2013 PDN Training Tour: Update #14

Alright, I'm back here in Ohio which means the tour is officially over but we've still got a couple of more updates left for you. One of the updates that I definitely wanted to give you here in the 2013 tour was an overview of the PDN tour truck. Now, obviously it's in all the pictures it's in all the videos. And a lot of people ask about it on the internet. So just wanted to kind of give you an overview of what this is.

This is a 2008 Toyota FJ cruiser. I've actually owned it since it was new. It's been a great vehicle. Actually I've got two of them now. My mom has one.

Several of the Combat Focus Shooting Instructor team have them. Just can't say enough good things about them. So we start off with a four wheel drive truck that is built on a truck frame. So I do refer to as a truck, it's obviously a small SUV. It's got rear lockers and it's got the eight-track track system from Toyota.

So it's actually pretty capable off road they way it comes stock. We have slightly larger wheels here. We have slightly larger tires and because we went up with a lift and old man Immo lift kit. we also came out a little bit. So we got some spider tracks in there to give us a little bit more out, that also gives us clearance on the calipers for the front wheels.

Now, you can see here got a little adventurous at one point and we've cracked off this center cap off that hub. And that blue that you see in there is this spider track spacer that actually kicks this out a little bit. So that we get a little bit wider stance to go with the raised height of that old man Immo lift. Now, the other thing is that you see a lot of space here. If you go back and compare this to some of the videos that were taken during the tour.

You're going to see that there wasn't quite as much space here. It's not because I went to smaller tires. It's because even with this heavy duty lift kit all the weight of the Immo and the gun vault and the firearms and all the equipment that I take on the tour with me, actually does a lower the truck about three inches. In fact, I can't get this truck into my garage now that I've got this ARB a roof rack on here now. Because when it's unloaded it comes up too high.

But when I first came back from the tour when it was still loaded up, it would actually fit in there. So there's a lot going on here. We've got the Bushwhacker Fender Flares. I do have the Rock Sliders on here as well. Haven't quite tested them out yet but I'm sure we're going to get to that.

As we come around the front, we've got the ARV bumper on the front. I've got a Warn Winch. This is an 8,000 winch. It's obviously got the remote control. We did get a chance to use that.

You can see where we got that on the off-road. Of course at Echo Valley Training Center. One of our tour stops this year. And we actually did get to get the vehicle pretty heavily vertical and use that Wincher this year. As we go around the truck.

One of the things that stands out, of course is the design This year that we went with the Classic Tiger Stripe. Last year, we went with a Digital Format. This year we went with the tiger Stripe background. I don't know what we're going to do in 2014 but as we go back around the front you'll see that the logo is up on the front. This year include PDX1 Defender.

one that I choose to use. Our official tour sponsors are all along the side here US Concealed Carry Association, Gander Mountain Academy, Crossbreed Holsters, GunVault Daniel Defense Rifles, Imarksman. And of course Ballista Tactical Systems. ARB isn't an official sponsor but they're around back. Now, the back of the truck that you've seen in some of the videos you see around here of course features and other bumper from the ARB guys and we've got their logo back.

We also have the association of Defensive Shooting Instructors. Of Which I'm one of the founders. we've got the Combat Focus Shooting Program. My CrossFit gym, my gym and Defense Training Center Endeavor that I co-own with Aaron Jannetti and Rob Mackeen in Columbus, Ohio. The Fit Shot program and ARB.

So these aren't official sponsors but I like the show off all those programs as I drive around the country as well also. When we look inside we may have seen a personal diffense network a feature that we actually he did on the impact. The springtail impact system where we actually have these bags mounted right into the back here. This is a safety kit. This is a...

if there were a car accident something crazy happened as I was driving down the road and I wanted to grab some emergency equipment. This I would just rip right off this Velcro and take with me. This is my range kit that I actually use. This one comes right out as well. We have that on the range with us every time we do any live fire training.

Obviously there's some other things that I'm always using on the range that I wanted to stage back here. One of them spray paint maybe some extra safety glasses, having a knife around is always a good idea. Sharpies, I'm always using those on the range different kinds of markers. So we've got other range equipment some other medical equipment out here. And then this is just some general utility stuff that I use while I'm out on the road.

And when you take a look in there you might see a lot more room than you would think for what seems like it's a small truck from the outside. The FJ cruisers are great for cargo space with the back seat folded down. And that's really one of the reasons I love this truck. I can get everything I need. Essentially I live out of this vehicle four months a year while I'm out on the tour.

So it's great to have this. I did put an oversized Cobra DC to AC inverter in the truck this year to power all the electronics. So we actually run not only computer chargers but also USB chargers. And we can run other AC up to the front with multiple outlets for everything that I'm doing upfront. I can also put my camera battery chargers back here for the things we're doing not only for our training purposes but also the updates and things like this.

So we've got some other things, We did have to use the tow wraps once this year. Actually got the truck high centered. We put it up on top of a stump back at Mike uses Next Level Training his facility out there. And we use these tow strap to just give us a quick pop off instead of having a . This is my noble office for the entire duration of the tour.

