New Armored Chase Vehicles to Invade Tornado Alley!

[Warren Faidley]

A friend at CNN just called to alert me about this new armored chase vehicle.

I've also heard there are at least two others.

Now all these guys need to do is claim they are scientists conducting life saving research and the media will go nuts and they can fund their chases for the next decade! Seriously, I think this is getting out of control but fun to watch.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...named-Dorothy-hope-allow-inside-twisters.html

W.

 

[Andy Wehrle]

Getting out of hand is right. One of these days there's going to be an incident where a TIV, a Dominator, and this thing all collide at the center of a violent tornado, and it's not going to be pretty.

 

[Conner Tune]

I would be lying if I said I wouldn't like to have one of those things though...

 

[John Olexa]

25 or so years ago, I told my daughter when she was little, I was going to buy an ex NASCAR race car, make it street legal and drive it into a weak tornado... I was only kidding. I don't know, get too many of these contraptions clogging up the roads and the authorities are going to say enough! Or someone gets killed trying for their 15 minutes of fame. I'm not sure their motive is purely scientific. I'm not even sure true scientists would do that in the first place.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

"Once you get in a tornado, all you see is debris flying around so the main goal is to get close, get slow motion video of the tornado, slow it down and analyze the data"

Science.... lol

 

[Skip Talbot]

I met these guys in Denver. They seem pretty level headed, interested in chasing, and in meeting other chasers. They told me they weren't set on driving into tornadoes, but filming them at close range. If you read closely, you'll notice they said their goal is to get "close." So the question is, why do they need an armored vehicle then?

Why not? What does it matter if they're just after attention and not doing real science? That seams to be why most of you chase, anyway: for the attention. It's why you put stickers and lights on your cars. Tell yourself it's for safety, sure, like armored vehicles are for science. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. So you chase for the attention, so what? That they're in a modified vehicle doesn't make them more dangerous or reckless. We've got plenty of reckless chasers driving around in unmarked SUVs, sedans, and pickups.

If you feel these guys don't deserve to be out there, or should be ridiculed for what they're doing, then I'd call you a hypocrite. Just because you chased longer, have more photos or video, or have concocted some lofty notion of what chasing should be, doesn't mean you're more entitled to be out there.

 

[Rob H]

As long as they don't get in my way or cause accidents driving around a tank, they can do whatever they want. To go along with what Skip said - I've never had a single problem around the TIV or the fleet of Dominators. I have had problems with all sorts of other people in cars, trucks, SUVs, LEOs spotting, and DOW trucks. *shrug*

I don't think they're being honest with themselves if they're seriously claiming to be "saving lives and doing science" which is all I've seen from them on FB and in interviews. That's a separate issue, though.

edit: I was going to jokingly say this sounds like a case for NASCAS, but they don't seem to be around anymore from a quick Googling...

 

[Sean Ramsey]

If you got the money, you can play too. Gotta admire their drive to make it happen, and not sure how they financed it but I hope they didn't dig a deep hole of debt in order to do so. Honestly, I don't care if there are 50 tanks running around these days. Eventually the idea will be saturated and something else will take its place, just like everything else in life. As long as I can get out, take a good photo or two and drive home with a story to tell none of this changes anything for me.

 

[Skip Talbot]

not sure how they financed it but I hope they didn't dig a deep hole of debt in order to do so.

They launched a successful Kickstarter campaign, one of the few storm chaser groups to pull it off after Reed's Tornado Chasers Kickstarter campaign. That paid for a good chunk of it at least.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

They have just as much right as anyone else out there, there is no question of that. I think some of the media articles may be sensationalized and I really hope these guys stay away from the science and saving lives talk as they get more attention for their project. Taking a glance at their website gives some insight into their mission and they do state rather emphatically that they have no plans to intercept tornadoes (though I can imagine this might change over time, given the design of the vehicle). FWIW they don't advertise a "science mission" with the exception of a slow motion camera, so one could conclude that personal safety and/or attention is the main goal here.

 

[Warren Faidley]

I met these guys in Denver. They seem pretty level headed, interested in chasing, and in meeting other chasers. They told me they weren't set on driving into tornadoes, but filming them at close range. If you read closely, you'll notice they said their goal is to get "close." So the question is, why do they need an armored vehicle then?

Why not? What does it matter if they're just after attention and not doing real science? That seams to be why most of you chase, anyway: for the attention. It's why you put stickers and lights on your cars. Tell yourself it's for safety, sure, like armored vehicles are for science. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. So you chase for the attention, so what? That they're in a modified vehicle doesn't make them more dangerous or reckless. We've got plenty of reckless chasers driving around in unmarked SUVs, sedans, and pickups.

If you feel these guys don't deserve to be out there, or should be ridiculed for what they're doing, then I'd call you a hypocrite. Just because you chased longer, have more photos or video, or have concocted some lofty notion of what chasing should be, doesn't mean you're more entitled to be out there.

I have to agree. They have every right to chase, and again, it's a breath of fresh air to see others using modified chase vehicles so no one person or group dominates tornado alley. The days of being an "exclusive" armored vehicle chaser are over. Gone.

I'm also glad to see the media interviewing these guys. They seem quite honest as to why they are chasing and that's a good thing.

W.

 

[Taylor Wright]

Have to agree with Skip. No way in hell I wouldn't be building one of these right now if I had the resources, time, and money to do it. It wouldn't be for attention, though, it would be for safety and confidence while chasing. Just having a decent armored vehicle that you know you're safe in could keep you from panicking and making a wrong turn or something and costing you your life. I personally try to avoid attention when I'm chasing.

 

[Warren Faidley]

These vehicles are great for hail protection and maybe some airborne debris and wind, but unfortunately, there is a misconception as to the actual safety they provide. Yes, when lowered, even strong winds may be prevented from lifting the vehicle, but in a strong tornado it's very likely other large and heavy objects, e.g., other vehicles will impact them and they too will become airborne after the down force is disrupted. This false sense of security could be deadly. I do believe they are first rate attention grabbers and if promoted right they can attract a lot of PR and possibly big money in advertising and sponsors -- not that there is anything wrong with that if it's your thing and you don't mind the constant attention.

W.

 

[Shane Adams]

I've never been the type of person to point at another chaser and say "You shouldn't be out there." I could care less who goes out, probably because a lot of people tried telling me I shouldn't be out there when I started.

My thing is, I guess I've always been a "crawl before you walk" kinda person. I don't really care how they paid for it, what it cost, or what their agenda is. My only question is, between the three of them, how many tornadoes have they seen while chasing?

 

[Shane Adams]

No way in hell I wouldn't be building one of these right now if I had the resources, time, and money to do it. It wouldn't be for attention, though, it would be for safety and confidence while chasing. Just having a decent armored vehicle that you know you're safe in could keep you from panicking and making a wrong turn or something and costing you your life.

If you know what you're doing and chase responsibly, there's no need for an armored vehicle for "insurance" purposes. If that's what you require to chase with "confidence", I'd seriously re-evaluate my level of ability/experience. Any decision making that might cost you your life will happen due to ignorance, not because you chase in a Ford Focus.