Thank you everyone for all the help!! The single large foot print tires are a great help. Again thank you all for your replies and ideas and truck pics!! stay safe stay true
I want to say this the super single tires are not the best for trucks I feel I drive a tractor trailer a we run the super singals.With the singles you have 3/4 inch more tread on the ground and they are lighter than the dauls but they cant take the torcher that dauls can.If you have a flat your down and if its a blow out while driving you will probaly ruin the rim.They can not take rubbing up against the curbs or leaving the road way ruff terrain.I much more perferr duals cause if one tire blows you can still limp the truck down the road or get it off the road without destoring the rim
This is the truck we've had since 1964.
Top speed is only about 48 mph but it will go anywhere and just about over,around,or through just about anything we have thrown at it over the years.
I can say that I like the dual rear wheels and personally would not have single wheels but that is my preference.
Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the traction issue has more to do with gearing and driver skill than anything else.Up here in my neck of the woods we would not be able to get through the woods most of the time with a 6x6.
I still think that if somebody would build a small truck along the lines of the old Howes they would make a mint.
but... you are so screwed if you get a flat tire... plus you have less surface area on the ground. this rig for our needs would be too small and light duty to keep up, but I do like the color scheme. and while brush fires for us require a lot of off road four-wheel driving, having rocks and debris getting caught in between the tires has not been a significant problem compared to getting stuck someplace.
Like most of the questions asked on here there is no real correct answer. It depends on what you want to do with the truck, and your terrain.
In our countywide department we have dual wheel commercial built brush pumpers on Ford Super Duty dually chassis, two International Chassis CAFS pumpers, and skid unit 1 ton single wheel brush trucks and they all serve a purpose.
A few years back I was the Operations Officer on a large interface fire we had where we sent one of the Super Dutys and one of the skid unit trucks. Were it not for the skid unit truck being able to maneuver in behind a couple residences we likely would have lost them. The Super Duty brush pumper was essentially useless because we couldn't get in close enough to make a difference.
Now when access is equal I like the fact that the Super Duty brush pumpers have more water because that means less down time filling up....but I have seen enough access problems with the larger trucks that I hope we keep a few of the skid units in service.
Have to agree that there is no real correct answer. I like our 1 ton unit with more water and duals for the water it carries, but when weight and agility are needed the single 3/4 ton unit fits just right. Do your needs analysis and risk management work and you specific need will be pretty evident.
Our first out untits are all singles we have a large amount of pasture and backwoods fires that require the slimmer wheel base and we try to eliminate the getting a dualy stuck in the mud factor...all of our units have from monitors and foams systems on used chassis built for under 35k and never had a problem