u/birdmug

Originally it was hoped we'd have some bunks on the headline band's bus, but this week we found out there isn't any space, so we will be driving ourselves. We are very used to this in Europe, but looking at how best to do it in the USA. 600-1400 cap shows. We are main support.

4 people plus gear (4 piece kit, 2 4x12 guitar cabs, 5 guitars/basses in cases, 2 6u rack cases (IEM etc) and some boxes of merch.

We want to keep costs as low as possible. And looking at the drives/plot its no further than some of our more poorly routed European tours in terms of distances.

All 4 of us drive. Usually in the EU and UK we stay in Air bnb's and have our system down to a fine art. Drive in a Mercedes Sprinter/Splitter. All the gear fits no problem, and there's room for the 4 band and 3 crew.

However for this tour, it is just the 4 of us and it has been suggested we might be best off getting an RV and sleeping on the road, using gym memberships for showers. I have no idea on how big RV's are and if we will fit our gear in one with enough room to sleep. Is a trailer common for this sort of tour? First show is in Chicago, last one in LA.

I imagine I have left out a load of relevant info, because I don't even really know the questions to ask. So please, any help really appreciated!

edit: Spelling

Im looking for help from the metal community.

My band are heading on a USA tour. We are pretty much a DIY band so preparing all the merch etc ourselves and really want to get it right. Im always surprised how regional merch tastes are outside of the obvious (T-shirts basically).

For example in mainland Europe compared to the UK, the music itself, vinyl and cds sell a lot more in comparison to tshirts and hoodies. Further into eastern or southern Europe cds out sell vinyl. Baseball caps sell in the UK and Germany but never in France for us.

So what's the taste in the USA? We are loosely a NIN style band with a female singer. Probably similar potential fanbase to say, Poppy as a loose comparison.

What items do you guys like? Or see that are a bad idea? Im guessing baseball hats are popular? If so what style? With hoodies is it zip up or pullover? And smaller items? Patches, posters?

Thanks in advance!

I'm in a band preparing our first USA tour. We played a few shows there before as part of SXSW, but this is a bigger tour and differs from the festival as we have to fend for ourselves gear wise.

We start in Chicago and fly out 3 days before we start. The plan is to buy some gear we need as itll be a lot cheaper than renting for 6 weeks it seems.

What websites are best to use for searching for second hand gear? In the UK I'd use Facebook market place.

Specifically im after 4x12 cabs primarily, but also a few other bulky things like cases and keyboard stands, but I might just get them new.