WE ARE PURCASING A 75' QUINT, ANY PRO/CON ON MANUFACTURES

LOOKING FOR INFO, ON TRUCK BRANDS AND THEIR PRO'S AND CON'S.
90% OF OUR FLEET IS PIERCE. THE LAST 2 WE HAVE PURCHASED FROM
LA FRANCE. IMPUTE ON QUALITY AND RELIABILITY WOULD BE GREAT.
THANKS.

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Permalink Reply by richard k stanley on April 7, 2008 at 9:25pm
i prefer e-one cuz they last forever if you take care of them
Permalink Reply by DEADENDDUCKY on April 13, 2008 at 1:32am
once again thanks for everyones input.
Permalink Reply by Sgt226 on April 13, 2008 at 7:20am
I work on the same department as Engine 32 Lt. What he says about our Seagrave is on the money. I have also had some experience with Ferrara and find their 77 foot heavy duty ladder to be an extremely well built truck.
One thing that is an extra on the Ferrara is the blue rung lighting that illuminates the climbing path at night. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really helps.
Another thing about our Seagrave. We had an EMS compartment placed inside the cab and it works great, except it is a tad too shallow, be aware of this. Also, we have run out of room in our exterior compartments. I recommend putting together an inventory of everything you are going to carry and let your rep help you build the truck.
Good Luck
Permalink Reply by Wes Anders on April 13, 2008 at 9:32am
Ive heard form several sorces that some La France trucks have had electrical problems same with E One, and with La France going bankrupt no telling what kind of service your going to get. And on that note you should look in to your tanks also I work for Plas-Mac we build polyproplene tanks most of the tank companies dont honor there warranty but we do and we build the best tank in the industry. We got started build tanks for the BLM and they are still one of our biggest customers. You can spec you truck with a Plas-Mac tank just like you do with any other piece of equipment. Sorry for the commercial but I am a assistant chief on our dept and I have used these tanks they are what i claim and if you have an issue we come to you and repair it. www.firetrucktanks.com
Permalink Reply by LFD63 on April 13, 2008 at 1:42pm
First things first, who are the major truck manufacturers that are within 100 miles of your respective fire department? If there is one thing that can be the biggest problem it is having to get the truck serviced after you have taken delivery of it, and there is no one around that can service your truck. That should be one of the major determining factors in your apparatus replacement program. It’s great to get a Ferrara but is there is no service company local to you then what are you going to do with everyday problems and bugs? Look at your service end of the truck, if switches and sensors go bad, what is the turn around time to get replacement parts and then have them installed properly. Joe Bob’s garage might be “Detroit, Cat, Allison, or Cummins” qualified mechanics, but do they know anything about fire apparatus, hydraulics for the ladder system, waterous or hale pumps, do they know how to properly jack your cab over and make sure that everything is secured inside before doing so? Hopefully you have a committee put in place for the task at hand. Make sure that once you have looked at all your options for a replacement piece that you go over every detail, that you could possibly want on the apparatus, have the manufacturer install everything, if you want an MP3/CD player installed have them do it, if you plan on going with laptop computers some where down the road have them pre-wire that in also. Once you have taken delivery of this piece, now is the time to get everyone trained on it and work the living hell out of it. You stated that you have two trucks that are not housed in the busiest station, in your area. You need to get these trucks out on the street, and go through the motions with them. It’s better to find out that your truck has problems before the warranty runs out than after. We purchased four KME’s to replace our fleet of trucks, the only problem that we have had so far is that the 75 Firestix that we purchased sat in a station that couldn’t get the piece out and the truck never got put into service the way that it should have. Now the piece is out of warranty, in a new station that gets it out on every call, and we are just now finding all of the little problems that we would have if the piece had gotten run through the motions from day one. Luckily for us, KME has a service division that is close enough by that when we do have mechanical problems that need attention they can get to us pretty quickly. One thing that I would look into is an articulated squrt. If you do not need the ladder that is the way to go. Very versatile as far as being able to place the master stream almost anywhere. Good luck, be patient, and don’t get talked into a truck you don’t want or might not even need. Look at your mutual aid that surrounds you, and say do we need to spend this on another piece, or can we use the monies for training, gear, whatever. Once again, good luck and happy hunting.
Permalink Reply by DJ Kerr on April 13, 2008 at 10:15pm
Stick with Pierce. We have a 105' a 95' and a 75' Truck Co's and couldn't be happier. Quantum cab is the way to go.
Permalink Reply by Michael on April 16, 2008 at 8:56am
Delaware is heavily Pierce and in my Opinion is without a doubt the best product. The only product probably not. E One is rumored to be in serious trouble. If LaFrance comes out of Bankruptcy OK, which the story is they will. That is an option. I have to agree with Mr. Kerr, a 75 ft. Quint on a Quantam or the new Velocity would be awesome.
Permalink Reply by turk182 on April 16, 2008 at 1:48pm
A 3 fire departments around us all have KME'S, they all are in the shop more than they are at calls. The one closest to us had to send it back to factory because the local repair shops could not find out why it would shut off while going around right hand turns.

We all joke around that it's funny all the new trucks around and the one that make it to the calls are Macks from the seventies and eighties.
Permalink Reply by Engine 32 Capt. on April 16, 2008 at 1:59pm
Amen to that! That was when they used to build REAL fire trucks! We still have an old mack here. It's our back-up piece. We used to have all Macks but they've been phasing them out.
Permalink Reply by Brandon on April 16, 2008 at 3:07pm
spartan/smeal is a nice piece But also pierce is a realy nice truck also
Permalink Reply by Barbara Nelson on April 17, 2008 at 8:50pm
Our District has a Pierce Engine and Quint. We really like them. Our Quint is in the April Fire Engineering 2008 magazine in the back in the apparatus deliveries section if you want to look at what we have and what is on it. (Stayton Fire District the yellow one) The one thing that I would really encourage you to do is to get the 105 foot stick not the 75. The districts around us that have the 75 all say that the wish that they had the 105 foot and I can tell you the extra 30 feet come in handy with the houses that have deep front yards and 2 story houses. Just something you might think about.
Permalink Reply by ZACH on April 18, 2008 at 1:19am
well DO NOT GET ROSENBAUER they absolutely suck all plastic we are gettin rid of ours and goin just engine the best compnay we have no problems wit is kme check out our web site fortjohnsonfire.com and ull see the quint its a good parade trucks but its crap on a firescene um our whole station 1 is all kme station 2 well its central states....for now lol

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