Obscure question... as DP's.... what do you drive? To transport gear etc.

Michael Solomon

Michael Solomon

Well-known member
So I have a somewhat random/different question for you DP/camera operators/owners/etc.

What car do you guys drive?

I own a camera package plus a small G&E package

I currently have a 4 door sedan and there's no way I can fit everything. Here's a complete list of what has to go in

1) Pelican case holding camera, lenses, misc
2) One 3 light arri case holding arris and misc
3) Two kinoflo divalite travel cases
4) Tripod bag
5) 5 c-stands
6) 24x36 flag kit bag
7) Duffle bag with misc equipment
8) Kessler 8 foot kc-lite jib
9) 8 sandbags

What I need out of a car is
1) Still small enough to fit into my tiny LA parking space. My sedan barely squeezes in as is... I can afford about 6-9 more inches on my right and left and about 3 feet extending to the rear
2) Semi decent fuel mileage, preferably something 20mpg city+
3) Large enough to fit the above equipment in it
4) Can find it for under $19k used

Ideally, I would love to lug all my gear to dealerships and see how it fits into all the cars I'm considering... unfortunately... that's not an option. So I'm curious what you guys drive and how it's working out for you. Right now I'm looking mostly at crossover/suv's. Though, I haven't looked at hatchbacks yet at all. It's been almost 8 years since I bought my first car (and that was with a lot of help from my parents) and I'm now just mind blown at the mass variety of vehicles out there.

Any help is much appreciated =)
 
I've got a honda element and it can handle all of that with ease.
It's funny because i always say im going to trade it in for a 2 seater so i'm not always stuck hauling gear to shoots.
 
I bought a used 2005 Mercedes Sprinter van a few years back. You can stand up in it without hitting your head, unless you are real tall, it gets 27mpg, and holds a bunch of stuff.
 
Well I still have my first car, a little 1986 BMW 325e :thumbsup: and somehow manage to fit most of my gear in there. I was planning to buy a used Ute though (a sort of car-like pickup truck we have here in Australia) in the next month or so, to better carry around all of my gear.

2006_Holden_VZ_Ute_Thunder_S_01.jpg

But then I bought a set of CP.2s on Friday... so I'll be nursing my wallet back to health for some time before I can consider one again.

Though as a DP, I think I made the right choice.
 
Matty_g said:
I've got a honda element and it can handle all of that with ease.
It's funny because i always say im going to trade it in for a 2 seater so i'm not always stuck hauling gear to shoots.
Click to expand...

Was working with a DP who had an Element last week and it seemed great. Its real plus is that the rear hatch opening is pretty much square so tall items fit in with ease and don't have to go in sideways.

Ideally, I would love to lug all my gear to dealerships and see how it fits into all the cars I'm considering... unfortunately... that's not an option.
Click to expand...

I don't know, if you're going to spend 19k on something I'd give them an ear-full if they had issue with me trying it out for my own purposes.
 
+1 on the Honda Element...as a discontinued vehicle, you should be able to find one at a very reasonable price. It is small, has a great payload and it's good on gas.
My brother has one & loves it. Honda's are very reliable cars... I have a Honda Ridgeline (but that's too big for you).
 
Michael Solomon said:
So I have a somewhat random/different question for you DP/camera operators/owners/etc.

What car do you guys drive?

I own a camera package plus a small G&E package

I currently have a 4 door sedan and there's no way I can fit everything. Here's a complete list of what has to go in

1) Pelican case holding camera, lenses, misc
2) One 3 light arri case holding arris and misc
3) Two kinoflo divalite travel cases
4) Tripod bag
5) 5 c-stands
6) 24x36 flag kit bag
7) Duffle bag with misc equipment
8) Kessler 8 foot kc-lite jib
9) 8 sandbags

What I need out of a car is
1) Still small enough to fit into my tiny LA parking space. My sedan barely squeezes in as is... I can afford about 6-9 more inches on my right and left and about 3 feet extending to the rear
2) Semi decent fuel mileage, preferably something 20mpg city+
3) Large enough to fit the above equipment in it
4) Can find it for under $19k used

Ideally, I would love to lug all my gear to dealerships and see how it fits into all the cars I'm considering... unfortunately... that's not an option. So I'm curious what you guys drive and how it's working out for you. Right now I'm looking mostly at crossover/suv's. Though, I haven't looked at hatchbacks yet at all. It's been almost 8 years since I bought my first car (and that was with a lot of help from my parents) and I'm now just mind blown at the mass variety of vehicles out there.

