[MH] Caribbean by Night

[Icelander]

Ok, so the PCs are looking for a vehicle, described (by an impaired and apparently inattentive witness) as a 'truck'. They know that the truck had to be capable of hauling bulky, but not very heavy loads, weighing maybe 2-3 tons and taking up up to 12' of length, but no more width or height would be needed than any reasonable truck or van could provide. Only because of the length would the vehicle have to be some form of box truck or other specialised transport vehicle.

The PCs didn't get a chance to ask some vital questions, at least not yet, but are assuming several things.

• The truck should be as commonplace and inconspicious as possible.
• If it matters, the truck should be of a type that's common in California, but probably will not stick out too much in Texas, either.
• Being able to park in public areas, rather than having to store the vehicle at some lot designated for heavy vehicles would be a huge plus, but perhaps not compatible with the length.
• The cargo compartment must be fully enclosed and have no windows.
• If possible, the vehicle should not require special licensing beyond that of other automobiles, in particular not require any photographic operator license that must be carried by law (that is, it should not make it more likely that the operator has to show picture ID than driving a normal automobile).
• Without being any kind of luxury vehicle or custom made, it was probably selected for its ability to be able to keep up with a regular automobile on long trips, as well as being fairly decent in handling for its size.

With all these things in mind, what general type, brand or specific model of truck are the PCs looking for?

What kind of vehicles should they focus on, if, for example, they discover that surveillance cameras show maybe six trucks of varying types that would be large enough in somd area of interest?

Basically, can some forumite who knows more about trucks than yours truly tel me what kind of truck I should have the suspect be driving?

[Apollonian]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Ok, so the PCs are looking for a vehicle, described (by an impaired and apparently inattentive witness) as a 'truck'. They know that the truck had to be capable of hauling bulky, but not very heavy loads, weighing maybe 2-3 tons and taking up up to 12' of length, but no more width or height would be needed than any reasonable truck or van could provide. Only because of the length would the vehicle have to be some form of box truck or other specialised transport vehicle.

The PCs didn't get a chance to ask some vital questions, at least not yet, but are assuming several things.

• The truck should be as commonplace and inconspicious as possible.
• If it matters, the truck should be of a type that's common in California, but probably will not stick out too much in Texas, either.
• Being able to park in public areas, rather than having to store the vehicle at some lot designated for heavy vehicles would be a huge plus, but perhaps not compatible with the length.
• The cargo compartment must be fully enclosed and have no windows.
• If possible, the vehicle should not require special licensing beyond that of other automobiles, in particular not require any photographic operator license that must be carried by law (that is, it should not make it more likely that the operator has to show picture ID than driving a normal automobile).
• Without being any kind of luxury vehicle or custom made, it was probably selected for its ability to be able to keep up with a regular automobile on long trips, as well as being fairly decent in handling for its size.

With all these things in mind, what general type, brand or specific model of truck are the PCs looking for?

What kind of vehicles should they focus on, if, for example, they discover that surveillance cameras show maybe six trucks of varying types that would be large enough in somd area of interest?

Basically, can some forumite who knows more about trucks than yours truly tel me what kind of truck I should have the suspect be driving?

... It's going to be a huge number of options. I'd go for a Ford F-350 or equivalent (Dodge Ram 3500, Chevy Silverado 3500) with a longish bed and maybe a crew cab. They're common enough that they won't draw any attention whatsoever, especially in rural areas. Look up "heavy duty pickup" for more examples. (The fully enclosed cargo compartment will be in the form of a windowless canopy - also not unusual.) It won't stick out in Texas at all.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

... It's going to be a huge number of options. I'd go for a Ford F-350 or equivalent (Dodge Ram 3500, Chevy Silverado 3500) with a longish bed and maybe a crew cab. They're common enough that they won't draw any attention whatsoever, especially in rural areas. Look up "heavy duty pickup" for more examples. (The fully enclosed cargo compartment will be in the form of a windowless canopy - also not unusual.) It won't stick out in Texas at all.

It didn't even occur to me that you could get a pickup truck with the bed extended to a full twelve feet. The longest I've seen is about 8' long, with the standard being around 6'.

Are there really double-length truck beds?

