Can you identify these vehicles?

[TractorGuy]

My nephew spied 3 of these in Atlanta. Anybody know what they are?

 

[MossRoad]

I'd guess something to do with road striping?

 

[dieselcrawler]

Agree with MossRoad, my guess is GM based, there's a Bowtie on the front! No, really, Pontiac Fiero, as the look to be rear engine, but not a VW type front suspension.

Ive seen a low slung VW based buggy used to put the reflectors on the yellow lines, driver uses cordless drill to buzz them down, box of reflectors sitting in passenger seat...

 

[aczlan]

Do you have any other pictures of them or of the trailers on the back?
Were these at a race track or where were they seen?

They look to me like they would be used to heat up and put down something, my first two guesses would be hot tar to fill in cracks, or a steam pressure washer, except that if it was a steam pressure washer I would expect there to be a visible water tank on there and heavier wheels in the back.
I could see them being used for striping as well, but it would not likely be for long distances on the road as those are usually a big trucks that is set up to do that, this would be for something more specialized.



Aaron Z

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I don't see any spray heads. Probably for putting down that thick vinyl striping hence the propane tank as they are applied hot and the pavement needs to be clean and dry.

Ron

 

[aczlan]

I don't see any spray heads. Probably for putting down that thick vinyl striping hence the propane tank as they are applied hot and the pavement needs to be clean and dry.

Ron

I could see that, but I don't think that would go with the large tank in the left rear corner of the trailer as usually the guys putting down the vinyl striping just have weed burner type torches attached to 100 lb propane tank rather than this which appears to have a pair of 100lb propane tanks attached to some kind of L shaped heating device that is at least 3 ft wide, 6 ft long and 4 ft tall on a trailer that is attached to a dedicated vehicle via a 2 point hitch and is equipped with swivel rear wheels so it can be backed up without needing to worry about jackknifing and always staying straight behind the tow vehicle.

To me, it looks like something specialized to be used for a dedicated purpose off of the public roads and away from general vehicle traffic.
That is why my first guess would be something related to a race track.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

Agree with MossRoad, my guess is GM based, there's a Bowtie on the front!

Or else the person who normally drives it likes Chevrolet. It appears that only the first one has that on the front.

Aaron Z

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I noticed that also and thought maybe it was a hot water pressure washer for cleaning where the stripe goes. Or maybe it is for cleaning guardrails.

Ron

 

[aczlan]

I noticed that also and thought maybe it was a hot water pressure washer for cleaning where the stripe goes. Or maybe it is for cleaning guardrails.

Ron

Looking closer, I almost wonder if the lower part of the L-shaped heater is a open top tank and the upper part is a chimney with heating coils going around it ( inside the red outer casing).

Aaron Z

 

[goeduck]

Looks like something from Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome

 

[oosik]

I'll go along with what GOEDUCK says. They certainly do not look like any road stripping equipment used around here.

 

[TractorGuy]

As far as I know my nephew saw 3 of these in line in traffic.

 

[dannoGT]

Are these the new mid engine corvettes that everyone is talking about? That's probably the heater to dry out the wiring harness problems they are having!

 

[Diggin It]

Can't see enough detail, but if they are stripers, the heads could be underneath so the operator can look down though the frame (open floor) to monitor.

 

[Diggin It]

Ive seen a low slung VW based buggy used to put the reflectors on the yellow lines, driver uses cordless drill to buzz them down, box of reflectors sitting in passenger seat...

I remember a few years back they were taking all of those up and filling in the divets because so many had come loose and damaged vehicles. I still see news stories about that happening, but I've also seen a lot of new ones recently installed. Maybe they found a new way to do them?

 

[MossRoad]

Well, if you look at the boxes sitting in the passenger seats, it's 3M products. Which usually means tape or glue. I'm sticking with striping of some sort.

 

[ruffdog]

Early testing of the new Tesla pick-up truck. Their attempt to disguise it as a Chevy was not enough as we can all spot the propane fired flux capacitor fuel cell mounted in the back. Early models used 3M products as fuel but proved to be quite costly.

 

[TractorGuy]

Mystery solved. Raised marker crews.

 

[MossRoad]

Man, that job would be scary on most highways!

 

[Diggin It]

I don't think I'd want to be this guy:

Then I see these. I'd think a road full of solar LEDs would be very distracting for some: