Being a storm chaser is a demanding life involving lot’s of travelling, but not always in the best conditions. Sometimes, you have to travel through 160 km/h winds and protect yourself – and your equipment – from softball-size hail! But that seems easier to do when you’re at the wheel of the A.R.E. TWISTEX Probe.
Tim Samaras, the tornado chaser and star of the hit television show “Storm Chasers” produced for Discovery Channel, asked A.R.E. to help him create the ultimate tornado-chasing vehicle, one he could drive into the eye of a storm.
The TWISTEX Probe is a 2008 GMC Sierra 3500 outfitted with A.R.E.’s Deluxe Commercial Unit (DCU) Series truck cap and numerous aftermarket accessories designed to increase the vehicle’s functionality in severe weather. A unique packaging that turned an ordinary heavy-duty pick-up into an ideal vehicle for following scientists, researchers and weather enthusiasts in their quest for the ultimate tornado footage.
A twist for storms!
Samaras is the principal investigator for TWISTEX (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in-near Tornados EXperiment), a team of specialists measuring wind speed, direction, temperature and other variables to help meteorologists understand why twisters form and how they become so powerful.
“I started scientific storm chasing about 10 years ago when I developed the next generation of tornado probes that our team deploys into the path of oncoming tornados,” Samaras said. “Because these instruments weigh close to 200 kilograms each and measure about 1 metre high when stored, a traditional truck cap wouldn’t work. We needed a durable shell that could keep this equipment safe, so we enlisted the help of A.R.E. who manufactured a 112-centimeter tall truck cap specifically for our needs.”
A.R.E. also retrofitted the DCU truck cap with side toolboxes to fit Samaras’ smaller probes and customized it to accommodate a 680 kilograms Tommy Gate Lift Gate on the rear of the truck. Manufactured from .035 aluminum, the DCU features Strattec lock cylinders in folding t-handles on all doors for added security, as well as Suspa gas props on all doors.
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| A.R.E. transformed this 2008 GMC Sierra 3500 into a storm chaser mobile unit. (Photo: A.R.E) |
Tim Samaras, the tornado chaser and star of the hit television show “Storm Chasers” produced for Discovery Channel, asked A.R.E. to help him create the ultimate tornado-chasing vehicle, one he could drive into the eye of a storm.
The TWISTEX Probe is a 2008 GMC Sierra 3500 outfitted with A.R.E.’s Deluxe Commercial Unit (DCU) Series truck cap and numerous aftermarket accessories designed to increase the vehicle’s functionality in severe weather. A unique packaging that turned an ordinary heavy-duty pick-up into an ideal vehicle for following scientists, researchers and weather enthusiasts in their quest for the ultimate tornado footage.
A twist for storms!
Samaras is the principal investigator for TWISTEX (Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in-near Tornados EXperiment), a team of specialists measuring wind speed, direction, temperature and other variables to help meteorologists understand why twisters form and how they become so powerful.
“I started scientific storm chasing about 10 years ago when I developed the next generation of tornado probes that our team deploys into the path of oncoming tornados,” Samaras said. “Because these instruments weigh close to 200 kilograms each and measure about 1 metre high when stored, a traditional truck cap wouldn’t work. We needed a durable shell that could keep this equipment safe, so we enlisted the help of A.R.E. who manufactured a 112-centimeter tall truck cap specifically for our needs.”
A.R.E. also retrofitted the DCU truck cap with side toolboxes to fit Samaras’ smaller probes and customized it to accommodate a 680 kilograms Tommy Gate Lift Gate on the rear of the truck. Manufactured from .035 aluminum, the DCU features Strattec lock cylinders in folding t-handles on all doors for added security, as well as Suspa gas props on all doors.
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| Tim Samaras, the tornado chaser and star of the hit television show “Storm Chasers”, stands next to the A.R.E. TWISTEX Probe. (Photo: A.R.E) |