What is the "Ideal" Chase Vehicle

[Brandon Sullivan]

Well, its time to be looking into a new chase vehicle in the next couple months.. Really need some help deciding on what to look into..

I plan on buying used.. So cost isnt to big of an issue. I just want something powerful, fuel efficient, cool and made to chase.

First and Foremost, I would like to see something with 4 wheel drive. For them back roads. Also, want to see something that doesnt guzzle the gas. And last, room to mount radios would be nice.

I have looked into the jeep liberty, but they are all floor ****, along with floor shift 4 weel drive. Thanks for all the help in advance guys.

If you have pics of your setups, it would be nice to see them, to give me some ideas.

 

[Dan Cook]

I hope to get into one of these one day:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detai...ional&paId=235101530&recnum=0&leadExists=true

 

[Shawn Scovel]

chase vehicle...

This may not be the ideal setup for you, but i have a 1999 chevy suburban and i wouldnt trade that thing for the WORLD!!!! when it comes to chase vehicles... at 11/city 16-18/highway (with my aggressive driving style in mind) it doesnt do too awfully horrible for it's size... It (but of course it lasts longer than a 20gal tank...) Mine is black and looks KILLER with the ham antenna's up on top... The ride is like riding on air and the motor has quite a bit of power since it has vortec heads on it... in driving the thing in the last year over 10,000 miles i've only had to throw out about $350ish in repairs (head gasket $200 with complete headwork and turned the front rotor's down) but other than that, it should last another 100K miles.. Has 120K on the odo now, but I love that car and the room in the thing is amazing...

 

[Mikey Gribble]

If I could have any chase vehicle, I would go with a suburban. Nothing can compete with the room you get with one of those. I don't know if you hurricane chase, but if you do a suburban will give you plenty of room for all your gear with room left over for a bed in back. For regular storm chasing you can mount all your radios and primary laptop up front and have more than enough room to setup another laptop in the back seat for forecasting. I fantasize about how I am going to buy a new suburban one day and get it decked out for chasing.
I got a new Xterra this year. I am very happy with it and it is an awesome chase vehicle, but my one huge complaint is that there is no way to mount a joto desk in there. Aside from that and not having quite enough room in back for all my gear and room to sleep I love it.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I never get the fuss over the best chase vehicle, etc. You can mount what you need in about anything, I'd think(as well as all the stuff you don't need but just want)....if you really wanted to. All one really needs is dependable wheels. With the way gas is now, I'd say mileage is the only real important determining factor(unless you just do occasional backyard gentlemen chases, or are rich).

I've driven my Mustang for the last 6 years and been just fine. I'd say besides camera gear all one "needs" is a cell phone and laptop. I don't even run a scanner anymore. And hell, if I wanted to sleep in it, I could do so pretty comfortably if I wanted. The back seats fold down so one could have their legs in the trunk and be fine. Only bad thing is rear wheel drive, but even that ain't that big of a killer(all I've had has been rear wheel drive since 2000). You just have to be smarter about your road choices and when you use them. One out of the only two cases where I got stuck was even too slick for a normal 4x4. I know, I had to walk a quarter mile to my ride. I missed the minimum maintanance sign at 55 and would not have been there had I seen that. Hell I missed it the second time(another minimum maintance in the rain on a different chase), but the 4x4 behind me was able to get enough traction to keep ramming the back of my car over the hills till we got out of it.

Anyway, after chasing all these miles in what I have, I don't see much need to worry about anything but mileage. I'd just get what you wouldn't mind for a vehicle, for everyday life and make it work. It's not going to be that hard. So I'd say, whatever car you'd like to drive outside of chasing, would be ideal. Not to be silly, but it really can be ideal. Here is one way I look at it. Gas mileage would be thee most imoprtant factor to me. I can get by on everything else but that one. So, if there's a 4x4 that gives better gas mileage for the same dollars as the best gas mileage car at the same price range....I'd be all for the 4x4....if it is comfortable and somewhat sporty to drive. Not going to happen. Will always be a cheaper car with better gas mileage. Another thing, I'd rather be driving a sporty car, just because it's nice to be behind the wheel of something that handles real well.....since the thing you do the most is drive long distances. So my answer, a Mustang is the ideal chase vehicle. LOL Actually if I had it to do all over again, I would have kept my Probe GT. That thing handled so well, got great gas mileage and had front wheel drive, rather than rear wheel.

