Roll up doors

[FIREMECH1]

I guess I know who the dinosaurs are now, who are against change and evolution. How sad.

FM1

[DeputyMarshal]

I know where I am from, the law enforment agencies do their best to keep that traffic flowing and not shut down the road.

We don't shut down the road unnecessarily but the safety of firefighters working at the roadside is a clear necessity. It doesn't always make the LEOs happy but it isn't up to them. (I don have to note that as the number of LEOs struck and killed along the roadsides increases, their objections to lane/road closures has steadily declined.)

Seems to be more positives towards the roll ups. I use mostly all hinged which I do not have a problem with but I have seen the negatives from them first hand.

Having used both, I'm not arguing that roll ups are necessarily bad but they're certainly not without their own unique flaws. Choosing them just because they're trendy is a poor practice. They aren't always necessarily the best choice for every application just by virtue of being the new "in thing."

[DeputyMarshal]

That you live in a world in which you think you're always right.

If that were the case, we'd be next door neighbors. :P

[DeputyMarshal]

but each has its place in my view. Sometimes its more practical to use a hinged door versus a roll-up

Heresy! You mean it's not a case of one or the other, black and white, one size must fit all!?!?! Is that even possible in the fire service?

Thanks for agreeing with me. I was beginning to think I was the only sane one left.

Like I said, I feel they both have their place on vehicles.

[DeputyMarshal]

Jeez...fightin' over what type of door is on the rig. Pathetic. The simple fact is it doesn't matter what kind of door a rig has...

...just as long as it's red and has smoothbore nozzles and 8 lb. axes behind it.

Agreed. Because that's where smoothbore nozzles belong; in a compartment not at the end of a pre-connect. :P

[mcwops]

Our volly department rigs are a mixture of hinged and roll up doors. In the tight space of our current station, the roll up doors do seem to work better, it gets tight between rigs when a hinged door is open.

The ARFF department I am on has two trucks, one older truck with hinges, and one new truck with roll up doors. We haven't had any issues with either.

[ChiefKN]

(1) Recall fondly how you never had this problem with traditional hinged doors.
(2) Remove troublesome roll up doors.
(3) Replace with traditional hinged doors.
(4) Rejoice in the restoration of storage space wasted for roll-up doors.
(5) Remember this when you spec your next apparatus.

Clearly you felt what you wrote above... the horrors of roll ups.

Seriously? I've never seen any reason to switch to roll-ups other than because we could. Hinged doors require maintenance, too, but far less of it than roll ups; they can store tools as noted above or they can even serve as a sheltor for the pump operator if they're hinged upwards; and, most of all, they don't waste space inside the compartment. I've yet to come up with any reason why a roll-up is a better choice than a hinged door.

No reason to switch... here you advocate for hinged over roll up.

Unlikely to understand what? Wasted compartment space is the same wherever you go.

Yes, those bad ol' roll ups....

Having used both, I'm not arguing that roll ups are necessarily bad but they're certainly not without their own unique flaws. Choosing them just because they're trendy is a poor practice. They aren't always necessarily the best choice for every application just by virtue of being the new "in thing."

Wait, huh? Now they aren't bad? Holy smokes, the tide has turned!

Heresy! You mean it's not a case of one or the other, black and white, one size must fit all!?!?! Is that even possible in the fire service?

Thanks for agreeing with me. I was beginning to think I was the only sane one left.

Now you sit in the middle and claim the territory as yours all along.

What an interesting transition. 3 more pages and you'll be selling roll ups.

[J.Beck]

Good stuff Chief..

[DeputyMarshal]

Clearly you felt what you wrote above... the horrors of roll ups.

More like roll-ups aren't a panacea to serve all purposes.

No reason to switch... here you advocate for hinged over roll up.

And I still do in many cases. The point is that roll-ups aren't inherently "better" than hinged doors. If roll-ups are giving you grief; switch back. Maybe you made a poor choice.

Holy smokes, the tide has turned!

Now you sit in the middle and claim the territory as yours all along.

No, it's just never been a black or white issue as far as I'm concerned. Like everything else in the fire service there's a tendency to run to the latest gimmick. When roll-ups came into favor, they were suddenly the only way to go. Damn their shortcomings and banish the thought that they might not be the best choice for every application every time.

What an interesting transition.

Did it take three pages to notice that I never said that roll-ups don't have their uses -- they just aren't perfect and there are times when plain old hinged doors are more appropriate.

We might as well argue over which end of the end to open: little endians versus big endians...

[ChiefKN]

No, it's just never been a black or white issue as far as I'm concerned.

Riigghht...

I'll just leave it at that.

[islandfire03]

We've got both types of doors.

The hinged doors seem to wear out the gas shocks in about a 2 year period and the latches need to be adjusted periodically to keep them closed tight against the weather seals & the door open switches..

The roll up's need to be cleaned and the tracks brushed out every so often. We use anodized ROM doors and other than a little cleaning they've been ok as far as wear & adjustment are concerned.
Some of the other brands not so much.

[ThNozzleman]

Agreed. Because that's where smoothbore nozzles belong; in a compartment not at the end of a pre-connect. :P

What's a "pre-connect??"