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Random question -- I'm joining a community band and the practices are on Monday evenings right after work. Am I crazy for leaving my horn in my car during the day, or should I bring it inside my office for safe-keeping? I live in a nice city, and park on the 5th floor of a parking garage. The only way anyone would even see it is if they were to really look into my car window and see it sitting there (in a gig bag). I'm just trying to determine whether I'm taking a really unnecessary risk by not bringing it inside, so I thought I'd gauge the collective opinion about this.

bloke wrote:I think there's a nice chance of some nice thief breaking into your nice car in your nice parking garage in your nice city and taking your nice tuba.

Is it a sedan? A 186 in a bag should fit in the trunks of most sedans. One will fit in the trunk of my Corolla.

No, it's an SUV. And since you sold me the horn, you know exactly what it looks like -- the big "Miraphone" on the giant blue gig bag is making me a bit more nervous than usual (even thieves have Google). I would just bring it inside, but I'd have to take it down one elevator, walk across the street, and then up another elevator... all just seems like a pain. But it sure would ruin my day for someone to bust my window and grab it out of there.

I have thought about buying one of those cargo area covers for my car so I could put it under there -- I think that would significantly decrease the risk, but I don't have one yet.

I wouldn't be surprised if, statistically, the tuba is stolen along with the car, at least as often as from the car.

Don't do it! Take the tuba inside!

Otherwise, some sort of luggage/cargo cover so it's completely hidden. Thieves are not stupid, but they are lazy, and will move on to easier targets. If you HAVE to try leaving it in your car, at least get a blanket or a bunch of stuff to put on top of it, and make it look like your car is just full of uninteresting junk. Even then, be careful that wind or bumps on the road don't cause it to become uncovered and exposed anyway. It'd be pretty terrible to have a pile of blankets AND a tuba and have it stolen anyway.

I agree that sometimes it's a hassle to carry the tuba around (and deal with the looks and questions from other people, including co-workers). But if you have a safe place to keep the tuba at work while you are at work, that will always be the safest way to go, and it will be worth it. Consider yourself lucky that you don't have to go an hour each way in the subway with your tuba. A few elevators...?

I'm sure that you're right re the statistical likelihood of this -- my concern is that the tuba makes my car otherwise more attractive to thieves, which then steal both!

And bort, you're right, I shouldn't be griping about two elevators in that instance. I think I'll leave it out there today, but either buy a cargo cover (I need to measure to determine whether the tuba would fit entirely underneath), or just bring it inside the next time.

I've got a similar situation to the OP here in Florida but work on a military base with less concern about theft. I do have concern however about the horn baking all day in the enclosed car where the temperature probably goes up above 120 in the summer. If it was a child or a dog it wouldn't be cool, but what about the tuba cooking all day in the blazing heat? I've been lugging it inside but the gig bag on my back is rather suspicious looking!

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nycbone wrote:How about leaving a plastic sousaphone bell in a car under these conditions? Will it melt/warp?

I bet that if you haven't noticed any of the car interior melting, then the sousaphone won't melt either. Don't leave your accordion in there, though, as most accordions use wax for an adhesive in some critical spots.

Get a tuba you don't like, insure it to the teeth, and "accidentally" leave it in the back seat. With the windows down and unlocked so it can breathe

Also, check with your auto insurance company and make sure the full value of the tuba is covered if it is stolen from your car.

Tuba Guy wrote:Get a tuba you don't like, insure it to the teeth, and "accidentally" leave it in the back seat. With the windows down and unlocked so it can breathe

You will come back and find your car FILLED with violas!

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Slap a bit of duct tape over the Miraphone label on the bag and with a sharpie write "football laundry" or something similar.

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I assume either car or renter's insurance would cover. I've had a car broken into before and renter's would have covered it, but the amount stolen was under the deductible, so I didn't bother filing a claim.

rckymtnwst wrote:I assume either car or renter's insurance would cover. I've had a car broken into before and renter's would have covered it, but the amount stolen was under the deductible, so I didn't bother filing a claim.

Be careful. They may only cover a portion of the replacement cost. You should check if coverage is provided and how it is calculated.

Life is full of risks and it is really a personal judgement call. You know the location where the car will be parked better than anyone here. However would be wise to conceal some way, so as not to advertise to any passing thief.

I frequently have to park with my van full of instruments when travelling exhibiting, but always ensure they cannot be seen from outside and if possible park backed up to a wall, so the rear door cannot be opened without moving the vehicle.

58mark wrote:I have a suburban, and I have my rear windows tinted so dark, nobody can see inside.

I thought of this too; my rear tint is pretty dark, but if you get really close, you can see in.

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Seems to me that the majority of stolen horn postings here over the years have been from autos.

Off the top of my head, I remember "just left it there one time overnight", and "we just ran into the restaurant for a quick bite", among others.

I've had cars busted into (usually broken window - couple/few hundred dollars in damage just for the window, never mind the contents) for stuff as stupid and low-value as an ice cream maker (an old, used, wooden crank-handled variety! Granted, that was late at night near Civc Center in SF - a homeless-ridden area after dark), spare change in my ashtray (in Berkeley, a dump), and the "mystery gift potential" of the closed-cover center console (also Berkeley - gah, glad to be gone). I've also had the whole car stolen for what police later speculated was a drug run. Car was undamaged, but the trunk contents was gone, including an Olds Ambassador baritone (Oakland-Berkeley border - very tough part of town).

I now live in a very nice community that's a bit sequestered and hard for the bad guys to get in and out of, but the month before school ended this year, we received an advisory that purses were getting stolen from cars at my children's elementary school.

I don't give it a second thought. I shlep my horns into restaurants, grocery stores, friends' homes . . .
Some funny looks, but never any complaints, and some occasional interesting conversations.

I have also needed to bring horns to the office. It's pretty safe - the usual warnings about leaving laptops in plain sight - I usually don't even bother locking the doors when my car's empty. BUT I always bring my horns into the lab and park them in a low-traffic corner.

The inconvenience to me (finding a place to store a horn, or having to tote it around, & sometimes multiple trips to unpack/pack my car) and inconvenience to others (having to dodge my ungainly back-mounted gig-bag) pales against the possibility of experiencing the awful, stomach-wrenching realization that someone's stolen my horn, and all the expense, time, and effort it would take to find a satisfactory replacement.