Dave Carrington has had a long time love for drums, “old vintage drums” in particular. Both himself and his twin brother have a passion for buying, restoring and selling drums. According to his daughter, Becca Carrington, “Every trip we ever take typically has at least one drum stop on the itinerary”. Needless to say, through the past 25 years, Dave has a lot of experience transporting drums. In April, Dave and his wife went on a trip to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary and surprised Becca with more drums than ever before.
Despite the fact that her father returning home with drums was a fairly normal occurrence, Becca couldn’t help but find it funny to find a U-Haul trailer filled to the brim with drums at her home after an anniversary trip. Dave works as an engineer but collects and works with drums as a hobby in his free time. When the family lived in Kansas City, MO, they owned four drum shops, such as the C&C Drum Shop, of which he was the co-founder. Becca says that this is, “primarily because they had too many drums to keep in their homes.” They have since moved to Texas, where they no longer run any stores but still let the passion live on.
Collecting the Drums
“I have used U-Haul to buy several drum collections in the past 25 years”, says Dave. “I like U-Haul trailers because they can hold a lot of drums. They are also very smooth which means less rattling during transportation. Price is good too!”, he adds. On this latest trip, Dave returned with a 23 piece Tama drum set from the early 80’s. This piece consists of 23 drums and 20 cymbals. ‘This was a rock and roll kit similar to the one played by Neill Peart from the band Rush”, says Dave. Although to many this may seem like an unconventional purchase to many amidst an anniversary trip, to the Carringtons, it was exactly the right decision.
“I told my wife to pack a bag and the next morning we hit the road. I have a big U-Haul place near that always has 6×12 trailers so I can always grab my truck and go spur of the moment. We drove 12 hours to get the drums. The best part was getting to hangout with my high school sweetheart for the entire time — getting to remember all of the things we did in the past 26 years of marriage without being interrupted.”
Although this may be Dave’s hobby, between their 26 years of marriage and 25 years of collecting, it is safe to say that their many experiences with vintage drum sets have contributed to the happy years they have shared together. “I’m always looking to buy more drum collections and meet great people who love drums as much as I do”, says Dave. “I’m sure there is another U-Haul rental in my future.”
Have you used a U-Haul rental to help fuel any of your passions? Share with us in the comments!
