Tornado Chaser Made From Dodge Pickup Truck For Sale
This is a Dodge 3500 dually pickup truck. Well, it was until it got turned into the TIV 2 tornado chaser camera truck. “TIV” stands for Tornado Interface Vehicle. It was concocted by documentary storm chaser Sean Casey. Now it’s for sale.
The one-owner world-famous tornado chaser truck is loaded with a lot of non-stock parts. Components like 10 wheels attached to one single tire-driven axle, and two other dual rear wheel-driven axles. Also, it’s layered with acres of two-inch-thick armor plating. And did we mention it’s world-famous?
Tornado Chaser Is Movie and TV Famous
The TIV 2 has been featured in the IMAX movie Tornado Alley and numerous seasons on the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers cable TV show. These appearances are also to blame for what the ad says is “light damage from debris.” This only adds to the allure of owning your own famous armored ten-wheel-drive tank, don’t you think?
Listed for sale with an asking price of $35,000, the TIV has traveled 130,000 hard fought miles. We don’t know how much of that was actual tornado chase miles. Actual weight is estimated at 15,000 lbs., with 10,000 lbs. coming from the armor plate protecting the Dodge dually.
Powering the road ram is a modified 6.7-liter Cummins turbocharged diesel engine. The ad claims the new owner will get 11 mpg. That is astonishing when factoring in the additional 10,000 lbs. of weight the oil burner has to heave around.
A 92-gallon fuel tank ensures you can plan ahead for potential quick getaways should you get chased instead of chasing. You know, by a tornado. Or for that matter, the police if your intention is to rob banks with this behemoth. From ramming doors in a drug bust to the beginnings of a steam-punk Rose Parade float, there have got to be a myriad uses for a vehicle as unique as the TIV.
The TIV Is All About Protection
The weight will help anchor this sucker to the ground in the middle of a tornado, but there is more fabricated into the TIV. Four additional hydraulic anchoring spikes are built into the truck’s chassis to aid in keeping it earthbound. Armored flaps channel strong winds through the vehicle to help it stay planted. Bulletproof windows aid in protecting occupants from flying debris. Also you can see the total devastation and limb ripping winds blasting upwards of 100 mph from a comfortable chair.
Oh No, It’s Sold!
Just as we were ready to post this the Tornado Chaser sold for $30,000. While we would have liked for you to be able to peruse the ad we congratulate the winner and also Casey for pulling off a sale in under 24 hours of first posting.
If you’re paranoid about the future or you admire the TIV’s subtle aesthetics you might want to consider building one yourself. Or possibly have Casey build one for you. You can never be too safe.
