum transportation in mind, your life will be a little easier.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, depending on your specific car and the drums you want to fit in there, maybe you can\u2019t get it all in your vehicle. But this is a question with so many variables, so let\u2019s work through our options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The presence of drum cases completely changes the calculus of fitting your drum set in your car. After all, by definition, the cases are bigger than the drums that fit inside them, so you have some decisions to make and things to consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending on the type, drum cases might take up a lot of extra room in your car, or they may add only a couple of inches to the profile of each piece of your drum set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soft cases like Gator Cases\u2019 Protechtor Series 5-piece Padded Drum Bag Set<\/a> on Amazon are form-fitting and protect from cosmetic damage, but if something big falls on one of your drums, the padded nylon cases won\u2019t do much to protect their contents. Since they hug the curves of your drums, you won\u2019t lose much cargo space at all to the presence of the cases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Hard cases provide more protection but take up more room when you pack your kit into the car. Picking up something like the SKB 8 x 10 Tom Case<\/a> (also on Amazon) keeps to the shape of each drum it encases, but does increase the profile size of each drum, so you\u2019ll need more room in your car than if you just put the drums in there by themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And what about going without cases? If you\u2019re transporting your drums once a year up to school for a talent show, but the rest of the time, they stay in your home, cases are overkill for you. But if you play gigs regularly, you likely want at least some protection for your kit. Soft-sided cases probably provide all the protection you need if you play around town, but if you\u2019re flying to gigs, you really ought to have hard shells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you\u2019re putting your drums in your car for transportation to gigs, you may be in a playing situation where hard cases would be too much\u2014 too bulky for your vehicle and more protection than you need for hauling your drums three miles across town for a two-hour gig playing Big Band Swing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you play an extensive, Neil Peart<\/a>-inspired set, you\u2019ll have a more challenging time fitting the whole thing into your car. In this case, we\u2019re talking about a double bass<\/a> setup and multiple toms, and you need a relatively large car to fit a set like this comfortably. Because we\u2019re talking about cars here, we\u2019re going to leave out SUVs, vans, and pickups, but if your set is a big one, one of those options will be your best bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you play a cocktail set<\/a>, its extremely compact configuration means that you could conceivably hold it in your hands while you longboard to your gig. Packing one of these into your car poses few problems because, by its nature, a cocktail set\u2019s primary attribute is its compact footprint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But most of us play kits between these two extremes. The typical five-piece set has a bass drum, a floor tom, two wing toms that mount on top of the bass, and a snare drum. Cymbals include two hi-hat cymbals, a crash, and a ride, and all the hardware that accompanies all this stuff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This type of set will almost certainly fit in the average sedan. All bets are off if you drive a Smart Car<\/a>, but your Nissan Stanza or Dodge Dart will do the job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, every drum manufacturer has its own sizes, but we can get a general idea of how much space drums take up by looking at some more common drum sizes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Any of these items might measure bigger or smaller depending on your set, what kind of music you play, who built your drums, and how old your equipment is, but these are generalizations for you to use as a starting point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let me digress a little bit here. In addition to being a professional drummer, I am also a professional double bass player\u2014 the upright, acoustic bass often used in jazz or orchestral playing, not the double bass drum set, which is decidedly not used in orchestral music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 20th century, I was a college dropout with no money trying to make a living as a bassist in Nashville. I mention no money because I was driving a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle, which was roughly the size of my bass. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn\u2019t have a case for my bass, and I drove a tiny car, but I had to get my instrument to gigs and recording sessions in a city that wasn\u2019t known for walkability in the 1990s. I had to learn by trial and error, which is why I took this detour in this article\u2014 you will have to do the same thing. You know your car, you know your set, and like anything else, the more you pack your drum kit into your vehicle, the better you\u2019ll get at it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I eventually worked out a system that involved dressing my bass in oversized sweatshirts, removing my car\u2019s front seat, and playing real-life, oversized Tetris whenever I had a gig. I couldn\u2019t load up quickly, but I could do it because I had to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can do the same thing. Again, if you have a giant kit and drive a Triumph, maybe not, but average sets in average cars? You can make that work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We all know someone who packs for a trip by using graduate-level origami skills to get an insane amount of clothing into a ridiculously small bag. And then there\u2019s the friend who has no idea how to pack efficiently and needs two bags for an overnight trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what you drive, you\u2019ll need to have more skills of the former than the latter. And for heaven\u2019s sake, do a dry run on packing a day or two before your gig. The best time to learn you can\u2019t fit it all in your car is not 30 minutes before the gig starts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the items that can fit in your backseat, put them there. Save the trunk for things that won\u2019t fit in the car. For instance, if you have a dedicated case for all your hardware, while it may work in the back seat, you might not be able to fit anything else in there with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether you have a hard case like the Crossrock Drum Hardware Case with Wheels<\/a>, a soft case like the Tama PowerPad Hardware Bag<\/a>, or something in between like the Stagg PSB-48\/T Hardware Bag<\/a>, they all take up a lot of room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Filled with all those cymbal stands, pegs, and mounting hardware, a hardware case gets very heavy very quickly, too. It may be difficult to move something so unwieldy into, out of, and around in your back seat. And if your hardware case consists of just wrapping it all up in the rug your drum set sits on, that brings its own maneuverability issues, and moving it into the trunk may be much easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your floor tom can sit on the seat. It will probably be too tall to stack anything on that won\u2019t topple when you take a curve, so if it\u2019s behind the passenger seat, then that side is full. