Storm Chasing Vehicle Project and Suggestions!

[Travis Cruz]

My original post was extremely understood, so I have re-written everything to hopefully clear things up. I also made a few childish statements and I want to apologize. I came to this forum seeing advice from more experienced chasers, and I was belittled and looked down upon by some members. They weren't comments just about the truck or ideas; some of them were personal shots.

First off, I want to make it clear that I am not trying to show off, or brag about our vehicle. I am posting this thread for everyone to get to know more about the vehicle, and to get your advice and opinions from more experienced chasers what I can to do make my chasing experience better. I am an AMATEUR, with little experience, and I realize that, so please don't talk down on me. Constructive criticism is welcome.

A little introduction about myself. My name is Travis Cruz. I'm 24 years old, and currently a Meteorology Undergrad at Virginia Tech. I have started my own business, StormCruzzer LLC, which I hope to grow in the fields of storm research, private forecasting, and student outreach. Along with the company, I've also been trying to design a top of the line storm chasing vehicle. Unlike the TIV and Dominators, who were designed to withstand being in a tornado, I've designed the truck to be able withstand the stronger winds than most smaller vehicles, and withstand any small debris and hail that I may encounter. In designing the vehicle, I have made safety the number one concern. This includes durability and reliability, agility, and high off road capability. I chose this over fuel economy, because safety is much more valuable than money.

In the original post, I made a statement about having the ABILITY to drive down muddy roads at 70 miles an hour. This was also misinterpreted as reckless, so I wanted to clarify that. I do not plan on driving 70mph down a muddy road, and I never hope I have to. But with safety as my number one concern, I would like to have the ability to do so, if absolutely necessary. This doesn't mean that I'll be flying over hills and around blind turns, like some have assumed. I am just as concerned about other chasers safety as I am my own. Maybe one day you'll be stuck in mud on the side of the road somewhere with a twister barreling down on you, and be glad to see me coming to help bail you out. So please, before you judge, think about it from every angle.

I understand that the truck has it's limits; I'm not naive. But the main point that I'm trying to get across, is why would I want to be in a smaller car when I have the option to be in a larger, safer, more capable one? I have no problem with chasers who chase in smaller cars. I just choose to take the extra precautions to take my crew and I safe, especially when it could be the difference in life and death.

A few of the questions that I get often are:

Why did we choose such a large, heavy vehicle, instead of a smaller fuel efficient vehicle like most other chasers?
- For one, our chasing isn't limited to super cells and tornadoes. We are interested in all extreme weather, including blizzards and hurricanes, and anything else nature decides to throw our way. Without breaking the bank on an H1 Hummer Alpha edition, we have chosen the best vehicle for the circumstances that we will face. With the extra wide dually stance, and 9000lb+ weight of the vehicle, we are still more stable than most smaller cars.
- Our goals are much different than most other chasers. We've built the truck to not only chase storms, but to be able to get up close and personal with them, WHEN SAFE. I want to emphasis this, because in my original post, it was overlooked, and I was taken as reckless. This includes encountering potentially large hail stones and other small debris.
- Lastly, we want to make helping people a part of our storm chasing mission. Whether it be pulling out stuck vehicles, moving debris, or whatever else we may need to do, we have built the truck to handle it.

Doesn't having such a heavy, bulky vehicle make you less agile in the chase environment, and make it harder to get out of the way of a tornado?
- Not at all! The 6.6L Duramax engine (with a few modifications) puts out around 440HP, and 850ft/lbs of torque, meaning we are still a good deal faster than most SUV's, and will have an easier time fighting through strong winds. I also drive it as a daily driver and park on campus, so I'm well aware of it's dimensions.

Why in the world would you lift your truck when you're planning on being in high winds?
- Although adding a lift kit does slightly raise the center of gravity, the stock Silverado 3500 sits much lower than its HD truck competitors, and when lifted, is the same overall height as them. Believe it or not, the truck isn't that much taller than a lot of SUVs.
- With the lift, our vehicle is now more capable than any stock SUV, crossover, or car, allowing us to get places where most others cannot. We found out just how capable the truck was this past summer in the deserts of New Mexico. Not only do we have the ability to get closer to the storms via dirt and mud roads, but we also have the option to use them to escape if needed, which may end up saving our lives some day.

