Is a station wagon a good storm chasing vehicle?

My first chase vehicle was a Ford Aerostar (my brand name "Aerostorms" is named after it.) They are great vehicles, but youll have the same RWD issues with them. They offer versions where the back seats fold together to make a bed, a GREAT option if you plan on camping in the back. There is also an all-wheel drive option out there but they are hard to find. IMO that would be the perfect chase vehicle, an AWD minivan. Additionally they were discontinued in 1997 so any one you find will be quite old and IMO, I wouldn;t want to chase in something older than 10 years let alone almost 20. The room in that thing was unmatched. I chase in an Expedition now, a much larger and more capable vehicle, and it still amazes me how much LESS room there is inside compared to the van.

I wish Ford hadn't discontinued the Windstar, those things come with 200+ hp and for whatever reason had excellent get up and go.

The Saturn panels are made of fiberglass thats why they shatter instead of dent. Going back to the Ford Aerostar, the hood and lift gate are made of fiberglass as well, so they wont dent.
 
Adam Lucio said:
My first chase vehicle was a Ford Aerostar (my brand name "Aerostorms" is named after it.) They are great vehicles, but youll have the same RWD issues with them. They offer versions where the back seats fold together to make a bed, a GREAT option if you plan on camping in the back. There is also an all-wheel drive option out there but they are hard to find. IMO that would be the perfect chase vehicle, an AWD minivan. Additionally they were discontinued in 1997 so any one you find will be quite old and IMO, I wouldn;t want to chase in something older than 10 years let alone almost 20. The room in that thing was unmatched. I chase in an Expedition now, a much larger and more capable vehicle, and it still amazes me how much LESS room there is inside compared to the van.

I wish Ford hadn't discontinued the Windstar, those things come with 200+ hp and for whatever reason had excellent get up and go.

The Saturn panels are made of fiberglass thats why they shatter instead of dent. Going back to the Ford Aerostar, the hood and lift gate are made of fiberglass as well, so they wont dent.
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Theres a '91 AWD w/ less than 90k for sale on Denver craigslist, for $3500, if you want to relive the glorious past.
 
Wow. If I had 3500 to spare right now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted. My 97 is sitting in my garage with a blown head gasket. I plan to restore it someday.
 
I'd like to find something else that's "disposable"...My Forester is a fairly rare turbo 5-speed that took over a year to find and I love it. I'd hate to see it totaled by hail, but I suppose that's also a good reason for me to not get too terribly close until I have a better understanding of what I'm doing.
 
Adam Lucio said:
My first chase vehicle was a Ford Aerostar (my brand name "Aerostorms" is named after it.) They are great vehicles, but youll have the same RWD issues with them. They offer versions where the back seats fold together to make a bed, a GREAT option if you plan on camping in the back. There is also an all-wheel drive option out there but they are hard to find. IMO that would be the perfect chase vehicle, an AWD minivan. Additionally they were discontinued in 1997 so any one you find will be quite old and IMO, I wouldn;t want to chase in something older than 10 years let alone almost 20. The room in that thing was unmatched. I chase in an Expedition now, a much larger and more capable vehicle, and it still amazes me how much LESS room there is inside compared to the van.

I wish Ford hadn't discontinued the Windstar, those things come with 200+ hp and for whatever reason had excellent get up and go.

The Saturn panels are made of fiberglass thats why they shatter instead of dent. Going back to the Ford Aerostar, the hood and lift gate are made of fiberglass as well, so they wont dent.
Click to expand...

Ford came out with some excellent cars those years. My Crown Vic is a 2003 and has never failed to start on me. Barely ever had any issues on that car. Just wish that it at least had a foldable back seat, otherwise, I'd get another one as a chase vehicle in a heartbeat. But yea, the Aerostar is my fav minivan, even today. Just hate the fact that most of them had rwd.
 
Skip Talbot said:
I'd have to agree here, I spent 10 days driving the massive COD vans, which fared fine in gust fronts, dust storms and the RFD. When I jumped in my minivan when we got back it felt like I was sitting in a low to the ground compact coupe. I haven't had any issue with control or stability in high winds. I put some all terrain Geolandar tires on it which, along with the big engine and skid control, seem to help quite a bit on mud and wet surfaces. The T&C had the largest engine of the minivans in '10 and it makes a big difference, accelerating from a stop on the side of the road, or recovering yourself from the mud. The engine made a big difference when I went from my '99 Chrysler Voyager to the T&C. Gas mileage is comparable to many wagons and crossovers too.

