I have been galavanting around the country for the last week and a half from drag races in Florida to a big media conference in California. In between those two things, I had a couple of days to kill and Chad was tied up with family stuff so I hooked up with my pal Elana Scherr and her beau Tom to stay at their place for a couple days. They’re super cool people and great friends who happened to have a day off on Monday and knowing me like they do, the pair figured out some cool stuff for us to do that day. Knowing me like they do, Elana and Tom decided to bring me to a place the likes of which I’ll never forget.
Since the early 1970s Veluzat Military Vehicle Rentals has been the premier place that rents stuff like tanks, jeeps, and trucks to movie companies who are making war films, television shows, and other productions in need to heavy iron to set the scene. They’ve done nearly 1,000 movies and television shows during that time and one of the reasons is because they have an incredible inventory of vehicles. Simply put, we wandered around this joint and were given clearance to take photos and show you exactly what the guys have on the “lot”. So what do they have?
Tanks by the dozens, innumerable trucks, Jeeps from flatfender Willys to CJ5 and CJ7 models, armored personnel carriers, cranes, hot rods, fancy cars, and even 1970s era desert racing trucks that were used at races like the Firecracker 500 and other notable jaunts through the rocks and sand. Everything you are going to see in this gallery is real steel, but not all of it is “real” so to speak. The tanks are all actual tanks but some are dressed up, meaning that what looks like an Abrams may actually be a British Challenger or a T72 Russian unit or something along those lines.
The army trucks range from M715s to huge 5-ton jobs, along with a totally BangShift approved 7-ton Mercedes that was imported into the country decades ago and has been used in several films. These guys did movies like Red Dawn, Rambo, etc.
I could go on all day but I’m not going to. The below gallery is a visual tour of the Veluzat Military Vehicles inventory. Visiting this place was one of the coolest experiences of my gearhead life. I asked for one of their several Sherman tanks to take home….request DENIED.
HIT THE LINK BELOW TO SEE AN AMAZING ARRAY OF EQUIPMENT FROM VELUZAT MILITARY RENTALS –
GALLERY OF WIN: 
Yummy. One of my uncles is friends with the guy that provided the Humvees for the Wolverine movie, his stuff is cool but no tanks, there is a BBC powered White Halftrac that occasionally hits the streets of Spokane in his pile thought. Guy has some cool stories too.
Way cool! I didn’t even know that place existed!
I wonder how many blonde blue-eyed Germans come by just to reminisce?
When I worked as an extra on Jericho, they had a tank on set parked right next to my ’65 Impala. It was really an old British Centurian tank disguised to look like an Abrams. This wasn’t a cardboard and paper mache disguise either. Several tons of welded on panels and cannon barrel extension were added to it.
The set was basically a narrow street that had a zig-zag in the middle and a 90* turn to the right. They backed that thing down the street and parked it next to my car that was already there. I had to leave and pray I wouldn’t hear an awful metallic crunch.
That’s pretty cool but I know a place north of Atlanta where you can rent a tank and crush a car with it.
http://www.tanktownusa.com
I was there last summer. I got to crush some GM cars. I loved it.
This place is a military buffs wet dream.
kinda sad seeing those cool old vehicles covered in rust doesnt look like there much rental business if there letting them rot away like that
Where are pics of Elena?
Oops! Elana…
They are also Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita 😉 …my brother knows them well…
http://www.veluzat.com/