car trunk

[AtomicClock]

I always carry my horns in the backseat, because I fear it slidin' around in the trunk (or maybe I want to enjoy taking tight corners?). Do you carry yours in the trunk (or other cargo space)? How do you secure it? My sedan doesn't have any tie down points.

[Burgerbob]

If I'm using hard cases... the horns can go anywhere. Gig bags are a different issue.

[JohnL]

Trunk, but I pretty much always use a hard case. My Eastman case has a tendency to slide around, but most of the others have enough friction to stay put.

As for taking turns? One seldom takes turns gently in a red Subaru WRX.

[BGuttman]

Trunk, but it's full with 3 trombones and a couple of bags of accessories. Nowhere for anything to go.

I had an accident where I rolled over 3 times and nothing in the trunk got damaged!

[harrisonreed]

Don't use gig bags and you'll be fine. Also don't go offroading with trombones in the trunk.

[SteveFoote]

Trunk.
I have a non-slip liner which reduces the amount the horn moves but a quick stop still lets it slide forward. I don't live in or frequent bad areas but I am much more concerned about theft than I am about the horn getting damaged in the trunk.

[Posaunus]

Leaving your (valuable?) trombone visible in the back seat of your sedan is an open invitation to thieves.
Or perhaps you live in an area where everyone / everything is safe.

My trombone stands/music stands live in the non-visible (curtained) cargo space of my SUV. My trombone (in a rigid case, not a gig bag) and mute bag (with temperature-sensitive lubricants) only are placed there (little room to slide around) on the way to/from gigs and rehearsals.

[AtomicClock]

Leaving your (valuable?) trombone visible in the back seat of your sedan is an open invitation to thieves.
Or perhaps you live in an area where everyone / everything is safe.

Generally, it's only back there for the trip from home to the gig & back. Or maybe while I'm at work; but the parking lot is fenced, and you have to get past a security guard to get in.

We did get training at work about leaving laptop computers a locked car. They must be moved to the trunk BEFORE you get to the restaurant (or wherever). Even if you need to stop along the way to move it from the passenger compartment. Seems like good trombone advice, too.

[WGWTR180]

My instruments generally go in the trunk. Remember this. Whatever is loose in your vehicle becomes a projectile if you're in an accident beyond a fender bender.

[OneTon]

Theft is a worry. The 88H was in the trunk when my 1966 Chevrolet Caprice got stolen. The Duo-Gravis was undamaged when the Honda Civic got rear ended. An aluminum bass mute cup was squashed but I hand formed it. I am not a gig bag fan. But I like Harbor Freight black movers blankets. They’re great stabilization and hard case protection. They help equipment disappear in my black Honda Fit. I have somehow become a roadie hauling keyboard, amp, music, and stands. There’s no room for anything to roll around.

[harrisonreed]

Trunk.
I have a non-slip liner which reduces the amount the horn moves but a quick stop still lets it slide forward. I don't live in or frequent bad areas but I am much more concerned about theft than I am about the horn getting damaged in the trunk.

I wouldn't leave my horns in the car if I wasn't in the car with them. Not just theft, but you also have to worry about them getting baked in the sun or frozen in the winter, which is never good.

[Mamaposaune]

If using a gig bag, it always goes in the back seat. If in a hard case, then it goes in the back hatch.
I had a friend who survived a bad rear-end accident, but her King 4B (which she had for around 40 years, it was her first pro horn) did not. And, yes, it was in a gig bag.

[Dennis]

If using a gig bag, it always goes in the back seat. If in a hard case, then it goes in the back hatch.
I had a friend who survived a bad rear-end accident, but her King 4B (which she had for around 40 years, it was her first pro horn) did not. And, yes, it was in a gig bag.

Lynne was pretty badly damaged in that accident, too. Fortunately, she wasn't totaled by it.

[AtomicClock]

I wouldn't leave my horns in the car if I wasn't in the car with them. Not just theft, but you also have to worry about them getting baked in the sun or frozen in the winter, which is never good.

I can understand avoiding freezing. But what's wrong with baking in the hot sun? Brass doesn't melt. I suppose lubes could react funny, so you might need to reapply more often (or wash it). But I doubt there would be permanent damage.

Bacteria growth?

[harrisonreed]

I wouldn't leave my horns in the car if I wasn't in the car with them. Not just theft, but you also have to worry about them getting baked in the sun or frozen in the winter, which is never good.

I can understand avoiding freezing. But what's wrong with baking in the hot sun? Brass doesn't melt. I suppose lubes could react funny, so you might need to reapply more often (or wash it). But I doubt there would be permanent damage.

Bacteria growth?

The tuning slide grease will heat up and can turn pretty liquid, and then wind up in your rotor. The Yamasnot bottle doesn't seem to work as well after boiling, either.

The brass won't melt but it will expand on the heat. I'm pretty sure my 88H brace solder failed because I would keep it in my car in college, in winter and in summer. The expansion and contraction over and over is what I think made it start buzzing.

Go ahead and leave your trombones in the car and test it out, but I learned my lesson in college thinking that the trunk was a good place to keep my trombones while I ran errands.

[Posaunus]

I wouldn't leave my horns in the car if I wasn't in the car with them. Not just theft, but you also have to worry about them getting baked in the sun or frozen in the winter, which is never good.

I can understand avoiding freezing. But what's wrong with baking in the hot sun? Brass doesn't melt. I suppose lubes could react funny, so you might need to reapply more often (or wash it). But I doubt there would be permanent damage.

Bacteria growth?

