Thinking about building my truck into a Tornado chaser...

Well...I've always been into Tornados. Lately this summer I've already chased around 5 storms all that have produced tornados.

I got to thinking about it and was throwing around the idea of building my truck up to take on some of these storms.

Anyone else into this type of thing?


I know a CB would be a good idea...as well as turning my laptop into a more portable radar device.


Just typing out some of my ideas.

 

well that would require alot of ballistic strength glass. and reinforced metal

 

I'm not talking about driving into the storms.

Every time I go out I'm at least a mile away from the tornado. No debris has been around me at all.

 

oh ok then. well definitely a good cb. Cobra 25 series or a 29 LTD with nightwatch and weather would be a good one. and a good antenna. Wilson is a good one. or a monkey made. firestik is good too. it all depends on where you want to mount it to get the best recepton. and would you want it peaked and tuned?

 

I used to be in the Sky Warn for my county and i loved it. I chased several storms and finally got to see 1 tornado. I was about a mile and a half away from an F-5 that came through but luckily my truck only got minor hail damage. It's harder to see storms in this part of the country because of the terrain.

As far as your truck goes i would somehow rig up something to protect your front windsheild from hail, like maybe some expanded metal that mounts to a frame on your roof. When you start getting close to the storm you could extend it over your glass. I don't have any pics but i've seen that setup on the discovery channel when professionals chase.

 

No, your good if you just leave it stock...you've seen the commercials...off a cliff, into the ocean, Lockness monster, a dragon, and even a meteor! So a tornado will be child's play... haha GOOD LUCK!

 

for radar software check out http://www.grlevelx.com/grlevel3/. i thought about doing this not to long ago myself.

 

also i would get a Ham radio licence

 

I'm not saying I don't expect damage. It's a truck....not a show vehicle (unlike some of you mall crawlers on here)


I just wanted some info on some good CB's (thanks beastlytaco) and some other bits a pieces I might need from some more experienced chasers.

 

I've used this site before.

It's the guys from Discovery channel...I've actually followed them once but stopped due to lack of gas.

http://www.tornadovideos.net/full-screen-chaser-video.php

 

Granted I'd love to do that....this truck is still my DD.

 

I would watch the movie "Twister" over and over for a start! All you need is a Dodge 1/2 ton, and Bill Paxson.

But on a serious note, that is cool stuff. You will probably be spending a lot of time down here in Kansas if you are chasing nado's!

 

I'd get your head examined....Getting that close to a tornado puts you at risk of all kinds of effects- Large hail, spinoffs, and storm re-direction- to name a few.

I vote for the harnesses too!!

 

Not if you're smart about it.

It's all about location. 99% of storms around here move to the east/northeast...being in a safe yet close location is just fine.

 

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21078

this might be some helpful information

 

Thanks man!

 

What about some sort of mount for a laptop....or an in dash screen with an attached keyboard....tools access the radar maps.

 

I've been looking at my GPS website and trying to get the weather put on that.

That way I won't have to lug my laptop around...I can just use my GPS system.

 

I think this sounds like a cool idea. You may want to do a google search of this and do your research on how to make it as safe as possible for you. If I were to do this I would have a 4x4 truck, extra spare tire, a car breakdown/emergency kit, extra gas cans, and many things like that. I would also make sure my car is in top mechanical working form so it has less of a chance of breaking down. But I think the best thing you can do is the research and try to talk to some of these guys that have done this before.