Yeah, thinking more about this and the way I drive(often just a hurry to get home), I'm glad I don't drive an suv. I'd probably be dead by now.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I agree with Mike - I wouldn't let chasing influence your car choice unless all you are doing is actually chasing in it. You'll likely be using your car far more in normal everyday life, so you're better of getting what works best for that.

Now, having said that, my last car purchase was heavily influenced by its 'freindliness' to chasing. And not necessarily for chasing itself, but more so for the things needed for comfortable long-distance travel with people and gear - specifically lots of space + front-wheel drive + good gas mileage. Basically a car that would be comfortable to spend 12-15 hours a day in, with room for all my stuff plus an occasional passenger or two.

I don't regret my choice of car, as it has definately made the marathon trips much easier. But if I had to buy again today, I'd get a smaller, cheaper, better MPG car. My long-distance chase days may be over (too expensive and I've seen just about everything I've wanted to see, no need to keep blowing thousands on it every year) - so now I'd rather have a car that does good with city MPG.

 

[fplowman]

I got a new Xterra this year. I am very happy with it and it is an awesome chase vehicle, but my one huge complaint is that there is no way to mount a joto desk in there. Aside from that and not having quite enough room in back for all my gear and room to sleep I love it.

Hey Mike,

Got mine mounted in there right nice. The old one I had mounted in my lincoln I took it to the local machine shop. They bent the attachments to the seat on the jotto desk and it mounted right in with no problem. Very sturdily mount without having to drill any holes.. Hope that helps.

 

[scott r currens]

I agree with Mike - I wouldn't let chasing influence your car choice unless all you are doing is actually chasing in it. You'll likely be using your car far more in normal everyday life, so you're better of getting what works best for that.

LOL, I wouldn't let any other type of driving influence my chase vehicle selection. Having driven a bad chase vehicle for 4 year I am definitely ready for a change. I want to get my student loans paid off and pay cash for my next chase vehicle so I will have to suffer at least more two years in my 2000 Chevy S-10. Most of the time I chase alone so having a big SUV isn't something that interest me.

Chevy S-10
Pros:
Excellent 360 degree visibility (driving/spotting storm features)
Truck bed for easy installation of a exterior equipment
Vertical windows and a steeply sloped windshield (They have survived large hail many times without a crack.)

Cons:
18.8 MPG chasing
4-cylinder slug (Driving into a LLJ sucks!)
RWD/one wheel drive (I've gotten stuck with 3 wheels on dry pavement before)
Limited interior space for passengers and equipment
Drives like a beat up old truck because it is one

At the moment I think my next chase vehicle will be a 2005 Honda Civic or a 2006 Subaru Baja. I won't get a 2006 or 2007 Civic because they have massive sloping windows that cannot survive large hail and 2006 is the last year for the Baja.

2005 Honda Civic
Pros:
38 MPG
38 MPG
38 MPG
Enjoyable car to drive
It is a Honda!

Cons:
No room for a chase partner with laptop and interior monopod installed
Low to the ground
Moderately sloping windows and windshield (I will brake some glass but not too often)

2006 Subaru Baja:
Pros:
28 MPG
AWD
Truck bed for easy installation of a exterior equipment
Vertical windows that are less likely to brake in large hail
Fun to drive

Cons:
No room for a chase partner with laptop and interior monopod installed
Low to the ground

I really love the Baja but I will have to see how bad gas prices are in two years before I get one. Here is some scary math. Averaging 15,000 miles a year chasing over the next 6 years how much will I spend in gas?