Your lube will more than "react funny." Yamaha lube or Slide-O-Mix will completely liquefy (un-homogenize) when baked and never again lubricate effectively after "baking." [I know from experience!] Why throw away $12 worth of perfectly good product when it's easy to take the trombone out of the sun?

Bacteria? I'll leave that to the microbiologists to analyze.

[Burgerbob]

just a reminder... never leave your horns in the car, no matter the temperature

[JohnL]

Your lube will more than "react funny." Yamaha lube or Slide-O-Mix will completely liquefy (un-homogenize) when baked and never again lubricate effectively after "baking." [I know from experience!] Why throw away $12 worth of perfectly good product when it's easy to take the trombone out of the sun?

I suppose professionals and near-professionals don't often find themselves in situations where their instrument has to be stored in their car for several hours before and/or after a performance, but it's something I deal with a couple times every year. Yamasnot and similar lubricants don't handle heat well at all, but a properly provisioned cooler chest takes care of that (also handy for drinks and maybe a sandwich or two). I've never had trouble with valve oil, but tuning slide grease can get thin and runny (and smell like an overheated sheep, if you use something that's lanolin-based).

[hornbuilder]

Mine goes on the floor, between the front and back seats. NEVER leave your horn in the car!! (Unless you're okay with it being stolen)

[AtomicClock]

The tuning slide grease will heat up and can turn pretty liquid, and then wind up in your rotor.

Maybe that's why I never had to oil my valve.

[Mamaposaune]

[

Yes, Dennis, you knew I was referring to Lynn!
She and I went to school together at Glassboro State (now Rowan) and were good friends. We also played together in the Wind Symphony of Southern NJ until she moved to Las Cruces.
I knew she was pretty banged up in that accident, and fortunately made a full recovery. She continues to be more active than most 20-somethings that I know!
Do you know her currently?

qbyuote=Dennis post_id=238199 time=1711157378 user_id=175]

If using a gig bag, it always goes in the back seat. If in a hard case, then it goes in the back hatch.
I had a friend who survived a bad rear-end accident, but her King 4B (which she had for around 40 years, it was her first pro horn) did not. And, yes, it was in a gig bag.

Lynne was pretty badly damaged in that accident, too. Fortunately, she wasn't totaled by it.
[/quote]

[harrisonreed]

The tuning slide grease will heat up and can turn pretty liquid, and then wind up in your rotor.

Maybe that's why I never had to oil my valve.

[hyperbolica]

I guess the "getting stolen" bit all depends on where you live and the places you go. I've usually got a couple of horns in my car at any given time, but they're under a cover behind tinted windows. Everybody that sees it thinks it's golf clubs anyway.

SlideOMix definitely doesn't like heat. It still works, but not as well because it loses its viscosity.

I used to live where you had to be careful of horns freezing, but now it's the heat.

[sirisobhakya]

I also always placed it on back seats even though I always use hard case. I am worried that someone might rear-end me and damage the horn. Seems paranoid, but the traffic in my country is no joke.

[AtomicClock]

I also always placed it on back seats even though I always use hard case. I am worried that someone might rear-end me and damage the horn. Seems paranoid, but the traffic in my country is no joke.

Traffic in my country consists mostly of oversized pickup trucks and SUVs. So if I'm rear-ended, their bumper will climb over my trunk and kill me. Sigh.

[Dennis]

Yes, Dennis, you knew I was referring to Lynn!
She and I went to school together at Glassboro State (now Rowan) and were good friends. We also played together in the Wind Symphony of Southern NJ until she moved to Las Cruces.
I knew she was pretty banged up in that accident, and fortunately made a full recovery. She continues to be more active than most 20-somethings that I know!
Do you know her currently?

I knew her at the end of my career in Las Cruces, and we've lost touch since I moved to Ohio. We got a pretty good trombone quartet going shortly after she moved to Cruces.

I drove past that accident on the way to the gig (we were playing together in a dance band that had a gig at Silver City). I remembering seeing that a silver Saturn sedan was involved, and thinking, "I hope that isn't Lynn." Then I was passed by the ambulance hauling her to the Silver City ER.

The 4B was a wreck. I don't know that Jim Patterson could have done much more than rebuild it around the valve and maybe the tuning slide. Last I knew she was pretty happy with the Getzen 3047 she replaced the King with.

When I got to the gig, I found out that it was Lynn, and that a helicopter had been called in to take her to El Paso. We were pretty concerned until the news got out a few days later that she would be okay and it the recovery took a couple of years.

If you're in touch with her, please give her my greetings and best wishes.

[BrassSection]

Usually leave all my regular use horns at church except for my trumpet, which is my practice horn. Usually transport it behind drivers seat in SUV or F150. Brought trombone, euph, and trumpet home today for routine tear down and cleaning, will have them spiffy for Easter…silver trumpet is starting to show some tarnish. Carried them all on the floor behind the F150 front seats. Grandson’s bass guitar occupied the rear seat. All my horns are in hard cases. Trumpet case is kinda big, it has my trombone MP in it because rim is too wide to fit in trombone case compartment, my in ear monitors, spare euph MP, spare French horn MP, 3 trumpet mutes, drum sticks, valve oil and slide lube, plus tuning slide grease. For unknown reasons, there is also a NY Rangers game puck in there…guess there’s no good place else to keep it. Trombone straight mute gets stored in the bell of my euph. Never trust bungee cords on a motorcycle, lost a frozen turkey once trying that.

Side note: Word on the street from a trumpet player is leaving a trombone case or drumsticks visible inside your vehicle allows you to park in a handicap space.