Hello Everyone
As many of you already know
The Tornado Intercepting Toyota was totaled last year
And I had to buy a new chase vehicle.
I've been driving after these storms for over 20 years and in this video
I'm gonna show you why this vehicle was the most practical choice.
And if my word isn't enough for you,
We're on our way to see one of the world's most famous auto mechanics
for a second opinion.
This entire system, the make, the model and the rigs,
Are based on practicality from an economic perspective.
as well as efficiency, safety and freedom.
If we're not throwing away money,
then we're free to travel more and see more stores right?
I'm also going to show you my cameras, my computers and rigs
and the logic behind it all.
(heavy music) "Girl Named Gone"
Ha ha ha!
We're here with scotty Kilmer!
Scotty's been a friend of mine for almost 20 years.
We used to work together at CBS
I was a camera operator and I had mixed feelings about doing your TV show.
One, it was awesome to get to see you,
But on the other end I had to be up at 5AM to shoot it.
I wasn't up at 5AM
Ha ha ha ha
I've known Scotty for a long time and I've gotten a lot of advice from him...
for Youtube and how to develop a channel.
And one of the things that he's always said
is you've gotta be honest and you've gotta be straight shooters.
Ya, you''ve gotta tell people the truth about stuff.
Most people can see through the lies after awhile.
You know like, I've seen car talk guys and years ago they'd say...
Oh, if you wanna buy synthetic oil, just go to Walmart and buy the cheapest one you can.
and then 4 years later they're saying...
You gotta buy this mobile1 oil. It's the best.
An you know they're getting paid to say it.
It's not honest to do stuff like that.
So everybody knows you've done well for yourself
And I remember I asked you one time, "Why the hell are you still working on cars?"
'Cause you wouldn't know what you're talking about if you stopped working on them.
There are actually mechanics out there that stopped working on cars
and they work for companies that real mechanics call them up on the phone
And they give advice to show these other guys how to fix the cars.
And I always laugh my but off because
Hey, they're not fixing cars anymore and in a few years
They dont know what's actually breaking on cars.
So their advice is kind of useless.
And anybody who's giving you advice on the internet and they're not actually doing it,
Hey their advice is pretty useless too!
Ha ha ha ha!
I can remember when we first started you got a MILLION views on YouTube,
and NOW, you've got half a billion views on YouTube,
2 MILLION subscribers.
My grandfather was a mechanic and I learned from him.
My father ran the garage and he always said to my grandfather, Dad...
You don't charge people enough money!
Well, I'm worst than him.
I don't charge people any money at all!
I make videos you watch for nothing on YouTube and then you learn how to fix things.
YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT YOU KNOW! Haha ha!
Even though yo've done really well for yourself, This is your car.
Well, why should you waste money on a vehicle when the thing works.
You know, it's stupid. It's a mode of transportation.
It's a '94 Celica. I paid $350 for it 8 years ago.
The things run forever.
How many miles does it have on it?
It's got like 240K miles on it.
Wow. Just broken in.
So here is is. I purchased a used 2015 Toyota Rav4.
One of the things I went with was 2 wheel drive.
I've been chasing for two decades. I've only been stuck twice.
One of those times a 4 wheel drive would not have helped me out.
What do you think of me driving around in a 2 wheel drive vehicle.
These things are front wheel drive.
If it was just 2 wheel drive with the rear wheels, it would be more of a problem.
A lot of times I'm driving on muddy slippery roads.
Oh, Slide! Sliding all over.
Is an all wheel drive vehicle that much better?
Scotty: It is if you're in a maniacal situation. Like off roading in the mud,
Or you're climbing up a ski mountain that's got snow up the wazoo.
With all wheel drive you're getting much less gas mileage because you're always doing 4 wheel drive.
With all wheel drive I've also got twice the amount of components which means more likely things will break down right?
Of course. Starters are harder to get to.
You need alignments that are gonna cost more money.
And what people don't understand about all wheel drive is that when you buy tires you gotta buy all four.
Because all the tires have to be the same exact diameter.
