transmaster

Have any of you watched the new season of "Storm Chasers". The first episode shows them constructing a new Tornado Tank. They built a 8-ton, 10-wheeled monster they call TIV2. These engineering Einsteins used a pair of 1 ton axles, farbircated a totally bogus rear suspension and then where suprised when on their way out of Boulder, Colorado when the rear axle housing and the axle snapped off, they didn't make is 30 miles down the road before this happened. In the teasers for the next program to make is clear we are witnessing towering intellects all of the lug nuts on this axle broke off leaving both of wheels on that side rolling off into the next county.

clobato

Did the show mention if ATS Transmissions did any of the work? It was at ATS Transmissions here in Arvada for a while recently. If they did do the work, it's surprising that they had that many problems, ATS builds some crazy fast diesels!

Hooptie82

As an ex atmo major, and ex chaser. I recall making fun of these guys 3 or 4 years ago on storm track. I cannot believe the public wants to watch them kill themselves.....Storm chasing is about the chase for sure, but its more about the respect. You disrespect mother nature, she does her worst to you.

I've chased over 1100 miles in 26 hours and caught tornados, I've sat on by the back of my house and taken in funnel clouds and mesocyclones......its an incredible sensation, both joy, fear, excitement and sadness all rolled into one moment.

transmaster

I'll have to review the show on my DVR. I have my doubts if you look at how they welded tabs on the differential housings it was done by somebody who did not under stand how to do such work. They put gussets on the top but from what I could see there was nothing to relieve stress on the bottom of the housing. The fact they snapped off all of the lug nuts on this axle showed just how over loaded the the axle is. Any good custom fabrication shop would have used Rockwell axles out of a military 5 ton truck, at any rate. What they should have done is purchase a complete 5 ton army truck strip the thing to a rolling frame and go up with the armored body from there. I am a SkyWarn volunteer myself so I can understand what they are doing but they sure could have spent their money better.

LovetheTide

Yea I watched them build that monster of a truck and when I saw those axles I knew they would have problems.

transmaster

I don't know how safe they think they are going to be. The show has already been filmed so they must have been OK but I have seen with my own eyes tornados lifting and throwing railroad cars of the tracks like toys.

Mr B

I've seen that show and what you said made me remember something I experienced overseas. We used to do some crazy mods to trucks. We would add all sorts of weight with armor plate, wire up funky electronics and basically do things to the truck that it was not designed to do. I don't think I would surprise anyone here when I say that they usually broke down because of what we did, but we needed to do it. A few years go by and the Army starts giving us trucks with mods that we need, but are built by the factory for that purpose and everything is fine. I think those guys are crazy, but it makes for good TV I guess.

transmaster

I think TIV II was constructed by USA 6x6 which went bankrupt this last June. I was looking at some of the off road forums and USA 6X6 had a reputation for crap work and products, so there there is no surprise the TVI II started to self destruct early on.