CHP SUV's

[gofly]

I know the CHP uses Expeditions now as the SUV for the department. I saw one near Mammoth the other day and it looks almost as cool as one of Q's models (nice work, Q.)

How is placement of the SUV's around the state determined? Are there some in each office or only designated mountainous or rural areas? How are they assigned to officers?

Did the CHP ever use Suburbans? I think I remember seeing one maybe in the mid 90's, but I may be wrong. What other SUV's has the CHP used over the years? (I'm sure they've used them since before there was the term "SUV".)

good luck...be safe

[redhead]

http://www.chpforums.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=183

Semi-on topic! :smile:

[Your Mentor]

Good question.

I had a Dodge Ram Charger when I first took over the DV post. It was a real piece of junk and I was glad to run it out. They replaced it with a Ford Bronco but I'd had enough of the SUV thing and opted to trade it with my sergeant for a Crown Vic. When Ford dropped the Bronco, the department went to the Expedition. We also have some Dodge Durango commander's cars. We had some Suburbans which were dubbed supervisor vehicles. They were great for keeping the sergeants at the office; no one wanted to drive them because they were slow and heavy. As for placement, the Area has to justify the need. They are budgetted vehicles, not alloted vehicles; which is a fancy way of saying they cost more than a class E patrol car. It isn't just mountains that justify it. Snow is the number one denominator. But in reality, most officers don't want to drive them. We had one at the Bishop office and we were discouraged from driving it because the sergeants there were territorial. Mammoth, June Lake, and Lee Vining, have several. Our sergeant out here has one but we all prefer the Crown Vic with studs for winter patrol. You really only need the four wheel drive once in a blue moon. The roads are only covered with snow and ice during storms and a day or two afterward. After that their dry. You feel like you have a ball chained to your ankle when you're driving an SUV on dry pavement. Very tough working radar.

[Royd5150]

We have expeditions in our county,there are two resident posts who split the county. Both our guys seem to like them, the interesting thing is how they are set up. They both seem to be the 2003 + versions. The side of the county that has cell service, the RP has a mdt, and led lights. Where as the other side has the V shaped lights. We have lots of snow (usually) and many many many dirt and forest service roads. We had one of the RP's rescue two injured snowmobilers a few weeks ago in his expedition.

[pupdog]

Funny, I considered asking this same thing after the vacation I took this month! I headed south to San Diego, then east through Anza Borrego, where I passed a CHP Expitition several times (several because he was going back & forth from one end of his beat to the other, and when in the beloved desert, I tend to stop & photograph every unique flower!). Then heading north on the highway (don't recall the number and I don't have a map handy) on the west side of Salton Sea that goes to Indio, we was LOTS AND LOTS of CHP & Border Partols, all Expeditions. Then in Joshua Tree, same thing, NPS Expeditions...yet I've only seen Crown Vics in Yosemite! Then again with the Expeditions on 29 Palms Hwy. I'm convinced Expeditions are the standard desert vehicle, or did I happen to see every one of them that's down there and somehow no Crown Vics?

[16528]

What other SUV's has the CHP used over the years? (I'm sure they've used them since before there was the term "SUV".)
Good link: http://members.fortunecity.com/chpcars/chp.html

[pupdog]

The van labeled as "Public Relations Unit" looks like the sort of thing I'd picture in an undercover sting. Would a better label be "Relations With The Unwilling Public Unit?":lol:

[Flying Pig]

You guys are using Expidedition up here in the Sierras....Fresno

[Flying Pig]

You guys are using Expeditions up here in the Sierras....Fresno

[Mac]

....We had some Suburbans which were dubbed supervisor vehicles. They were great for keeping the sergeants at the office; no one wanted to drive them because they were slow and heavy....
Yeah, but they had FM radio! :lol:

We had one of those, and they made OICs drive it - it was one of the first year ones with the 350 in it....it was so slow and overloaded that it had a hard time getting out of it's own way, and floated like a tunaboat at freeway speed. Pursuits were absolutely out of the question in that pig.....but it sure was nice having tunes in the car.

[Lucky Seven]

I have an assigned 03/04 (?) Expedition. It is a far cry from the 98 Expedition. It handles well, accelerates reasonably, and it has tunes available. The big plus for me is the decent seat. It is comfortable and doesn't bother my back. The seat in the 98 would have my back screaming at me within an hour or so.

I begged for the LED light bar but they were only set up on select vehicles in different areas as a test.

Since this will probably be my last patrol vehicle, before I retire, I am glad that I have a reasonably comfortable seat, decent road performance, and some tunes available. I just wish it performed off road as well as the 98 did.

The area has one Expedition. For a long time nobody wanted to drive it except when it was snowing. Now they have one guy that drives it all the time, so it stays in use.

Mentor is correct about the Rams and Broncos. They were junk.

[pupdog]

I saw a Suburban this morning. VERY stealth. It was white with no markings on the side, but what really did it was the LED bar. The roof is a bit flatter, so I didn't notice that it was a LE vehicle until it passed me, and I saw the LED from the side. From the front, it didn't even have that white roof rack look. No telling which department it was...I see CHP & SO on that road daily, but there's an SO sub-station & a courthouse nearby, so it could be anyone from the county.

[gofly]

thanks for all the responses and insight.

when i was in college I had a job that worked closely with the fire department, pd and chp. One night the freeway was shut down and the Anaheim Fire Department, Anaheim Police Department and the CHP all had their suburbans, all with perfect paint jobs and the cool light bars for the time (they must have been supervisors vehicles or promotions trucks) coming down the lanes in a "flying V formation" all lit up. It was a pretty cool sight.


pupdog, I've been seeing many stealth suburbans (dark blue, white, sometimes black) running on the freeway with just the red light on the windshield, sometimes with their siren on. I think most of them are LAPD bomb squad or swat. But who knows, it could be some new government agency as well. (MIB??):shock:

good luck...be safe