Current modifications to the truck include:

- 4-6" Cognito Motorsports Lift Kit
- 35x12.5x17 Mickey Thompson ATZ P3's
- Rhino Lining Paint Job
- A.R.E. Z-Series camper shell
- Magnaflow Exhaust System
- Longhorn Fab Shop Traction bars and Tie Rod sleeves
- Kenwood Nav System and HAM Radio
- Cobra CB Radio
- Ram Laptop Mount
- EFI Live Tune, by Idaho Rob (Economy and Power tunes provided)
- Lime Green Interior LEDs

Future modifications include:

- Heavy Duty Front and Rear Bumpers with winches
- Off-Road LED lights
- Panasonic Toughbook 30
- Cold Air Intake
- Fuel pump
- Winch
- On Board Air

I'll post a few pictures of the truck through the building process.

Bone Stock

Rhino Lined with an ARE Z-Series Camper Shell

Tires

Heavy Duty Lift

Tail Light Guards

Hail Guard Material

CB, HAM, and Wireless Internet Antennae

HAM and CB Radio, Kenwood Nav, and RAM Laptop Mount

And a few of our storm pictures and environments we've chased in!

Denver storm of this past year

Student Outreach

And the most recent picture of the truck! Will upload a new one once I get the Hail Guards finished and mounted.

If anyone has any suggestions or concerns on equipment or anything else, please feel free to share!

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Man if I had that truck, I wouldn't have been 5 miles from that Denver storm. I would've been right up it's ass in that updraft to see that dumb tornado that did get reported.

 

[Justin Wilcox]

Wow...




(20 chars)

 

[Skip Talbot]

Thanks for sharing. That's quite the truck. For the record, I have no problem with folks who are passionate about building intercept vehicles. If that's where your interest is, go for it and don't let anyone hold you back!

be able to get out of any situation without a problem, whether it be fleeing down a bumpy muddy road at 70mph+, or holding up against debris similar to what Brandon Sullivan had to deal with in the El Reno tornado.

I am going to take some issue with this statement though.

My main concern is, why are you there in the first place? Why are you putting yourself into situations that necessitate having to travel down mud at 70 mph and drive into large debris rolling across the road?

Chasers who find themselves in these situations have made critical errors. I don't think the solution to these errors is a larger, armored, or more powerful vehicle. I think the solution is better planning, better care and caution around and under supercells, and education of chasing and weather hazards.

I'm a little concerned that Sullivan's video is being used as an example of how to chase or how chase vehicles should be designed. Instead it's a great example of where not to be on a storm and how not to escape from a tornado. Many chasers made critical mistakes on the El Reno storm. They placed themselves in dangerous positions and then picked poor and unsafe escape routes. There are no doubt situations where having a more powerful vehicle or some armor might have prevented an incident, but why wouldn't you instead just take the necessary to steps to ensure you're not making the mistakes that put you in that situation in the first place? I don't think an armored truck is a sure bet. I've seen heavy trucks that are unrecognizable balls of steel. Careful planning and maintenance of safe positioning and escape routes might get you pretty close to that sure bet though.

 

[Marcus Diaz]

I pray to any God that cares to listen that you don't crest over a muddy hill at 70 mph and t-bone me. As much as I don't care if you kill me, I just fear of a slow painful death. A 9,000 pound truck doesn't mean dick on a muddy road. All it means is you'll sink harder in that mud. And that low ground clearance is going to be hilarious when you try to do a 20 point turn on some random road in Nebraska and high center on the crest of the ditch. You say that 9000+ pounds will keep you grounded? Well, I'm not sure if you ever saw the footage of the Lancaster, TX tornado from April 3, 2012. If you haven't, go take a gander at what an EF-2 tornado can do to some 15,000 pound 53' trailers. Also, go check out the footage of the Elie, MB EF-5 drillbit tornado that tossed a 3/4 ton truck a few hundred yards. Also, I'm sure you've heard of that little tornado that went through Moore, OK on May 20? Well, check out what it did to a 6,000 pound Chevy Silverado:

I think this new breed of chaser think that money and fancy equipment can save you from death and get you the shot of all shots. You threw out the words "research" and "saving lives". Yep, words I've heard from chasers years ago whom I don't even remember their names. There's so many other people in this forum that probably saw this post and just turned around in shame. Not many have the guts to speak out like I have, but I don't care. I don't get why people have to throw massive amounts of money when they start off, especially when they have NO CLUE how to even chase. I know several chasers that have $1000 jalopy-ass cars that take a beating but still get home safely. I don't know your name, Cruh-zer, but I hope we don't cross paths out in the field. Mostly because I'm going to be scared sh*tless to see you on the same road as me, and on the same storm.

