Tornado Chasers on the Discovery channel?

Yeah, like the CEL came on and some other stuff.

They left in a hangar at an airport with a note written on a board.

Josh asked them where teh TIV2 was, and Sean said "we left in a shed, or something."
 
ChiXJeff said:
Apparently, some of the mechanicals on TIV2 were done by USA6x6. No surprise some of it grenaded, then.
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Amen. I was in there shop last year. Not real impressed by the shop, or there ability to give directions to it.


I chased tornados a few years ago. I preferred late 80s/ early 90s Honda Accords for chasing. Scrap cars were everywhere, used parts were a dime a dozen. Great gas milage, and the car handles VERY well going sideways at about 90MPH on gravel roads. Ask me how I know. :shocked:

If I were to continue doing it, I would use a similar setup, and install aircraft lighing all around the car. Night vision would be nice as well. If I were to do a true intercept vehicle it would be a proven engine (Ford 7.3 for example. The less computer crap the better) 4wd with airbag suspension and a trapezoidal shape to it to help the vehicle plant to the road if actually hit. It would have standard off road items such as rockwell axles, lockers, HUGE hydraulic winches, and enough lights to illuminate the dark side of the moon. Also have GPS and a few other odds and ends. I would try for a heavier rig (maintain the 10K plus range) and big rig style airbags. This would help hold the vehicle down in heady winds. Would probably use H1 trims with run flats, maybe CTIS. Might put winches on the axles to pick the axle/tires off the ground to help make the maximum weight on the ground. That and a wind tunnel test at 180mph or more would be comforting.
 
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Speaking of wind tunnel testing. You'd think Josh would have enough friends that he could arrange to have the TIV/TIV2 dropped in a wind tunnel to do a test and study the aerodynamics of them.

Have you read the threads on Pirate? One guy says to use aircraft body for the TIV because the aircraft flies into hurricanes, so it's going to be strong enough in a tornado. He gets flamed HARD.
 
What they should do is buy a retired military hummer and start the build from their. If it can handle an IED explosion, it ought to be strong enough to take a 200mph blast from a 2x4. At this point they are better off putting TIV2 on a trailer and then deploying it when the time comes.
 
Jester99 said:
What they should do is buy a retired military hummer and start the build from their. If it can handle an IED explosion, it ought to be strong enough to take a 200mph blast from a 2x4. At this point they are better off putting TIV2 on a trailer and then deploying it when the time comes.
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Think that'd be big enough to do everything they are wanting to do? I mean, look at the size of the first 2 TIVs, they are huge.
 
Jester99 said:
What they should do is buy a retired military hummer and start the build from their. If it can handle an IED explosion, it ought to be strong enough to take a 200mph blast from a 2x4. At this point they are better off putting TIV2 on a trailer and then deploying it when the time comes.
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It wouldn't work very well. The IED capable versions are referred to "Level II Up Armored", IIRC they weigh in at about 12,000lbs. They get about 7-9MPG, and have a bad habit of breaking axle shafts they are so heavy.
 
Damnit. They should just get a unimog based vehicle then. Portal Axles are a must at this point.
 
Yeah but they can work around that. It is certainly more reliable...
 
bigalpha said:
THey should invest in some military-grade nightvision. Would be helpful in all of these night situations.
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Military grade is only better than commercial grade when the technology is new and very pricey.
Night vision (starlight amplification) is as good on the market as is in the military world nowadays if not better.
Anything you can buy on the open market is as good (for the most part) and mabye even better (for the $$$) than military gear. Once they get gear and it works okay, it stays around for a while, we were still using vietnam era radios in the early 90s. And backpacks, and boots, and .....
 
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bigalpha said:
Have you read the threads on Pirate? One guy says to use aircraft body for the TIV because the aircraft flies into hurricanes, so it's going to be strong enough in a tornado. He gets flamed HARD.
Click to expand...

Gotta link, that looks like it'll be hysterical


Jester99 said:
Damnit. They should just get a unimog based vehicle then. Portal Axles are a must at this point.
Click to expand...

bigalpha said:
Don't those things have a ridiculously high COG?
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Don't know if that's a good idea guys, one of the railroads Dad worked for bought a fleet of them with all of the toys back in the early 80's. IIRC they might have been as reliable as TIV2, but I could be giving them too much credit.
 
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