So it's important that I'm able to... during rest stops Google stops whatever else, even while I'm out on the range. I want to be able to stay connected. So I've got a couple of different things that helped me out with that. I talked about having the inverter in the back which means I have plenty of charging power.

We've got conduit running up here that includes this USB port. So I can charge anything that plugs into the USB. I've got this set up here, right there. Obviously I use Apple computers. So that's able to plug into either one of the two laptops that I carry on the road as well.

A lot of times I'll be importing or exporting things maybe even uploading things. Because everything runs off the hotspot whenever I'm in any kind of connected area. I've got one iPad mounted to the dash here. This one I primarily use just for navigation. So this one allows me to get that big blue line going across the map wherever I want to go.

And I can zoom in of course, and take a look what's going on I also got a smaller iPad up here and this is the one that I generally use whenever when I want to check on the Facebook see what's going on there. Whatever else it is that I need to do online, so I can use this one just as well as anything else. This is obviously tied into a charger also. And then this is also connected to the Kenwood and the Kenwood system was a new one this year. And what this actually allows me to do once I get this all started up here You'll see that this one is also featuring at Garmin navigation.

So this is a great system for me. This allows me to be able to do everything all in one spot. If I don't want to mess with the iPads. The other thing about this particular system, this is the DNN 990 zero HD. This also is connected to this hotspot and what that means is that I can check email on this.

I can check Facebook. I can do Twitter updates. I can do everything that I want to do. So I get all my traffic, weather all that other stuff. I can search YouTube.

I can do all kinds of things on this one. And of course I got the Sirius XM Radio. So if I'm not actually playing anything off of the iPad is we'll go to the satellite. And I get all those channels as well as the news channels coming in. This is the 2008 FJ cruiser is how they started out plain Jane.

It's got a three litre V6 in it. It's got incredible off-road capabilities and it's just a great truck. It's very comfortable truck. It gets me where I need to go, moves it around, moves all my stuff around. We have a lot of fun with that out here on the tour.

And I highly recommend it. Now, we don't like to come into any of the Personal Defense Network Training updates without giving you a training update. So not only is it important that you have a reliable vehicle in terms of your personal defense, but it's also important that you're able to store your firearm and maybe even staged defensive firearms safely and securely. Now, a lot of people know that I liked the GunVault products. They are one of the sponsors of the tour.

And when I was loaded up for the tour I actually had a truck vault mounted horizontally in the back of the truck. But what I also have up here is one of these safety cables and these safety cables can be placed into the small gun vault that opened with the clam shell. The Mike Rovell XL is the one that I use with a biometric and this slipped right in there and that secures it to the seat. So it's actually secure to the truck and it's not likely someone is going to smash the window and grab it. Now, could they remove it?

Could they cut this? Sure. But it's going to make it a lot harder. And it makes me feel better about storing the firearm in here. The other thing is that many States allow for a firearm to be accessible to the occupant.

Whether I have a valid concealed carry permit. In some cases, even when I don't have a valid concealed carry permit for that state you can still have a firearm open inside of the vehicle. And for that I use a CrossBreed Ohai and that's why I've got a hook and loop fastener pad right here. And I can attach that holster right here in this specific spot. So that allows me to have a firearm at the ready when I'm in those extended driving situation agents where I'm going two or three or four or eight hours in a row in the truck.

And I may not want to be wearing it in my traditional appendix carry position. I can just take it right off the Modular Belly Band stick it right there on that hook and loop fastener. So when you think about what vehicle you're going to drive. You spend as much time in a vehicle as I do. You really want to give it some thought in terms to safety and security as a driver as an actual vehicle.

And safety and security in terms of worst case scenario personal defense. How are you going to move with firearms? Where are you going to store those firearms? You want to make sure that you can comfortably sit inside of that vehicle with your firearm and you want to train to actually draw while you're inside that seated position. If I pull into that gas station late at night put the car in park, turn it off, look up.

And all of a sudden there's a threat. I need to have practiced reaching down for the firearm next stage inside the vehicle. I need to have practiced for clearing my clothes and getting that firearm out of my holster and orienting it in a way that doesn't hit the steering wheel. And then extending in a way that doesn't punch into the glass if I do need to shoot. So that I can actually extend as I lean back.

So all of these things are important considerations. So as cool as the truck is, as much as it's fun to just drive it around and kind of have a good time with it out on the dirt roads or even crawling over rocks. The reality is this is my home. And just like your home, you need to be able to defend it. You need to practice in a way that fits the context of your home.

So if you're in a vehicle as much as I am make sure that you practice in a way that suits the context of your defensive situation while you're on the road. I appreciate you watching this PDN tour update. I've got one more left in store for you. I appreciate you watching all the updates for 2013. If you haven't seen them all go back and take a look at them.

If you have maybe post them in your social media and share them with friends. if you know somebody who's into off-road vehicles. They may want to see this one in particular and everybody should be paying attention. There is a personal offense information that's been coming out for the last four months.