I was sure this would have to be some sort of box truck, as personal vehicles didn't get cargo space that long, no matter what modifications you got. Well, I suppose you could make a Franken-truck of some sort, but I was assuming that a box truck with a cargo space 12' or more in length was more inconspicuous than a pickup truck with a bed that large.

By the way, the cargo that they suspect may have been hauled is somewhere between six and twelve boxes that are large enough to be coffins (or at least contain bodies), as well as some other, less bulky items.

[Apollonian]

Originally Posted by Icelander

It didn't even occur to me that you could get a pickup truck with the bed extended to a full twelve feet. The longest I've seen is about 8' long, with the standard being around 6'.

Are there really double-length truck beds?

I was sure this would have to be some sort of box truck, as personal vehicles didn't get cargo space that long, no matter what modifications you got. Well, I suppose you could make a Franken-truck of some sort, but I was assuming that a box truck with a cargo space 12' or more in length was more inconspicuous than a pickup truck with a bed that large.

By the way, the cargo that they suspect may have been hauled is somewhere between six and twelve boxes that are large enough to be coffins (or at least contain bodies), as well as some other, less bulky items.

My mistake! I missed the 12' parameter. In that case they're looking for a standard box truck. If the targets are trying to be inconspicuous, I'd go for a used rental truck. They're pretty common.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

My mistake! I missed the 12' parameter. In that case they're looking for a standard box truck. If the targets are trying to be inconspicuous, I'd go for a used rental truck. They're pretty common.

Yeah, that's what I suspected.

What kind of box truck is a 'standard' box truck in the US?

I mean, large enough to haul my desired cargo, small enough so that people that aren't professional truck drivers are allowed to rent and drive them?

Can you give me examples of popular brand and models?

In particular, what is likely to matter quite a lot, how much fuel do they carry and how long is their range with a full tank?

Could one drive from Houston to Dallas without stopping for fuel? Would they stop once? Twice?

[Apollonian]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Yeah, that's what I suspected.

What kind of box truck is a 'standard' box truck in the US?

I mean, large enough to haul my desired cargo, small enough so that people that aren't professional truck drivers are allowed to rent and drive them?

Can you give me examples of popular brand and models?

In particular, what is likely to matter quite a lot, how much fuel do they carry and how long is their range with a full tank?

Could one drive from Houston to Dallas without stopping for fuel? Would they stop once? Twice?

U-Haul 15' truck. It won't handle great, but they're very common and easily rented.

Ryder box truck. Somewhat less common, but more room.

Handling on either of those won't be great... you wouldn't want to do a car chase in one, for example. A long Ford Transit van or equivalent might handle better, but I couldn't find interior dimensions excluding cab on a cursory search. (The witness might also have described that as a van instead of truck, if it matters.)

As for range, I'm pretty sure they would make it from Houston to Dallas in one go. It's only 240 miles. (The U-Haul 15' truck has a theoretical 400 mile range on a full tank.)

Also, Craigslist is your friend for this kind of thing: Box trucks for sale in Houston, TX.

[adm]

20' box trucks often blur the lines between very large cargo vans/pick up trucks, and commercial vehicles. You can expect to see Ford, Dodge, and GM versions that are essentially over sized civilian vehicles. You can also find commercial brands like Mack, Volvo, and Freightliner (GM).

This U-Haul truck would be very typical, note they list fuel tank size, and typical ranges.

https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/20ft-Moving-Truck/

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Apollonian

U-Haul 15' truck. It won't handle great, but they're very common and easily rented.

Ryder box truck. Somewhat less common, but more room.

Handling on either of those won't be great... you wouldn't want to do a car chase in one, for example. A long Ford Transit van or equivalent might handle better, but I couldn't find interior dimensions excluding cab on a cursory search. (The witness might also have described that as a van instead of truck, if it matters.)

As for range, I'm pretty sure they would make it from Houston to Dallas in one go. It's only 240 miles. (The U-Haul 15' truck has a theoretical 400 mile range on a full tank.)

Also, Craigslist is your friend for this kind of thing: Box trucks for sale in Houston, TX.

Originally Posted by adm

20' box trucks often blur the lines between very large cargo vans/pick up trucks, and commercial vehicles. You can expect to see Ford, Dodge, and GM versions that are essentially over sized civilian vehicles. You can also find commercial brands like Mack, Volvo, and Freightliner (GM).

This U-Haul truck would be very typical, note they list fuel tank size, and typical ranges.

https://www.uhaul.com/Truck-Rentals/20ft-Moving-Truck/

Thanks, that's wonderful.

I actually don't think I've ever opened craigslist before and now I'm vaguely wondering if I'm on a government watchlist, but if so, I bet my search history will confuse the hell out of some poor analyst.

The suspect actually bought the truck in California, a couple of months back, but I expect that the craigslist flora there is similar. It would be a box truck with a 13'-16' box, decent power and handling without being very notable, and if it doesn't increase size and decrease handling, maybe a lift at the cargo loading area in the rear, as some of these have.

Something like this Ford F-450 with a 16' box, GMC G3500 Savana with 16.5" box or a Chevy 3500 with a 16' box.

They'd have paid cash, not really cared* whether the price was $20,000, $30,000 or $50,000, and preferred buying from shady people on craigslist rather than anywhere too much paperwork was involved. I mean, they want legal paper showing transfer of ownership, to avoid trouble with the police if stopped, they just didn't want anyone to have too easy access to computerized files on any transaction.

*The PCs found 34 diamonds in the possession of people who were involved in this, with a value in the millions of dollars. Quite possibly, tens of millions or even up to $100,000,000. The price of the truck probably didn't matter much, though ironically, getting large sums in US dollars might be an annoyance, requiring some legwork, but I expect that operating cash to the tune of a couple of hundred thousands was already available when they bought the truck.

[Icelander]

After reviewing federal gun legislation and Texas state law, I cannot find any legal obstacle to a US citizen walking into a gun store in Dallas when it opens in the morning and walking out with eight to twelve high-capacity semi-automatic tactical rifles, 30-50 rifle magazines, 1,000-5,000 rounds of FMJ ammunition for the rifles and eight to twelve high-capacity pistols in 9x19mm or more, before the clock strikes twelve noon.

There might, however, be practical problems.

I'd like some people to weigh in who actually live in the US (in a perfect world, maybe even in Texas), might have purchased firearms there and be aware how clerks in a gun store might react to such a purchase.

1) First of all, are there any rules, official or unofficial, on how many firearms one may purchase at once? This purchase, after all, looks very much like something a dealer should be doing, what with all the identical weapons, not likely to be something a private individual means to use personally.

2) The background check, as far as I can tell, should be finished in a few minutes in most cases. What with this having every appearance of a straw purchase, might it take longer?

3) Would the average gun store clerk ask questions about why the customer wanted to buy so many functionally identical weapons, instead of, if he were buying for his own use, a collection that had more varied capabilities or could be used for a greater number of activities?

4) Does any gun store in Dallas even have that many identical rifles in stock or would the customer leave with a selection of basically similar guns, but made by several different companies?

4a) Specifically, I know that AR-15 rifles are highly popular, but could the customer get 8-12 US-made semi-automatic AK-pattern rifles without a special order in advance? Like, if he wanted 8-12 Century Arms C39V2 rifles immediately, do they tell him that they'd have to order them, or does anyone have them in stock in Dallas?

5) Would the store clerk call the police or notify anyone?

6) On a scale of 'meh' to 'rings all the mental alarms', how is it likely that the clerk would react to having the customer offer to pay in cash for the whole order?

7) Any suggestions on how the person charged with obtaining these weapons in a few hours should go about it if he wants to avoid police attention or being put on some kind of watchlist?

Grumble, grumble, grumble, when I try to access the websites of Dallas-based gun stores, many of them block me with the message that 'This website is for US-customers only'.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I'd like some people to weigh in who actually live in the US (in a perfect world, maybe even in Texas), might have purchased firearms there and be aware how clerks in a gun store might react to such a purchase.


3) Would the average gun store clerk ask questions about why the customer wanted to buy so many functionally identical weapons, instead of, if he were buying for his own use, a collection that had more varied capabilities or could be used for a greater number of activities?

I don't know the specific answers to your questions [EDIT: that's question three], but in my experience, gun dealers in the US are chatty people. They sell an expensive item that requires paperwork (and therefore standing around), and by buying a gun you're joining a community. They hope to see you as a repeat customer after you shoot off all that ammo. So they're going to strike up a friendly conversation and ask if you're starting up a shooting range or running a competition or what not. You should have a cover story prepared. It doesn't need to be extensive or anything, but you should have one, because its likely to come up.