At $3.00/g
S-10 (18.8mpg) = $14,362
Baja (28mpg) = $9643
Civic (38mpg) = $7105

At $4.00/g
S-10 (18.8mpg) = $19,149
Baja (28mpg) = $12,857
Civic (38mpg) = $9474

At $5.00/g
S-10 (18.8mpg) = $23,936
Baja (28mpg) = $16,071
Civic (38mpg) = $11,842

 

[Shane Adams]

There's no definite answer to this question.

 

[mike scantlin]

i drive a baby blue police vic and its awesome. people dont mess with me. i drive 10 over when the conditions are favorable. most chasers around me drive well because of my lights. its nice. i never get cut off, people use their turn signals. there are 2 problems... gas mileage. around 22 highway. also, the wide tires hydroplane like CRAZY. literally almost died 2 times this year in the EXACT SAME SPOT. the creek turnpike in tulsa. right before the tollbooths in the pikepass lane. even when it hasnt rained alot, it ponds just right to where if you arent expecting it, it will throw you into a wall. bad times. i guess im buying aquatreds with my next paycheck...

 

[John Diel]

Think I'll have to agree with Shane on this one. Everything depends on YOU and what you like.

Seems like the most common consensus is the mid-size SUV. The most common being the SUV of any size. From there would be the mini-van types and from there will be the smaller more gas friendly types. Add to this a smattering of pick up trucks and other fancier and more specialized vehicles. So you really have just about everything except a motor cycle and I wouldn't bet on that.

Personally? I chased for several years with an igly green ford ranger. I have now moved to a pretty blue Ford Explorer. I like the room and the better handling of the Explorer, but I don't like the mileage.

John

 

[Mikey Gribble]

I do know from experience what not to get for a chase vehicle and that is a soft top Jeep Wrangler. It is a nightmare on the highway. I got about 12-14 miles to the gallon, the top flaps like a tent in a hurricane, and if you have a head wind you won't break 70mph without the car shaking violently. It was OK to drive around town, but it was very close to being the worst vehicle ever for long road trips and storm chasing. It leaked water along the perimiter of the door. When I would drive it in the rain a belt in my engine would slip, causing the car to sputter every 10 seconds. The air conditioner quit working after a few years and with the black soft top it was like an easy bake oven in there. I would sweat profusely towards the end of chase season. The sound of the top flapping in the wind was so loud that you couldn't even hear the weather radio when it went off. When chasing I was always scared that I would get struck by lightning and be shrink wrapped by the soft top like a human burrito. The one good thing about it was that I never had to worry about getting stuck. I had big mudding tires on it, so I could get out of pretty much anything.

 

[Dick McGowan]

With gas prices as high as they are, I'd purchase a small foreign sedan. My old 98 S-10 Blazer gets 13 mpg in the city and around 19 on the highway (speed limit). In my 2003 Camry, I get somewhere around 30-33 on the highway. It sure is nice to fill up every 450 miles instead of 200. More gas money equals more chasing (We're piling 4 in the Camry now on long trips). I could give a s*** on appearance any more, high MPG is where it's at. If you are worried about dirt roads, buy GPS, most chases we find a way to stay off the muddy roads and still get to where we needed to be. I'll chance it if it saves me 50-75 bucks a chase.

 

[Billy Griffin]

Agree with Dick on this one! The money saved on fuel, which is a chaser's biggest expense by far, the more $ you can apply to equipment, more trips, better food, better maintenance on vehicle, on and on...

With technology the way it has advanced now, the days of 5+ antennas and this stupid dish on top of my truck are a thing of the past.

Nowadays, I can load up in my wife's car with just the laptop, little gps hooked to it, ham radio, laptop card, cell phone and camera gear and I'm set!
Getting 30+ mpg sure makes the difference.

 

[Robert Rohloff]

I just traded in a 2004 Subaru Forester XT. The vehicle was AWD and had a Turbo 4 cyn. Engine. Good MPG at 22 highway at 80 plus. I had a mount for the lap top and several mag antennas. The best thing was the AWD, it ran in the rain and held the road. I got blown off the road and it pulled out like a champ. Had to get a truck so I just got a Honda Ridgeline which is 4wd/awd with lots of safety features and am looking forward to the first chase in it.