Putting LH Style 26 into a Prius V

[chad-song]

Hi Everyone,
I noticed on the outdated forums you can’t post a reply. So I’m posting here to find out. How do you put the LH Concert Grand Harp into the Prius V? I’ve never moved my harp since it was delivered. Because I’m going to be playing a chamber concert before my family trip. I need to find out how to move my Style 26 to the house where I’ll be playing that night. The old forums said it was possible. Could someone please tell me how? Please?
Warm Wishes of Holiday Cheer.
Chadwell Song

[kreig-kitts]

The Prius V is the larger Prius, isn’t it? You’ll probably need to move the driver’s seat as far forward as you can while still being able to drive, then load it in the regular way, with the crown behind the driver’s seat and close to the door, and the base against the passenger’s side wall, so the neck is behind the passenger’s seat and the column a diagonal. The vertical clearance between the hatch door and the base will be very close and you might need to wiggle the harp a little this way and that to be able to close the door, or try to get an extra half inch somewhere by moving the seat up any more or trying to get the harp angles a little more.

If it’s still not enough and you can’t close the hatch, you’ll have to do what I did with my harp when I rented a Prius: move the passenger’s seat as far forward as it will go, flip the back of the seat forward, then load the harp in base first as far in as it will go, behind the front passenger’s seat. This requires a significant amount of physical exertion, and another person’s assistance loading and unloading helps tremendously. The harp will become very hard to slide in once it goes about halfway, and you’ll need to go around to the passenger door and pull it the rest of the way while lifting the base a bit. That’s very hard to do, and if one person raises the base up while another keeps pushing the harp in, it goes so much easier. Unloading is similarly difficult. The base is large and heavy and doesn’t slide easily without being raised. In addition, since the base is off the ground the whole time you can’t lean it in and have to lift the harp completely off the ground. Also, when unloading, getting the harp from horizontal back to vertical while holding its weight can be hard on the wrists. Be very careful, and again another person to help support the harp will be a huge aid.

A Prius is a very tight fit for a concert grand, especially if you’re either a tall woman or an average-sized man (I’m a somewhat tall man so it’s really close). If I ever get a second pedal harp it will be a petite one to make these types of problems much smaller.

[Gretchen Cover]

If I owned a harp as expensive as a LH26, I would rent a van for a day to haul the harp or bribe a friend who owns one. I hope you have a 3 piece travel cover for your harp.

[chad-song]

Hello Everyone,
I’m wondering if you can show me diagram of how harp would fit in prius – Kreig? My 1st language not English, my sister translate questions and answers. for me. She don’t know how to explain to me. How to fit the harp in Prius from Kreigs post.
Thanks very much.
Chadwell

[kreig-kitts]

I’ll see if I’m able to come up with some simple drawings and post them tonight from home. In the meantime, I’ll try to explain it more briefly and simply. Have you loaded the harp into a larger vehicle before? If so, the easiest way to load a harp into a Prius is the same, with the top of the column behind the driver’s seat and the base in the back on the passenger’s side.

That might not work for taller people (over 5’9” / 1.75m) who need more space to drive. Those people will need to put the harp in with the base behind the passenger’s seat (there will be no room for a passenger) and the crown in the back on the driver’s side. That is much harder because you have to lift the entire harp and put it in. It’s also hard to remove the harp. It’s much easier with someone to help lift the harp.

Gretchen’s advice is also good – a friend with a van or a minivan would make it much easier, especially with a harp with as much gold and carving as a Style 26.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I have a Prius V, and the my LH Style 23 harp fits in beautifully. I don’t need to adjust the front passenger seat, but I fold down the back seats. My husband cut a piece of plywood and attached a couple of handles, so I can slide it out, rest the harp on its side (tuning pegs down) and slide the board in with the harp on it, all by myself. If I don’t have the board, I like to get someone to help me lift the harp in on its side. I move the base over to one side, and the folded bench, music stand and harp cart go alongside the harp. A bigger chair could go in the passenger seat if you don’t have a folding bench.

[chad-song]

Thanks Kreig and Ms. Bligh.
I think I can understand better now – how to put the harp in the car. I try that later today for practice for performance.
Chad

[kreig-kitts]

Let’s see if this works:

[chad-song]

Thanks very much Kreig. The picture 1 helped the most. The harp fit well. I had good concert performance. You helped me so much.
Good Happiness for your New Year.
Chad

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