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Crimson Apparatus
Anyone familiar with this maker? Have you had the same problems?
In a separate matter, another firetruck bought two years ago has all the markings of a lemon. The aerial ladder truck, purchased from Crimson Fire Inc. for $823,000, has been in repair bays for about half of the 23 months it has been in service.
“There have been a number of warranty problems — you name it,” said Maurice Luque, a fire department spokesman.
Problems have arisen with the battery, wiring, windshield-wiper motor, cracks in the frame and hydraulics.
The 100-foot-long, tractor-drawn ladder truck was set to return to service at Station 1 after undergoing its latest set of repairs, but an independent contractor recently noticed several other issues during a routine annual inspection.
The truck has been sent again to a Crimson garage in Anaheim for more repairs.
“Crimson has been very, very responsive working with us,” Luque said.
In a separate matter, another firetruck bought two years ago has all the markings of a lemon. The aerial ladder truck, purchased from Crimson Fire Inc. for $823,000, has been in repair bays for about half of the 23 months it has been in service.
“There have been a number of warranty problems — you name it,” said Maurice Luque, a fire department spokesman.
Problems have arisen with the battery, wiring, windshield-wiper motor, cracks in the frame and hydraulics.
The 100-foot-long, tractor-drawn ladder truck was set to return to service at Station 1 after undergoing its latest set of repairs, but an independent contractor recently noticed several other issues during a routine annual inspection.
The truck has been sent again to a Crimson garage in Anaheim for more repairs.
“Crimson has been very, very responsive working with us,” Luque said.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Barry Davis on
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We have 2 Engines, and a Heavy Rescue, and what few problems that we have had over the years have been handled very quick and efficently by Crimson or their local warranty associate. We look foward to dealing with them in the future
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Jay,
They sell a bunch of apparatus here in Texas. A former Chief from a neighboring department works for the exclusive dealer here in Texas. He tells me that almost all apparatus builders have problems on occasion, but he has not seen one instance where the company didn't jump in to get the problems solved. I have seen several trucks, pumpers and tankers around here, and they appear to be quite well built, and have many features others don't have.
Personally, and from a maintenance point of view, have physically seen more issues with a well known company out of Florida than I have with Crimson. Understand though, I am not, nor will I recommend a particular company over another, and I have no interest in any manufacturer or company.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Did I read here was a crack in the frame....? In my book they would have just bought it back from you....
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Permalink Reply by Tony Leonard,Jr. on
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Crack In The Frame??!!!! As a former employee of a Apparatus Builder,they at least should remount the truck (new chassis)if not replace it completely,instead of replacing it one piece at a time.If not the get rid of it.Check your department contract for the truck A Total Replacement Clause that may be in there.
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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on
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I am not, nor have I ever been, in charge of purchasing/advance maintenance of apparatus. This was a name I'd never heard of before. I may need to ask around and find out why the change in manufacturers. Part of the 1 dept-1 manufacturer theory is that it is easier to maintain your fleet. 20 years ago that wasn't the case. I felt for the DC in charge of the shops. He had at least 5 different makes in the fleet.
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Permalink Reply by Eng Co 4 on
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I wonder how Crimson proposes to "repair" a crack in a frame??
You can't drill into a frame, so splice plates are not an option.
You can't weld on a frame as this also compromises the integrity.
Welding will instantly void ANY DOT cert and thus the vehicle
is now one big liability. Splicing, unless done by a certified frame
facility is also reason to void DOT certs.
I agree with the others. If I were the chief or engineer for the
department I would REQUIRE a NEW chassis at the very least,
and a COMPLETE VEHICLE REPLACEMENT WITH PREVENTIVE
MODIFICATIONS at the very most!
Even if your contract doesn't have a vehicle replacement clause
you may have redress under Federal and possibly your State "Lemon
Laws". I would also bring up the DOT issues with the manufacturer's
rep when discussing this issue with him. Should be a "motivating"
factor towards a favorable settlement.
And no matter what, I wouldn't want to drive, operate or trust my
life to an EMERGENCY/SEVERE-SERVICE VEHICLE that has had ANY
"repairs" to a CRACKED or damaged frame or major running gear due
to stress/usage failures. This shows poor design, engineering and
quality control.
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Permalink Reply by neil e. huss on
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my former fire co. perryville vol. fire co. has a 75 ft. ladder truck from quality it's a 1999 sparten / lti ladder on it .. the only problem's i know of are with the paint so far .... my present dept. darlington vol. fire co. has an a 1996 quality engine on a sparten with a short wheelbase.. and a 2005 air/ light rescue on a ford f550 crew cab witch was built by crimson . the only problem's with them have also been paint ... except the motor in the ford , it's a 6.0 which is known to be junk ..
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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I heard of Crimson,But know nota about them
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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It's easy - just replace the cracked frame member. The "repairs" are to the apparatus, not to the cracked frame member.
Any frame member can crack. It can result from an unseen defect in the metal, a bubble of non-standard metallurgy in the casting, being overloaded by the end user, or by being driven too fast on rough roads or over traffic calming devices.
The issue isn't necessarily a poor design, poor engineering, or poor quality control by the manufacturer - it might be due to blatant abuse in how the vehicle is driven. Without more information, there's simply no way to know for sure.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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My department purchased a KME tillered 100-foot ladder truck. Having worked in my departments logistics section for awhile, I worked with vehicle repairs, servicing, and replacement. Is there a fire engine manufacturer out there that is rock solid? Sure sounds like Crimson Fire is not one of them.
As mentioned in prior posts, most of these companies jump on repairs to keep their reputation intact. We have had problems with our apparatus like the photo below that shows the truck catching on fire... something about the hydraulic pump that operates the ladder... things just go wrong, they get fixed and eventually break again.
As the Chief stated, what is not known is how the rig in question was driven and used. We have had many problems that involved a manufacturer defect. For the most part, they were immediately repaired. We've had problems with our engines and brush trucks as well, a lot having to do with how sophisticated the various operating systems are in conjunction with working together... Lot's of electronics and wiring issues...
One thing is for certain, you cannot modify or attempt to beat the system by doing the repairs yourself if you want to keep your warranty. Things go wrong, it's just a hassle like Jay said to have your rig down and in the shop more than on the road, and actually being used for what you paid for.
CBz
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We have a new fleet of Crimson pumpers with two Crimson quints under construction. We've had some minor teething pains with some of the vehicles, but the company has provided excellent customer service.
Crimson built two additional pumpers to our specs, and at least one of them has been sold to a Massachussets department. They had to do some relatively minor changes for winterization, but according to what I've heard, they're very happy with their Crimson as well.
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