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Brush Trucks - Single Rear Wheel or Duals?
My department is going to be purchasing a truck to put a skid unit in and we are having differed opinions on single or dual rear wheels. What does everyone have and what are your pros and cons?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on
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Doug just like what has been said in here like from Ralph & Ted-----Weight (GVWR) and Water (How much Water). What you get into is: lets stop and thank a little bit here, First question you need to ask yourself is how much water you want to put on the truck...And the reason for this is lets say you want a F-350 with dual rear wheels, that truck will have a 13,000 GVWR and a single rear wheel will have a 10,000 GVWR...So with this it tells you the water load in conjunction with the body (Steel or Aluminum) and equipment and not to forget your men is less...Most generally on a F-350 with dual rear wheels I do 300 gal's of water or less and thats with a V-10 gas triton engine or the 6.4L Power stroke diesel, On a single rear axle 200 gal's max. On a F-450 that truck will have a 16,500 GVWR so in this case I design a apparatus to carry a load of 400 gal or less and with the F-550 you have a standard GVWR of 17,950 with an option of going to a 19,500 with a maximum water load up to 700 gal and that is by going with an aluminum body but most generally I do 500 gals or less on a 17,750 GVWR (That’s the most popular). But one thing you need to take into conjunction with this is your Terrain and what you’re going to be using the Apparatus for. Is it going to be just a brush truck? Is it going to be run as a squad, And so on...And I have all ready said it (equipment)...You going to CAFS, class A foam, Class B foam Size of pump, (is it gas or diesel)...Everything you do adds weight to that cab and chassis...And what ever you do try to buy a cab and chassis unless your wanting to do a pick-up style type...Because most of brush trucks have flat beds or utility beds...And what im getting at is if you do a cab & chassis in a ford you have four (4) to pick from a 60" cab to axle, 84" cab to axle, 108" cab to axle and the longest 120" cab to axle with a 201" wheel base and on a pick-up you might be starting out at 56" and if you want to later put a flat bed on that truck its going to be very very short and very tough to put the equipment you might need in that small area.... And something else that’s brand new thru ford is most of your 2010 chassis are gone and the 2011 will be hitting the ground around May of this year and with those new trucks coming out they have made allot of changes...Like the Diesel engines have went to a 6.7 liter verses the 6.4 liter and the gas engines in the F-350 that you use to get a V-10 is gone, that’s right!!! No More!!! You have a 6.2 liter V-8...Yep No More V-10's in the F-350...The V-10 will only be available in the F-450 & F-550. But Ford is claiming the new 6.2L is suppose to be just as strong as the V-10...Anyway good luck Brother and be safe out there and I hope this spread some light for ya.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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I stand corrected with my comment because as you pointed out, it all depend on how much water you are carrying. Making a flat out comment that duals are the only way is silly. What was I thinking? Oh yea, getting stuck...
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and all this was just off the top of your head... whoa! impressive Chief, very impressive.
CBz
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Permalink Reply by BillySFCVFD on
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I must agree with Trainer's comments. Here's why. During the Korean War the US military found out that dual rear wheels led to what Trainer stated, they turn in to one big slick and bogs down in mud and sand. A new version of the 2 1/2 ton truck was build during that time with single tires the M211, specifically built for that theater (and BTW with an auto trans too). That design went by the wayside and dual were back in by the early '60s. I personally witnessed duals turning in to big slicks in Korea during the eighties. Currently and since the late '80s the mainstay of tactical military trucks used by US Ground Forces are single tires along with the Central Tire Inflation System.
Now I'm not suggesting FDs convert thier off road trucks to this design. Your dept could go broke doing that. The US military's reseach has them believing it works best over all but maybe not everywhere. Your service area might dictate duals are better but maybe not. Just something to think about. TCSS
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Permalink Reply by Sparky on
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depends on your topigraphical area. and the size water tank and equipment and how you will use it. A 6x6. migh want to consider a crew cab if man power dictate's and of course the dept budget. we have a combination brush unit that is set up for both structual and wildland fires as well as urban face. That I think would be your best bet, great for mutural aid.
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Well thats what I do on my spare time, I design apparatus all across this great nation. And 99% of the ones I do are on a Ford cab & chassis.
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Permalink Reply by Bryce Zitterich on
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Hey Doug, One thing you might look into is going through your forestry department and see what they have for vehicle programs. The 2 1/2 ton above was free through our forestry department. We bought and installed the tank, pump, hoses and tool boxes. Quite a cost savings.
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Permalink Reply by Trainer on
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The new 6.7 in the Ford is I believe a Cummins, best motor on the market. Chevy also has many choices, 3500,4500,5500,6500 and I think a 7500. But back to his post, you can get "superwides" as a direct replacment to duals.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel H Skelton on
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my dept has a f-350 with dual wheels 350 skid tank. its no stump jumper but it gets the job done. just remember one thing thats a lot of waight going through the woods and it dosnt take much to get stuck.
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Permalink Reply by Justin/ F-225 on
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Most definately a single rear wheel. We were fighting the largest brush fire I have ever saw first hand. It was a large field in CRP. I called for 2 departments for mutual aid and the both have duallys. When they arrived they both looked at it and said "we can take this out there". Talk about being furious. So we had to single handidly fight the fire with our new 2008 F-350 Super Duty. We carry 300gal with a 250 gpm pump. We were able to get it out no thanks to the duallys.
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Permalink Reply by DB on
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Honestly, for our department a fire department Humvee is the best around, for power and access to anything anywhere!! But the ahah(lava rock) is too tough on anything else for tires here on the big island!
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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We have a 2008 Ford F350 with a 150 gal. skid unit and single rear wheels. Haven't had an issue with getting were we needed to go and doing what needed to be done.
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