NTOA Armored Group RDV
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thank you for participating in our “Member Tested and Recommended Products Program.” The Rapid Deployment Vehicle has been tested and recommended by the members of the National Tactical Officers Association. Your overall score was a 4.65. The NTOA Member Tested and Recommended logo may be used solely on the specific product that was tested.
Since the review is completed, it will now be added to online Member Tested product database. To make the review complete, please send us a digital image of the product that has been tested. This is now listed on the NTOA’s Member Tested and Recommended online database and review will soon be published in The Tactical Edge journal.
Please contact Corey Luby at advertising@ntoa.org if you would like to advertise in The Tactical Edge journal. Once again, thank you for participating Member Tested and Recommended Program©
Thank you,
Corey Luby
800-279-9127x120
The Armored Group, LLC
RDV - Rapid Deployment Vehicle
Overall Score: 4.65
http://www.armoredcars.com
TESTER
The RDV has been a key addition to our agency resources; its versatility and practicality are just what we were looking for. It is so practical that a neighboring agency recently purchased an RDV as well.
We are pleased with our RDV and its overall design. It was delivered with the appearance of an average delivery box truck and we chose to leave it that way. It included bailout doors on all 3 sides, which we are very happy with. This allows us to approach from any direction without altering our route to account for deployment. Also, with the bailout door on the back, a low very wide step was added to make loading and deployment safe and easy.
Another feature is storage under the padded bench seats along both sides. This has allowed us to store virtually all mission essential equipment in the truck when we use it. No matter what we are doing, we can take all equipment, planning for the worst-case scenario. It is all stored out of the way leaving plenty of room for all Team members and personal gear.
Although the vehicle doesn't have ballistic capabilities, we have been able to hang our 2 ballistic blankets along the walls of the box area, giving some protection.
We have a 13-member team. With a driver and front seat "co pilot" this leaves more than enough room in the back for the remaining 11 members.
The "low profile" design of the truck allows us to operate undetected quite well and is unobtrusive when used in a hostile environment, such as a barricaded subject, who may become agitated by seeing a clearly marked and "sinister" looking truck. We have even used the vehicle as a delivery truck for a buy/bust operation by using magnetic decals on the doors.
At this point, the vehicle has measured up to what we needed and what we expected from it.
TESTER
The RDV by The Armored Group was the perfect fit for our SWAT team. The vehicle easily carries our 15 man team and has actually carried 32 SWAT officers at one time. The doors on the side and rear are large enough for SWAT officers to exit with all gear and accessories. The price for the RDV is not over the top as one would expect to pay for such a quality vehicle already made to put straight into service. Jeremy with the Armored Group is very knowledgeable and willing to work with an agency so the RDV can fit their needs.
TESTER
The Eau Claire Police Department’s Tactical Response Team was the first team in Wisconsin, (and I believe in the upper Midwest), to purchase the RDV.
We didn’t want a huge command post vehicle; we wanted a plain-looking vehicle capable of delivering an entry team and initial response gear to a location without attracting a lot of attention.
The RDV has been ideal, we couldn’t be happier. We can put an entry team in full gear into the air-conditioned / heated RDV and drive very near a target location. The 3-door system makes quick unloading possible, and the RDV works exceptionally well in buy-bust and vehicle assault scenarios.
We did a buy-bust of a felon buying a handgun in a shopping center parking lot recently. We parked the RDV near a store in a delivery area and the very paranoid target drove right by us several times surveilling the area before going to the meeting area.
We then did a buy-bust on him, emptying the team from the RDV from both side doors and securing him within seconds.
The only problem we’ve experienced was with the rear heating unit not warming up in extremely cold weather. We corrected this by insulating the pipes that run under the truck. (This probably wasn’t a concern for the Texas Company building the RDV).
We have also had to replace the rear door locking hardware.All in all the RDV is exactly what we were looking for. We would, (and have), recommend the RDV to any Team looking for a delivery vehicle.
TESTER
This RDV (Ford Chassis) is designed for quick deployment of operators. This is what we needed and it is perfect for that. The two side deployment doors are excellent for dismounting and moving to the target. It is not designed to haul the entire team’s equipment but it does have decent storage for basic equipment that a team would want with them all the time. We have only had the RDV since April but so far the durability seems fine. The RDV has three exit/entry doors on the rear portion and ours has two locks that use the same key and one that is different. Picking up the RDV was very easy. We flew into Cincinnati and one of the representatives picked us up and took us to the shop so we did not have to rent a car. Overall we are very satisfied and the RDV has worked very well.