 

[James Siler]

WORD!

20 characters!!

 

[Jon Strebler]

Just be very cautious going down any bumpy, muddy road at 70mph. If you want to put yourself at needless risk then go ahead, but don't kill someone else while you are driving recklessly. One of my biggest fears while chasing is other people driving irresponsibly and causing an accident so I'm just somewhat leery of a few things that you wrote. The truck is cool and all so don't get my wrong on that, but you don't have to do stupid things just because you have a big truck. Just be safe and keep others in mind while you are out chasing.

 

[Travis Cruz]

Man if I had that truck, I wouldn't have been 5 miles from that Denver storm. I would've been right up it's ass in that updraft to see that dumb tornado that did get reported.

It was our first chase in the new truck, so I didn't want to take any risks whatsoever. We had no idea how it would handle in the mud out there, so we stayed well ahead of the rain. Now that I know how the truck handles in mud, that changes. As I get more experienced, I'll get closer, but I have no reason to put myself at risk

 

[Travis Cruz]

Thanks for sharing. That's quite the truck. For the record, I have no problem with folks who are passionate about building intercept vehicles. If that's where your interest is, go for it and don't let anyone hold you back!



I am going to take some issue with this statement though.

My main concern is, why are you there in the first place? Why are you putting yourself into situations that necessitate having to travel down mud at 70 mph and drive into large debris rolling across the road?

Chasers who find themselves in these situations have made critical errors. I don't think the solution to these errors is a larger, armored, or more powerful vehicle. I think the solution is better planning, better care and caution around and under supercells, and education of chasing and weather hazards.

I'm a little concerned that Sullivan's video is being used as an example of how to chase or how chase vehicles should be designed. Instead it's a great example of where not to be on a storm and how not to escape from a tornado. Many chasers made critical mistakes on the El Reno storm. They placed themselves in dangerous positions and then picked poor and unsafe escape routes. There are no doubt situations where having a more powerful vehicle or some armor might have prevented an incident, but why wouldn't you instead just take the necessary to steps to ensure you're not making the mistakes that put you in that situation in the first place? I don't think an armored truck is a sure bet. I've seen heavy trucks that are unrecognizable balls of steel. Careful planning and maintenance of safe positioning and escape routes might get you pretty close to that sure bet though.

I think I came off a good deal more reckless than I actually am. I'm no Reed Timmer. I don't ever want to be in Sullivan's situation, or TWC, or anyone else's that had damage to their vehicle. "There are no doubt situations where having a more powerful vehicle or some armor might have prevented an incident, but why wouldn't you instead just take the necessary to steps to ensure you're not making the mistakes that put you in that situation in the first place?" I want to put a huge emphasis on this. I'm going to do everything I can to avoid being in a situation like that, but I also want to take every precaution possible. Nobody goes out and tries to put themselves in those situation, but like you said, chasers make mistakes. I'm planning for the best, but preparing for the worst. As I get more experienced, I will take more calculated risks, but only to a certain extent. I will have the lives of my other crew members in my hands as well as my own, and will always have that in mind. One of the main reasons for the hail guards, as well, is for protection if I have to escape through the core.

 

[Justin Wilcox]

I chase in a Chevy Sonic, but I have a Skywarn sticker to soak up the hail damage. I get it.

 

[Travis Cruz]

I pray to any God that cares to listen that you don't crest over a muddy hill at 70 mph and t-bone me. As much as I don't care if you kill me, I just fear of a slow painful death. A 9,000 pound truck doesn't mean dick on a muddy road. All it means is you'll sink harder in that mud. And that low ground clearance is going to be hilarious when you try to do a 20 point turn on some random road in Nebraska and high center on the crest of the ditch. You say that 9000+ pounds will keep you grounded? Well, I'm not sure if you ever saw the footage of the Lancaster, TX tornado from April 3, 2012. If you haven't, go take a gander at what an EF-2 tornado can do to some 15,000 pound 53' trailers. Also, go check out the footage of the Elie, MB EF-5 drillbit tornado that tossed a 3/4 ton truck a few hundred yards. Also, I'm sure you've heard of that little tornado that went through Moore, OK on May 20? Well, check out what it did to a 6,000 pound Chevy Silverado:

I think this new breed of chaser think that money and fancy equipment can save you from death and get you the shot of all shots. You threw out the words "research" and "saving lives". Yep, words I've heard from chasers years ago whom I don't even remember their names. There's so many other people in this forum that probably saw this post and just turned around in shame. Not many have the guts to speak out like I have, but I don't care. I don't get why people have to throw massive amounts of money when they start off, especially when they have NO CLUE how to even chase. I know several chasers that have $1000 jalopy-ass cars that take a beating but still get home safely. I don't know your name, Cruh-zer, but I hope we don't cross paths out in the field. Mostly because I'm going to be scared sh*tless to see you on the same road as me, and on the same storm.

First of all, I take extreme offence to this. Nowhere in my post have I said that "A 9000lb vehicle means dick on a muddy road." I know how to drive in mud. I know that a heavy vehicle will sink. That's where momentum and experience come into play. And I'm glad you made the comment about the "20 point turn." My goal is to avoid those. Even so, I made that turn multiple times this past year, quickly and with ease. I drive the truck as a daily driver, driving and parking on campus, so I know the dimensions of the truck like the back of my hand, so it comes natural when I'm driving out in the field. The rear camera also helps with that. "You say that 9000+ pounds will keep you grounded?" No. I say that it will help keep me more stable in high winds than a 5000lb vehicle would. "I think this new breed of chaser think that money and fancy equipment can save you from death and get you the shot of all shots." No, I don't. I'm not a moron, and I'm not reckless. I've seen videos of 40,000lb trailors being tossed like rag dolls. "I don't get why people have to throw massive amounts of money when they start off, especially when they have NO CLUE how to even chase." I know how to chase. I've been passionate, and obsessed with storms and chasing since I was a kid. I've studied and researched about everything I can, to learn the safest way to go about it. Yeah, people can chase with a $1000 jalopy-ass car. But that's not how I chose to chase. No, I can't always use fancy equipment to save me from death. But I can use that fancy equipment to increase my chance of surviving. And that's what the truck is about. I chased with Virginia Tech's storm chasing group in 2013, and Led my own chase this past year. Safely. So you're saying that because other people in the past have talked about research and saving lives, and not followed through, I'm going to follow in their paths? Seems like it would be hard to judge a person when you don't even know them at all. I certainly hope that we don't cross paths out in the field as well, because I would be ashamed to meet such an ignorant asshole, in the same profession as I.

 

[Justin Wilcox]

You just called it a profession... good luck kiddo.

 

[Travis Cruz]

For others it may not be, but for me, I hope it some day will be. Whether you believe it or not, I'm extremely interested understanding why some storms drop tornadoes, and why others don't, and what we can do to get better at forecasting them. I'm not just out there for the thrill of it. So yes, I do take it as a profession, kiddo

 

[Travis Cruz]

Just be very cautious going down any bumpy, muddy road at 70mph. If you want to put yourself at needless risk then go ahead, but don't kill someone else while you are driving recklessly. One of my biggest fears while chasing is other people driving irresponsibly and causing an accident so I'm just somewhat leery of a few things that you wrote. The truck is cool and all so don't get my wrong on that, but you don't have to do stupid things just because you have a big truck. Just be safe and keep others in mind while you are out chasing.

Thank you actually showing some respect. I edited the beginning of my first post to explain a little more. I'm not reckless, at all. I built the vehicle to be able to drive 70 down a bumpy, muddy road at 70mph, but I have no plans on doing that, unless absolutely needed. I've also designed the truck to be able to help other chasers stranded and stuck in mud, out of gas, or any other situation that I can help in. I'm smart about it as well. Im not going to fly over any hills or around any blind turns. I'm passionate about chasing, and love seeing others who are as well. I hope that clears a few things up

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Ugh, why must you disturb my slumber. No, we don't have the same profession. I'm merely a recreational chaser that does it so I don't strangle the necks of the idiotic society in forced to exist in. I'm actually a mechanic by trade. No, you don't know how to handle that beast on a muddy road with a powerful tornado breathing down your neck. No, you haven't chased with 500 other chasers on the same exact road as you trying to get the same vantage point. To me, that truck is pointless for chasing and more about standing out and showing your vehicle off to other young groups of chasers at the same has station as you. And let's clear one thing up Cruh-zer, I don't hate you as a person. I just hate your ideas that nothing bad is going to happen to you or your team. Its a trend that'll inevitably catch up with you. I have a feeling you'll end up hating storm chasing after about 5 years. But maybe I'm wrong. One thing I do know though, is the herd does tend to thin out within that last 1/2 mile. So maybe we shall meet there?