Tony’s Chase Vehicles

My workhorse, my baby! This was my first stint with a Subaru, and she proved how these can be the best utility vehicles for not only tornado chasing, but getting through winter weather coverage.  A little tighter for space than the minivan, but excellent gas mileage and the ability to go literally anywhere despite the road conditions.  She was part of over 100 tornado intercepts across her 100+ thousand miles of chasing.

My second minivan, and arguably one of my favorite chase rides.  The ample space and smooth ride made her perfect for the long trips across the plains!  She served me well for seven seasons, even serving as a hotel on wheels on occasion.  She was the first of my rides to chase me from Colorado back to Ohio, and chased border to border across Tornado Alley.

My first REAL chase ride!  For a sedan, she did pretty good in her seasons out on the Plains!  The interior setup was kind of a mess and cramped, so much so that I often removed the front passenger seat to allow for room for the mounted laptop, meaning any chase partners sat in the back seat.  This was probably my most flamboyant ride with all the stickers, antennas (yes, they all attached to something), and gear.

The O.G. chase vehicle… kinda… bought in 1999 and jimmy-rigged with a Davis Weather Station, the first of my three minivans saw limited action in my early years.  While I did not keep stats during the tenure of this ride, she saw several trips out into the southern plains from Colorado.  I’d argue she had more miles delivering pizzas than she did chasing storms, but none-the-less, my first REAL storm chase trips took place with her through 2001.