Booster Reel v. cloth or rubber jacketed hose

[Firemedic070]

What do you use on your ARFF Crash Trucks for attack lines. We are designing a new Crash Truck and want to know what people use out there. Also whats a good make of truck, we have Oshkosh Striker 1500's (first generation), they are not so reliable and not driver friendly. Looking for a 3000 gallon unit with a Snozzel unit.

[DFurtman]

I have experience with driving a Oshkosh T-3000.. Great vehicle, rides well, reliable..

My old base had removed the rubber booster reels off of our P-19s and replaced the boosters with 200 ft of accordion loaded 1 3/4...

-Damien

[FFWALT]

Our department has a 2001 E-One Titan.

In one compartment we have 200' of 1 3/4" cloth triple loaded and stacked on its side for water and foam use.

Another compartment has a booster reel with two hoses in a sleeve. The nozzle has two bales as well. It allows for discharging water and foam out of one line and the other is for Purple K. You could discharge just Purple K, just water or both combined.

Regarding the truck itself the thing I like most about it is the valve that allows the booster reel to be blown out with air off of the trucks brake system.

I am not a fan of E-One but everyone has their views. Rosenbauer has some interesting looking ARFF apparatus available. One thing that I don't understand is why our apparatus does not have a raised roof with windows to the front or at least windows overhead to allow for watching for air traffic since our airport doesn't have a tower.

[fire49]

http://www.coletsvd.com/

[mcwops]

We have a Striker 1500 with a booster reel on one side and preconnected 1 3/4 on the other. Deciding which to use depends on how many personnel are available (sometimes only 1), amount of water, and need for dry chem (booster line is dual agent).

As for our Striker, it has had its issues, but nothing that would deter me from buying another. I can't imagine any other truck as big, powerful, and complicated working perfectly over time.