The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhusker Marching Band Trailer, used to carry instruments and equipment across the nation and serving as a moving billboard, has come a long way since first being found and used in 2008 and now it’s latest vinyl covering has the trailer shiny and new again.
“We started shopping for a trailer during the Spring Semester of 2008 and completed the project (including the first vinyl covering) by mid-August,” said Assistant Director of Bands Doug Bush. “It was pretty quick.”
Prior to the trailer, the Cornhusker Marching Band would rent two of the largest box trucks available. One would be dedicated to low brass/woodwind instruments, while the other was used exclusively for percussion equipment.
The Pride of All Nebraska trailer was found as part of a larger group of older identical trailers in a field in rural North Texas.
“It was in pretty rough shape, so it was a major reclamation project,” Bush added.
Since that time, the trailer has traveled the United States from Florida to California and places in between. It’s used about three times a year -- one full band away conference trip, a bowl game and a local high school band contest or a conference championship (it made two trips to Dallas and one to Indianapolis).
“We were told by drivers that they would routinely see people wave/honk their horns when the trailer passed by,” Bush said. “Fans would walk up with their cameras ready and we would think they wanted a picture with the band staff…..Nope, the trailer. It really serves a dual purpose, we haul our equipment inside, but the outside is a “billboard” for the UNL Band Program as well as the Glenn Korff School of Music and the university."
But recently the original vinyl covering from 2008 wasn’t projecting as shiny and new.
“The vinyl covering had begun showing wear/fading,” Bush said. “Also, with the updates to university branding, it made sense to get the trailer up to date.”
The latest vinyl covering will make its debut this fall. It incorporates parts of the Cornhusker Marching Band uniform and an image of a drum major along with the new Nebraska N.
“This has been a team effort all around, from the band staff, Glenn Korff School of Music staff, to University Communications,” Bush said. “The interior design was completed by the University Building Systems Maintenance staff. The overall project involved several entities in and outside of the university campus (including the Lincoln Truck Center and Revolution Wraps).”
The Cornhusker Marching Band’s road conference game will be at Northwestern in late September.