Hi Guys, we are a few years away from replacing our main Pumper and was wondering what most of your thoughts were on the matter? We are in a rural area not supplied by alot of hydrants so I think getting the water and 3 guys to the fire scene was better than waiting 8 extra minutes to have 5 members show up, we have a manpower/equiment vehicle that will carry up to 15 members in seat belts (last vehicle out rolls after 8 minutes). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Ehh.lol
I won't pretend to know the operational requirements for your dept.. somethings I would want to know though. How often in the past would you have utilized an 8 man cab. You may be spending a lot of money on something that you rarely used. If you had a smaller cab, would you still have enough seats in other equipment to get all or most of your FF to a scene. I would rather respond with 2 4-man engines than 1 8 man. Or a truck 2nd out. The last engine we bought we could have spent $40K for a front suction. After thinking long and hard, we couldn't remember the last time we had used the one we already had.
im not sure of your situation but we have a 2000 pierce contender on an International Commerical Chassis... We have a regular cab because we need the shorter wheelbase then have a Crew/MultiCab rig.... We love ours and are looking at a second alought our second one will probably be a smeal.Typically our response to calls dosent justify a crewcab. We just couldnt fill it 2-3 is all wwe get per rig to most calls. As for rehab and warmth we have a Equipment/rescue truck that serves this purpose. But sit down and look at the needs of your department, the area you serve (E.G. the width of roads, are they narrow how bout driveways, fill sites....) the types of calls you go one.... Choose what you can afford and what you need. Thats all I have
I have worked with both and think custom is the way to go. Commercials are just not made to stand up to firemen and if you get a custom you can do just that, CUSTOMIZE. Plus the AC in commercials is not enough to cool firemen in the back seats w/ gear on. Pierce contenders are a less expensive option with great quality.