Size comparison on the full size and mini:
14062001.jpg


I've taken it completely off road and camped in the undeveloped plains with it. A truck would probably be recommended for that, but I was able to get the van in and out without issue.
10549278_10101070409143511_1462953848246105174_o.jpg


A perk to the Town and Country and Caravans are the stow and go seats. All the rear seats fold completely flat into the floor inside of little bins, which makes transitioning from camping solo with a bed to taking 5 people with you a snap.
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Cool! Maybe I will include vans (mini and full size) on my list after all. Although if I get the econoline van, I'd get it with the 4wd and powerstroke diesel.
 
I wouldn't chase in a vehicle I wasn't willing to have totaled out by hail. Hail will inevitably happen if you chase enough or you will be so far away from every storm it will make me question why you are even out there.

Watch video >
Here's a day where most people who saw the tornado were eaten by the big ass hail afterwards as it wrapped around the tornado.
 
I have a 2007 Freestyle and I agree with you completely. I love this vehicle for chasing and would buy another one in a flash if I could find one with low mileage. Mine is having an impending transmission failure at 190K and I am looking for a new 2015 chase vehicle. Trying to find that balance between low mileage and dependability vs low cost and risk of hail damage.
 
Ben Holcomb said:
I wouldn't chase in a vehicle I wasn't willing to have totaled out by hail. Hail will inevitably happen if you chase enough or you will be so far away from every storm it will make me question why you are even out there.

Watch video >
Here's a day where most people who saw the tornado were eaten by the big ass hail afterwards as it wrapped around the tornado.
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Wish I could afford a bulletproof vehicle lol.
 
I started off in a Honda Element back in 2004. As silly as it sounds, it had more space than I needed by a lot. Visibility was also a bit wonky due to the fairly short and upright windshield. It was somewhat ponderous in mud. I got my WRX wagon in 2007, and I can't imagine chasing in anything else now. Good size. Pretty good mileage (28 on 93 octane, about 24 on 91). Pretty good handling. Can cover a mile from a standing stop very, very quickly if I need to.
 
I just did some 'virtual car shopping' (I'm not in the market for a new vehicle yet) to see what is available out there now, and I can't say I'm very enthusiastic about any of the 2014-2015 offerings. Prices have gone up on the more desirable options for chase vehicles (base models for minivans, SUVs and wagons are generally $30k and up) and fuel economy for the most part isn't much better than what was available 10 years ago. The Flex is the Freestyle/Taurus X equivalent, with a higher MSRP and slightly worse gas mileage. If I had to pick a new vehicle right now, I'm not sure I'd really be happy with any of the choices. Being able to log 400+ miles for $20-$30 (40mpg) has really spoiled me.
 
Dan Robinson said:
I just did some 'virtual car shopping' (I'm not in the market for a new vehicle yet) to see what is available out there now, and I can't say I'm very enthusiastic about any of the 2014-2015 offerings. Prices have gone up on the more desirable options for chase vehicles (base models for minivans, SUVs and wagons are generally $30k and up) and fuel economy for the most part isn't much better than what was available 10 years ago. The Flex is the Freestyle/Taurus X equivalent, with a higher MSRP and slightly worse gas mileage. If I had to pick a new vehicle right now, I'm not sure I'd really be happy with any of the choices. Being able to log 400+ miles for $20-$30 (40mpg) has really spoiled me.
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That's why I buy vehicles used. You can get decent reliable used vehicles, even after they finished most of their depreciation. I bought my police interceptor from a police dept. in Florida for $3k. Never had a problem that wasn't my fault and it never failed to start on me. In my opinion, it's one of the best vehicles for chasing, other than the RWD and (for me) the fact that the rear seats are unfoldable.
 
I chase in a Chevy Sonic. Last year I velcroed a foam mattress pad lining the hatch. That way I could fold it down and hop in back and snooze. The only problem was it was just about 2"-3" too short for me to fully stretch., so I ended up most nights in the front seat because I would rather stretch fully than lay down all the way. This will be my last year chasing in this car, even though I get about 38mpg its just not big enough.... Although this time I think I will yank out the passenger seat and make a good comfy bed in its place. I chase solo so its not a problem. If that works then I will probably continue with it. For a small hatch it rides like a midsize. But lately I have been thinking about grabbing an older square body Jeep Cherokee and slapping a new motor/ tranny in it.
 
Well, another great thread. The Cherokee is due for replacement after this season (240K). If I could do it before, I would for sure. I'm starting to come around to the "mini-van" option for the next chase vehicle. I like the idea of having a larger windshield to see out of versus what I have in the Jeep. And with the A/T tires on it, it'll go just about anywhere I want. The issue is comfort. I've done the "put the seat back" and "fold the back seat down" thing to sleep, and it's not too bad actually, but it's the stiffness in the bones after a 14 hour trip to OK or TX that gets me and the manual seats have about had it at this point.
 
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