4saken's guide to running a lorry
-- DRAFT -- -- DRAFT -- -- DRAFT --
I reliably make a few hundred k a week with my lorry, so don't think it can't be done.
I specialize in the BL-GW run. I use an 8L and run away just fine from anything but a close encounter or head-on.
1) Do not use the lorry alone. You'll attract an awful lot of opposition, and in the flat terrain they will overrun you and that will be it. Put your Scout in your second vehicle if you can, this will allow him to "scout ahead" and get less opposition. A second car can also be used to distract and lure enemies away from your lorry while it escapes.
2) Avoid combat. This is very important. My lorry crew can easily kill a whole squad of enemies on a good day. But there's no guarantee that it's going to be a good day, so it's best not to risk it. When I do fight, I fight at ranges over 100 meters. At under 100m you are going to get hit and lorry armor will not last long. If the enemy is coming at you from the front, you're better off trying to rush past them. My lorry has a ram, sure, but if I hit something I am stuck in the fray, and that's not someplace a lorry never wants to be. On the bright side, any vehicle you hit with a re-ram will cease to be a problem for you.
3) DON'T TURTLE. Sadly, this takes practice, which you can only get by running fast and eventually turtling a few lorries.
4) A high Scout is a REQUIREMENT. Lorries draw lots of attention, and a route may offer many chances to get ambushed. Higher Scouts also mean your typical encounter distance is farther away, which is critical.
An 8L is probably fine (depending on your route). A 9.4L makes you vulnerable in a head-on ambush, even if only one car is in front of you.
As for weapons and such, a re-ram is probably a good idea and won't slow you down too much, Heavy Smokescreens are your friends and a Rocket Booster will help a lot but at the trade-off of a rear weapon slot. A rear CC will give a small speed boost as well.
Other than that any advice would be specific. Ask 10 vets and you'll get 10 different answers as to the best way to go about things. I could give you my personal set-up but it may not be best for your play style, crew, or for that matter the route you want to run.
Good luck with finding out what works for you. I lost many, many lorries and a few good men perfecting my technique and getting my lorry crew down to only 4 people. Most people use heavily armed escorts and a more heavily armed lorry. This is undoubtedly safer but of course takes more crew in total and means much more involved encounters when they do happen.
If anyone is curious my lorry squad is thus:
Lorry: 8L, Re-Ram, lots of smoke, CC/HMG rear and crew that can hit with multiple shots from over 100m away. (My lorry also has side gats but these are for training more than anything if the opportunity presents itself.) Total crew: 3. Note that my driver has a very high dex, allowing them to fire the smoke before most people fire their weapons.
Escort: a Flash with at least a 2LR in it. 1-2 crew (min 100 Scouting skill!) and for me a side gat just in case. My flash is never within 100m of the enemy if I can at all help it but often lingers just outside of this range to lure cars after it. (A muscle car would work as well but the flash is probably a better scout vehicle for scout rolls and has a very low CR).
Note that even with the re-ram, a full load, and only an 8L I can usually just out-drive my pursuers. I only peel off my escort when they get close. Keep in mind that this is in terrain that I am very familiar with.
Good luck. -- DRAFT -- -- DRAFT -- -- DRAFT --
