TOY TRUCKS ON PATROL
WE’RE NOT TRYING TO REPLACE ANYTHING; WE ARE JUST GIVING THEM ANOTHER TOOL TO DO THEIR JOB, AND MAYBE WE CAN GET A FEW MORE SOLDIERS HOME.
and cost-effective solution, Ernie talked to Guy, of Everything Hobby, who helped him bring the idea to fruition.
Now, advances in technology—for both the cameras and trucks—have allowed Guy, Ernie, and Trucks to Troops to create trucks better suited to specific situ- ational needs.
New, watertight trucks have made main- tenance much easier. Since the original truck model’s electronic components were not sealed very well, the Soldiers would have to take the truck apart and clean
NOT JUST ANY TRUCK An RC truck is outfitted with a wireless camera. it every couple of days, Ernie explained.
“Traxxas [the truck manufacturer] made the [newer] trucks so they could run through mud puddles, but it has helped with how we are using them as well.” In addition, cameras, which are a separate component of the customized truck, have better range and more features for the same price as earlier models.
TRUCKS TO TROOPS The creation of Trucks to Troops has also helped the effort to get these RC trucks to Soldiers overseas, lowering costs and allowing people to donate funds to help.
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“If I do it myself, it costs $200 for the truck, about $200 for the camera, and $50 for shipping,” Ernie said. “Trucks to Troops as an organization can get things directly from the manufacturer, so parts are cheaper but shipping is the same. With that, we almost doubled the amount of trucks we can send for the same amount of money.”
All of that combined has allowed Trucks to Troops to fulfill Chris’ request for six more trucks in response to demand, with even more going to other Soldiers and locations. “We are sending out 20 to 30 trucks pretty soon,” Ernie said. “Some Soldiers don’t even want the camera. They want the truck because they have a differ- ent use for it, so we sent some that way as well.”
While the truck has proved effective, it was not designed to replace current or future military technology. “We get some feedback that this will never replace good military training or optics,” Ernie added.
“And they are right. We’re not trying to replace anything; we are just giving them another tool to do their job, and maybe we can get a few more Soldiers home.”
For more information on Trucks to Troops, visit
http://truckstotroops.com.
BRITTANY ASHCROFT provides contract support to the U.S. Army Acquisition Sup- port Center through BRTRC Technology Marketing Group. She has a B.A. in English from Elmhurst College.
106 Army AL&T Magazine
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