Any help is much appreciated =)
Click to expand...


While not a DP, when the Wife's wedding business was active, we would drive my truck. I had a piece of plywood that divided the back into two sections, and the back was covered by a low profile camper shell.
For some events we would pack the thing full of lights, cameras, in Pelican cases, and other stuff...

For the underwater shoots, we would have the addition of bricks and black sheets stitched together for the 'black backdrop' look in the pool, along with props and dresses that would go underwater. In that case we typically had about 4 or 5 large capacity strobe light sets.

As it is, I got rid of the truck when the business declined, and it cost me about $100 to fill the tank...

While not entertaining getting back in to the wedding biz... I do have a collapsible trailer, 8'x5' (or so...) which could be used to haul the bulk stuff. And the Nissan Xtera could hold the camera gear.
 
Chevy Equinox with a V6 and four wheel discs. There is a lot of room inside and I average 25mpg. It gets 30mpg full at 60mph. Best thing was it cost 18K new.

+1 on the Sprinter.
 
Another vote for the Element, it pretty much meets all your requirements and it can hold an amazing amount of stuff, and the absolutely flat floor is great for loading/unloading. Not sure if it'll fit in your parking spot though, you'll have to do some measuring to be sure.
 
I went from Toyota Avalon to '08 Nissan Xterra. Mileage is decent. It's affordable. And it's Nissan, so it will last. It could hold all your stuff rather comfortably, but I think the victory still goes to the Element. I see those on set all the time, almost as much as I see Xterras, but it looks like they can hold just a bit more. If they can't hold more, they hold it "better" because they are boxes, like everyone else said.

Starting to see quite a few Kia Souls around, too. I hear their gas mileage is phenomenal. They're kind of built like the Honda Element.
 
editman said:
I go by cab 90% of the time!
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In Toronto one of the cab companies ( Beck Taxi ) owns 160 mini-van cabs ( they cost $30 more than a regular cab ) that you can get at a moment's notice.

I always ask them to remove all of the seats, so it's pretty easy to haul a lot of gear with an empty mini-van.

And the best part about using a taxi mini-van is not having to deal with parking.
 
2000 Dodge Caravan. The Milf Magnet.

I can fit all my camera gear, lights, dolly and track, jib, tripods and anything else I need.
 
Hrm... kia soul looks nice considering how cheap it is. I'll look into the element as well.

I thought about the scions but they're poorly reviewed and more expensive than the soul
 
Toyota Prius! I'm able to fit the following:

Coffin Case w/ 3 fresnels, 3 LED panels, stands, etc.
Kessler KC-12 Crane
Kessler K-Pod
Weights
Pelican 1560 w/ Camera/Lenses
Pelican 1500
Large Pelican w/ Kessler Oracle controller / Revolution Head
2 C-Stands
Sandbags
Apple Boxes
Glidecam w/ Vest/Arm
Sticks
Slider
2 6-Bank flourescent Fixtures
2 Backpacks
Passenger
Audio package w/ boom

It fits all of that while getting 50mpg. It's a really fantastic production vehicle if it fits your kit. A used 2010 or earlier should be in your price range too.
 
Subaru Legacy AWD wagon. Tons of room for gear, and with the 4-wheel drive it can go just about anywhere.

Not to mention that they can take a beating...

I had my last one up to 260K miles before the engine finally seized up and caught fire.
 
TheDingo said:
In Toronto one of the cab companies ( Beck Taxi ) owns 160 mini-van cabs ( they cost $30 more than a regular cab ) that you can get at a moment's notice.

I always ask them to remove all of the seats, so it's pretty easy to haul a lot of gear with an empty mini-van.

And the best part about using a taxi mini-van is not having to deal with parking.
Click to expand...

Yes, that is a great advantage. Get a car when you need one and I don't have to deal with it once on location and it's cheaper than owning a car!
 
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