The last show is done, the bus is parked, and now you have a pile of road cases, backline, and merch boxes with nowhere to go. Every year, bands and tour managers scramble at the end of the season to figure out where it all should live until the next run. A little planning now saves you from lost gear, damaged cases, and storage bills you did not expect.
This guide covers where to store tour gear and merch, how a tour pull works, and what to check before you hand your equipment to a storage partner in Nashville.
Why Venues, Hotels, and Garages Fall Short
Most bands try the easy options first. They rarely hold up for long.
- Venues and hotels: They charge storage fees and limit when you can get to your things.
- Home or garage: A garage or spare room has no loading dock, no security, and no way to track what is inside. Cases stack up, and it gets hard to find anything.
- Self storage units: Standard self storage often has limited access hours and no help unloading a truck or trailer.
A warehouse built for freight handles all of this: dock access, organized racking, and a team that can receive a full truck.
What Is a Tour Pull?
A tour pull is when your gear and merch come off the truck at the end of a tour (or a leg of one) and get checked in, sorted, and stored. When the next tour starts, the same team pulls it back out and has it ready to load. Here is how it works at Warehousing Pro:
- Unloading. We unload the truck and sort your items according to your specifications.
- Check-in. We check everything against your inventory list and scan each item into our system.
- Organization. Your items are stored securely, and our inventory system tracks where each one is.
- Retrieval. When it is time to hit the road again, your gear and merch are organized and ready to load.
What to Look for in Tour Storage
- Easy loading. A loading dock for semi and box trucks, plus ground-level access for smaller trucks and trailers, makes unloading fast.
- Security and tracking. Look for camera-monitored facilities and a team that checks items in and out.
- Flexible terms. Tour schedules change. Month-to-month agreements let you store for a month or a season without a long-term contract.
- Room to scale. You may need five pallet spaces now and a few thousand square feet after a big run. Pick a partner that can grow with you.
- Location. A warehouse near major highways, like Nashville’s I-65, I-24, and I-40, makes it easier to send freight to tour stops across the country.
Tour Pull and Storage Checklist
Before you drop off, a few minutes of prep makes check-in smoother and your next load-out faster.
- Label every case and box with the band name and contents.
- Make an inventory list, with merch counts by item and size.
- Take photos of high-value gear and any existing damage.
- Separate items you will need soon from items going into long-term storage.
- Share your next tour dates so we can plan the pull.
- Name a main contact, such as a tour manager, who can approve pickups.
Storing Merch vs. Gear
Gear and merch need different handling. Instruments and backline need protection and careful stacking, so good cases matter. Merch needs accurate counts by size and style, because you will want to know what is left before the next tour or before you reorder. A storage partner that scans and tracks inventory helps with both.
How Much Space Do You Need?
It depends on the act. A small local band may need a few pallet spaces. A larger touring act with staging, rigging, and production equipment may need thousands of square feet. Our space ranges from five pallet spaces to 5,000 square feet or more, so you only pay for what you need.
Store Your Tour Gear and Merch With Warehousing Pro
Warehousing Pro helps bands, artists, and tour managers store gear and merchandise at our Nashville warehouse, with dock access, ground-level unloading, inventory tracking, and month-to-month agreements. Our team has 10 years of experience in storage and logistics, and we have handled touring merchandise before.
Learn more about our tour pull and tour storage services, or get a quote and tell us what you need to store.