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next to it, you should be able to stack your two other toms. Your snare drum might nestle in the floorboard behind one of the front seats, and you can slide your cymbals behind the other front seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A word about cymbals here: cymbals are relatively fragile even though we beat them pretty mercilessly when we play. They\u2019re also expensive, so it would be wise to invest in some type of cymbal case. Even soft-sided cases at least keep them from sliding around and falling out and to the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ProTec HR230 Cymbal Bag<\/a> does the job. A hard case like the SKB Cymbal Vault<\/a> provides excellent protection and should still fit behind your car seat. If you don\u2019t have a cymbal case, at the very least, stack your cymbals, then thread the hi-hat clutch through them all and screw it together. Rather than having four or more cymbals to keep track of, you\u2019ll have one piece of hardware to deal with in terms of packing, loading, and unloading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless you have a massive bass drum or a tiny trunk, you should be able to fit the remainder of your set in the trunk. Slide the bass drum in first since your trunk might be too narrow to fit the hardware case up against the back seat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then slide the hardware case in, and as a bonus, you\u2019ll be able to offload that first, get it into place, and make setup a little more efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, if your set uses two floor toms, you\u2019ll need to tweak this blueprint. Or perhaps your bass drum won\u2019t go in the trunk. Maybe you carry a second snare drum. No matter. Use the blueprint and make the adjustments you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important thing to remember is that you have to pack your drums safely\u2014 not only so they don\u2019t get damaged, but also so you don\u2019t have loose drums careening around the interior of your car and making you a danger to other drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re in the market for a car, you certainly want to think about your drum transport needs. I\u2019m not sure if a test drive can involve loading your drums up to see how they fit, but you can at least examine cargo space and consider how much space your set takes up when it\u2019s packed for transport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Car manufacturers provide a total passenger volume specification for their vehicles, but not all of that space can accommodate drums. The driver needs some of that space, and not many of us will stack drums all the way up to the ceiling, so not all that volume is usable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can look at the amount of trunk space and have an idea of what of yours will fit, and then you may need to physically see the interior of any car you plan to buy. Here are some measurements of some popular sedans in descending order of trunk space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ideally, you\u2019ll find a spacious, roomy vehicle with room enough for quick, easy loading and unloading. Realistically, though, many of us will make do with what we have, pack the best we can, and get to the gig. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing the measurements of your own car may help you plan your packing better, though, so if your car isn\u2019t listed above, consult your dealership for specs if you\u2019re interested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, the larger the car, the lower its gas mileage, which may be a real concern for a working musician now that the days of being outraged that a gallon of gas costs rose to $.75 are long gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTo Case or Not To Case<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your Drum Set<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Average Drum Sizes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Packing Your Set<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Car Matters Less Than Your Packing Skills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Blueprint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In the Back Seat<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In the Trunk<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Personal Touches<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Cars To Consider<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vehicle<\/strong><\/td> Trunk space<\/strong><\/td> Total Passenger Volume<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Chevrolet Impala<\/td> 18.8 cubic feet(0.53 cubic meters)<\/td> 105 cubic feet(2.97 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Honda Accord<\/td> 16.7 cubic feet(0.47 cubic meters)<\/td> 105.6 cubic feet(2.99 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Chevrolet Malibu<\/td> 15.7 cubic feet(0.445 cubic meters)<\/td> 102.9 cubic feet(2.91 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Nissan Altima<\/td> 15.4 cubic feet(0.436 cubic meters)<\/td> 98.8 cubic feet(2.79 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Kia Forte<\/td> 15.3 cubic feet(0.433 cubic meters)<\/td> 96 cubic feet(2.72 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Honda Civic<\/td> 15.1 cubic feet(0.428 cubic meters)<\/td> 97.8 cubic feet(2.77 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Toyota Camry<\/td> 15.1 cubic feet(0.428 cubic meters)<\/td> 100.4 cubic feet(2.84 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Tesla Model 3<\/td> 15 cubic feet(0.42 cubic meters)<\/td> 112 cubic feet(3.17 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Ford Focus<\/td> 13.2 cubic feet(0.373 cubic meters)<\/td> 90.7 cubic feet(2.57 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr> Toyota Corolla<\/td> 13 cubic feet(0.368 cubic meters)<\/td> 88.6 cubic feet(2.51 cubic meters)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Other Vehicle Considerations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n