This week has been the week of terrible tornadoes and storms rolling through the deep south. Millions of people are still without power, many are trying to start putting the pieces back together as they begin the clean up of their homes and yards surveying the damage. West Monroe, LA (home of the Duck Dynasty clan) was one of the hardest hit spots recently, even being declared an emergency disaster zone. We happened to be working in this area during the storm and happened to run into the Duracell Rugged Responder truck.

That’s when we met Shane Grady. He was nice enough not only to stop and give us a tour of the vehicle and it’s awesomeness but allowed us to follow him around town for a bit as they did their thing. Helping out people in need the Duracell rescue fleet (there are 5 total in the fleet) go from disaster area to disaster area providing batteries, a mobile cell phone charging station and much, much more. Now, please keep in mind, we were in a clean up zone and it was kind of noisy. We did the best we could on the fly with our camera, but you may need to turn up your speakers a bit and forgive us for any bumpiness as we were climbing over tree branches to make this happen for our readers.

So, let’s talk about the rig. It’s 9 feet tall by 9 feet wide and ready for any storm or disaster it rolls up on. Helping with ground clearance and it’s high stance, a Skyjacker Suspension 6″ lift kit was installed. Making it able to handle any towing or rough terrain a set of Fab Fours front and rear bumpers were added along with a 60,000 lb winch set up from Warn.  Ensuring they can get into any trouble zone necessary, they also had a snorkel installed so they can do into about 4 feet of water without giving it a second thought. No need to worry about not being able to see at night in areas with no power, the Duracell truck is completely outfitted with Rigid Industries light bars and lights. Keeping things rolling on this mega dually are American Force Wheels rolling on a set of 37″ Toyo Tires.

But none of the storage would be possible without the truck cap provided by ARE. Then there’s the slide outs and heavy duty storage containers where all of the batteries are powered or stored are provided by Cargo Glide and Truck Vault each being responsible for thousands of pounds of storage. In addition to all of this functionality, there is a giant flat screen tv that pulls out which will run the Weather Channel so people in the area can get up to date on the latest weather coming their way. Then they come around to what they call the “consumer side” this is an area that when they set up in Costco or Sam’s Club parking lots they like to open up and discuss with residents what goes into making the ideal emergency disaster preparedness kit. They often, also, team up with the local fire department working with them on disaster relief kits and helping out where they need it most.

All we can say is that the Duracell Rugged Responder is not only one hot looking ride but, also, doing good and helping people in need everywhere it goes. Sounds like the ideal combination of diesel companies and consumer companies teaming up to take care of those in need. Thanks everyone!

Oh and by the way, to the police officer directing traffic that slowed everyone down to take a “selfie” with the Duracell truck in the background, we saw you and appreciate you on multiple levels.