If they aren't, modern all wheel drive vehicles.... they're computer run.
and if one tire is a different size than the other, it's going to keep trying to compensate the drive...
because it's got all the antilock brakes stuff and the wheel sensors knowing the wheel speed...
and it'll look like one wheel is going faster than the other.
And it starts to compensate and it actually burns out the inside of the all wheel drive system out.
So it's an expensive thing. When you buy a tire for an all wheel drive vehicle, you gotta buy all 4 of them.
That would be crazy expensive for me because I'm constantly
running over nails, running over screws, hitting the sticks and cacti...
And when they do break down, If the transfer case goes out, they can be 3, 4, 5 thousand dollars to repair to.
Hank: So perhaps there are some occasions where i wish I'd have all wheel drive,
but over the duration, I think I'm probably gonna save more money in the long run with 2 wheel drive.
Sure, I mean i could say I wish i bough Microsoft stock when it came out you know!
but I don't have a time machine so that's not going to happen.
The big trucks might be good for a local or somebody, but for me it would be completely impractical.
If I can get it done with a fuel efficient car, then that's a good thing.
And I do like the idea of a smaller carbon footprint whenever I can.
However, you can't get too small or 30 mph winds are practically blowing you off the highway.
So this is kind of a good middle ground for that.
What do you say we go get a bahn mi?
Well you've always had Toyotas. You had your old 4runner for ages.
And then you had the Camry.
And now you've got a Rav4.
Hank: Yeah, and you worked on them. Of course all you ever did on them was the brakes and the starters and the alternator I think once.
both of those cars had 200K plus miles on them
before I got rid of them.
I think if you're a storm chaser this isn't the most exciting car.
but it's a Toyota. It's reliable.
One thing that people don't realize about dorm chasing is that 99% of it
is hauling ace on paved roads.
Trying to get somewhere. In cross winds with rain all everywhere.
So a low profile car is actually really safe.
I actually live storm chasing in a car and that last car I had, the Toyota Camry,
It had a pretty high clearance for a car, it was huge, and it got pretty good gas mileage.
But I didn't go with a Camry this time because they got lower to the ground, they got smaller,
I needed something a little bigger, so i went with a Rav4 this time.
Well it's based on the Camry chassis anyway. HA HA HA HA!
So for those of you who don't know what a bahn mi is, It's a Vietnamese sandwich.
Hank: Why do these sandwiches taste so darn good?
Scotty: Monosodium Glutamate!
A lot of guys really like gadgets.
And they like to talk about gadgets, but you don't need it.
This is based on simplicity. I used to have a computer here.
And I'd turn my head and be doing that. And you can't do that while driving.
No!
The logic behind my setup is simplicity and safety.
To have all my gadgets as high as possible without blocking my view.
If I glance at this screen, or that one,
I can still see the car in front of me.
There's a reason why your gas gauge and speedometer are engineered here, and not over here.
On the passenger seat and on the floor I have my camera cases.
I can gran and put back whichever camera I need and mount it without having to look.
I'm still using Sony mirrorless cameras.
This Sony A7S2 is my primary video camera with it's internal 4K and amazing low light sensitivity.
And this A7R2 is my backup for video and primary camera for stills
with its 42.4 megapixel files.
They both shoot internal 4K, but they're difficult to focus on clouds and I'm still wrestling with that a bit.
This Black Magic Design camera has a 4K global shutter.
I use this for lightning.
My iPhone usually has radar on it split with reflectivity and base velocity.
And I can use it for a vlogging camera in action if I need to.
On tha tablet I have google maps semi-wide.
Underneath I have an old GPS zoomed in tight so I know exactly when my next road is coming up.
This way I don't have to keep zooming in and out on one device.
I also like to use paper maps that clip right on my steering wheel.
If you look you can see all my markings, escape routes and plans I've used in the past.
I also have a couple suction cups and action cameras on standby.
However with my new BlackVue dash cams, I'm not sure how much I'll be using them.
And the other thing about it is that it breaks down real easy,
So when we go to get bahn mis in downtown Houston, I can pull all this out in 2 minutes
Why make something complicated if you don't have to.
Yeah, because simplicity can be boring to some people.
That's why they want Mercedes Benzes and stuff.
Yeah, well when they break they'd wish they had simplicity.
Exactly. And also these Toyotas are pretty affordable.
I got this one used for $14,500.
I dont want to go buy a brand new Rapter and then at the end of four years, they're both going to be a pile of rubble,
except I only spent $14,500 on this one.
Yeah instead of $45,000
Exactly!
See, that's why I get along with this guy.
Let's go get a sandwich what do you say?
Ok
Xin Chao.
Xin Chao
Thank you.
You get bubble tea?
Yeah I like bubble tea.
Oh yea! Get that siracha on there.
Here's what happened while we were gone.
woman: Don't touch anything.
Don't touch anything!
Lol!
There's pollen everywhere.
Yeah my girlfriend is allergic to March in Houston.
Yeah so is my wife.
I called her my girlfriend. She's been my wife for 5 years.
Ha ha HA!
It's still weird to say I have a wife.
How long have you been married?
Forty years. Forty years.
ha ha ha
Forty years...
My wife was in a hit and run in a parking lot.
We got him.
And then i was in a hot and run and we didn't get him so,
I got these cameras from BlackVue
This one shoots 4K constantly.
For a day and then it starts to recycle.
So if anyone smashes me, I've got them.
And then out the back, Ive got another camera
shooting 1080p but at 60 frames per second.
These dudes in Austin at a place called the Dash cam Store totally hooked me up and installed them.
So what do we got here?
We got the 750s which is gonna be 1080p at 60 frames per second.
This is the 4K. Sweet!
the 750s is gonna go in the back so we can catch some cool storms
with a nice buttery footage.
and then the 4K nice and tight clean resolution is gonna go in the front.
right?
Right! ha ha ha
The things will run while it's parked.
If someone does hit you or something happens in front of your vehicle
It'll catch it. It'll pick it up.
Perfect!
Two 128 gig cards so you'll have top max storage.
It'll look like a factory install so we're good.
So this year should be interesting.
If anything crazy happens in front or behind my car during the chase
or during the commutes, I'll have captured it.
The only problem with it is if I ever get lofted into a field by a burrito,
and that's how I go, my family is probably going to have to see that viral video. ha ha ha.
Weee!
of my last words.
What do you care you'll be dead.
ha ha! I don't want my mom to see it.
Would y'all young folks mind supporting our home today? Anything is thoughtful.
All i got is a credit card. We're credit card people.
Do you take swolen credit cards?
No, if there's not, we can't take them.
Oh, ok.
If that wasn't swolen you could have gave it to me and wrote the number down.
Alright. Thank you so much.
Is there anything wrong with these Rav4's? Something that they're cutting g corners on
that maybe I need to keep an eye on?
Well I'm not a fan of those CVT transmissions.
If you get one, my advice is get a standard transmission or get a regular automatic transmission.
Hank: Does this one have a CVT transmission?
I don't know. You just got it Ha ha ha!
Let me look.
Yes it does. Ha ha! So keep your fingers crossed. Ha ha ha!
But my son has a Rav4 with a CVT transmission and they love it. They haven't had any problems with it.
And their's is all wheel drive.
Are they making the Toyotas now days as good as they did 10, 20 years ago?
No, but nobody is.
They're still the best car out there for the money but
They're all cutting corners now days when they're building cars. There's no ifs ands or buts.
With all these decisions and factors, I think I got the most practical storm chase vehicle that I could right now.
As far as making money. As far as getting the most out of it.
With my last two Toyotas I felt like I got two cars for the price of one.
Hopefully I'll get the same out of this one.
Well, you should if you take care of it as long as all those drumks and crakheads don't run into you. Ha ha ha!
Man thank you so much again for everything and we'll se you soon.
OK, I'm not going anywhere...
You are! Ha ha ha!!!
'Til next time...
Happy trails.
music: "Crossed The Line"