Christmas Carrier
 

The base directed the RCA Museum to enter a vehicle into the local City's annual Santa Parade. So, as usual, this stuff travels downhill. The initial direction was for a Jeep, but I did that last year. I asked to use a carrier, as I thought it was a nice flat slate to put decorations on. I am no artist, and while I might have some kind of vision in my head to start with, it gets varied depending on what bells and bobbles I find at the Christmas stores. In the end, it's for the kids, and they are not overly discerning.

The decorations are pretty much done now. Tomorrow I need to install a bank of military batteries to power the converter for the lights and the fan driven blow up snowman. Time and energy permitting, I would like to add music to the vehicle as well, but at this point it's not looking good.

The base mascot will meet me downtown on Saturday for the parade. It will be a long drive into town, for while it is only about 15 miles or so, if one goes much over 30 kmh the decorations either break or fly off. It will be trailered in mind you. While the temps are now forecast for a balmy -1C, even I am not crazy enough to try and drive a carrier into the city.

Thanks for sharing Rob.

I think.

(what's been seen can be un-seen, right?)

Sorry Bruce. I thought there might be a gag reflex involved. I'll get a shot of it in th edark with all the lights on.

The candycane covers on the roadhweels took a bit of time. I'll have to get someone video those to see how they look in motion. Note they are directional....each side is curled the opposite way.

As the old warrant used to say on my JLC.....details man, details.

Looks good Rob! Cant wait to see the pics of you dressed up like Santa driving this thing. The psychedelic road wheels will have the crowd hypnotized!

No Santa suit for me. Parade rules are that there is only one Santa. Add to that the fact that I am not a publicity hound, so hiding down in the driver's seat will do me just fine.

I think winter coveralls will be the dress of the day with some goretex boots. The low that nght is -10, so the temps will be somewhere between -1 and -10.

I attached snowflakes over the sprockets, but I think it might have been better to have kept to the red white theme of the rest of the wheels. Oh well, as I said I am no artist.

The biggest disaster will be if anything gets sucked into the tracks or sprockets. Pretty sure they will clean all the trinkets off the carrier in record time.

I still have to add a wreath to each side of the hull armour, and I might put the spare roadwheel back where it belongs for some contrast.

I agree there should only be one Santa, Rob, but you would make a FANTASTIC looking Elf! :thup2:

David

As I said, it will be winter coveralls and well down into the drivers compartment. For the toque, I think just about all mine are olive green, but I may have a bright orange one around somewhere from a long-past hunting season.

smoke discharger
 

Rob,
Can you load the smoke discharger with candy canes and fire them into the crowd for all the little boys & girls to catch?
Just trying to add to your artistic flair!
Let me know what you think!
Derk

No dispensing of candies during the parade, as it tempts the children to run out into traffic.

Your idea goes into the little green storage can next to David's. :teach:

Y'know Rob, I confess to coming back and looking at those pics (just like not being able to look away from a car crash even though you know you should) and have to say I'm coming around.

The one word that keeps popping into my head is Easter. That's right, Easter. I can picture it now...pinks, yellows and mauves. Coloured egg covers on the road wheels. Whiskers glued to the mud guards and of course big floppy rabbit ears.

You in?

Ahhhh. An Easter Gunnie Carrier.


David

Alright Bruce, you just wait. :teach: Mock my artistic prowess now, but just wait until the parade. Someone will youtube the vehicle on the move, with all lighting ablaze, the snow santa fully up, the mascot waving, and kids on the sides of the parades smiling. That is if the psychedelic wheel covers don't overcome them. I even made an extra wheel cover for the spare roadwheel, which is now in place. :drunk:

Aside from the 600W inverter/booster pack, I have coupled it with 4 of the large square military batteries to power the lights and the stereo system. I am off to town now to buy a couple more short extension cords, more of the red/white safety tape, and a Christmas CD.

When I hooked up the stereo system today, I was pleasantly surprised that it did not nearly draw the wattage that I was afraid it would. Unfortunately the only CD I had was my Johnny Cash in the console of the truck. This was the very same Johnny Cash CD I was listening to when the evil VIA train tried to take me out. I was, after all, on the tracks first....he hit me!! Funny thing was the first couple songs were fine, but around the end of the 3rd song, the CD goes to heck, skipping and repeating itself as if something traumatic had happened.

Mock you? Rather you should take comfort in the fact that all leaders of progressive social change were mocked at the start. Some day all restored MV's...not just carriers...will be rightfully decked out in vibrant shades of blue, orange and pink and the world will wonder what darkness led their less enlightened predecessors to paint them khaki, O.D. and brown. No sir, you are a visionary!!

Trust me, I am no visionary, and I routinely mock those that have artistic abilities as Liberals. I only think in right angles, with equal, balancing opposites.

Decorating something like this is kind of like when you put an introvert into a costume. The inhibitions disappear, and they might actually wave at a stranger, or talk to a woman.

I went to Walmart last night to look for some Christmas music to play during the parade. I bought something called "the greatest ever Christmas Dance Party Megamix", hoping to get something a little more upbeat than the usual Christmas tunes. (I also replaced my damaged Johnny Cash album, as I had realized that day how much I missed it). Upon putting the Christmas CD into the player in the truck, I was at first horrified to find they had combined disco music with the Christmas songs. Every song started off like something from the village people before turning into some kind of Christmas Classic mix. The absurdity of it quickly grew on me, and I can't imagine any other music with this vehicle. This way, anybody who knows me will realize that I am not serious about any of this.

The music gave me the vision of using the MLVW next year, configured to flat deck with "snow bunnies" go-go dancing to the Christmas music. I suspect that would be the last time they ask me to make the float.

That would replace my current vision of converting the lynx scout car into a rolling 12 foot high Christmas tree. I'm not sure where the madness comes from...I am not a Lilberal thinker but am surrounded by some at work.

Below is last years Jeep entry, which won "best vehicle".

All work finished...now if it will just make it into town without all the stuff blowing off.

My last photos onto this thread. Parade went well, although very very cold. At one point I reached up to restart the Cd player (which also was not that keen on the cold) and my numb hand switched off the carrier. This was well past the 3/4 point in the parade, so it was plenty warm. In panic I tried a no-choke start and nothing. So I switched to choke..nothing. So back to no choke...nothing. Back and forth, nothing. Then the hail Mary: full choke until something happens.....SUCCESS. Finished off the parade, and the vehicle is now back in the hanger.

Made lots of kids smile, and many were dancing to the disco Christmas music. Who knows, maybe disco may make a return with the millenials. Lord knows there is no decent music these days....hasn't been since the 60s really.

Anyway, a last shot of the vehicle at the start point with Juno (the Canadian Army mascot) aboard.

Good to see you were able to abide by the fundamental Car Show rule:

"Only a Bear Ass can sit on this vehicle!"

Job well done, Rob. Hope you thawed out OK.


David

Rob, for the record, your reputation as a top notch guy is 100% intact. There's zero risk of you being confused with safe-space craving Trudeau loving hippie...spiral psychedelic carrier wheels notwithstanding.

Track 3 must be Folsom Prison Blues: "I hear the train 'a comin, it's rollin' round the bend"... Johnny was trying to tell you something, but you weren't listening. :teach:

Thanks for pics Rob, my little Emma loves it. She's going to dress up Drsnak too! :yappy: