New Brush Truck

[simpleguy68]

Just wanted to post pics of our new brush truck:
2011 Ford F550
6.8L V10
Automatic transmission
250 gallon tank
Hale HP200 with Rowe Industries Eliminator CAFS, two foam tanks
CAFS to whiplines, reel, and 1-3/4"
4" lift
36x15.5R20 tires
Warn 16.5ti winches, front and rear

[simpleguy68]

Forgot to mention the truck was built by Freedom Fire Apparatus in Marietta, Georgia.

[CaptOldTimer]

Looks good and if it works great then you guys should be happy.

[SFD_E73_RET]

Looks nice, congratulations on your new rig.

[Nozzle nut 22]

Nice! Keep us posted. Too clean tho- it needs some mud, dust, minor dings and scratches!

[Rescue101]

Where's the gas trailer? hehe. Nicely done,well laid out from what I can see. T.C.

[simpleguy68]

So far, so good.

First call was a reported large brush fire. Arrived on scene to find a 24'x36' storage shed fully involved with heavy fire on the rear porch of the manufactured home. 1-3/4" CAFS line knocked the fire down on the porch and saved the home.

Also responded to a car fire, arriving to find TWO cars fully involved. Knocked both of those down using less than 500 gallons of water (tanker was second in).

But the gas mileage is TERRIBLE, around 4.2MPG or so. But talking to guys that own some of the new diesels and they're only getting around 7MPG, so not as big a drop as one might think. Certainly didn't offset the additional $8k in purchase price for the oil-burner, plus the 500lbs of additional weight, AND the higher exhaust temps.

Some things that need to be addressed are the man-gates behind the cab. Made from aluminum, they're just too lightweight and are going to have to be reinforced.

[Fyrtrks]

Now that is a nice brush truck. I would reinforce the gates with 2 pieces of tube stock and some tread-plate on the bottom 1/3, this would ad weight, strength and durability. I might have used some front ground sweeps with that truck.

[k1500chevy97]

So far, so good.

First call was a reported large brush fire. Arrived on scene to find a 24'x36' storage shed fully involved with heavy fire on the rear porch of the manufactured home. 1-3/4" CAFS line knocked the fire down on the porch and saved the home.

Also responded to a car fire, arriving to find TWO cars fully involved. Knocked both of those down using less than 500 gallons of water (tanker was second in).

But the gas mileage is TERRIBLE, around 4.2MPG or so. But talking to guys that own some of the new diesels and they're only getting around 7MPG, so not as big a drop as one might think. Certainly didn't offset the additional $8k in purchase price for the oil-burner, plus the 500lbs of additional weight, AND the higher exhaust temps.

Some things that need to be addressed are the man-gates behind the cab. Made from aluminum, they're just too lightweight and are going to have to be reinforced.

Sounds like a hell of a lil rig.
Good choice going with the V-10 thats a tough tried and true gasser. The Ford diesels havent been worth a crap since the 7.3 went bye bye.

[ChathamVFD9921]

How much did you guys pay? If you dont mind me asking...

[ADC120]

Really wish y'all wouldn't have ordered that truck... Our chief saw the truck while it was being built @ Freedom, I think he's totally forgotten the new tanker we're getting from them next month! Guess what he wants now!!!

[pyromedic802]

What did yall do on the rims and tires, yalls look like the super single units.

WE took delivery of ours a month or so back as a 2011 F-550 Crew cab Pwerstroke that purrs like a kitten, I just wish we had upgraded to the larger CAFS from Rowe, He is a standup guy, we have the small unit that we bought when we had a truck go down and we bought it to get it quick. Our previous Chief thought that we should keep it simple for our volunteers, but failed to realize that that unit will decent on brush fires cant supply multplie whip lines or a single 1-3/4", which he designed despite teh objections by us volunteers who have been around. Now we are still here, we have a nice brush that could have been really capable with teh larger CAFS/

There are no 19.5 tires of any grip for decent offroad traction that I can find in the US. The only tires with any bite are retreads from treadwright.com They have 2 nice styles but I cant get anyone on my dept to consider them due to "retread". There are more standard on retreads than on new tires, they are about a 1/3rd the cost of a new one.

Was this a Forest Service grant unit ?

Good job on kicking butt with the 1-3/4 CAFS to knock it down fast, we have been a CAFS user since the early 80s and it can make a difference in knockdown.

Stay safe.

[RoaddoggAK]

There are no 19.5 tires of any grip for decent offroad traction that I can find in the US. The only tires with any bite are retreads from treadwright.com They have 2 nice styles but I cant get anyone on my dept to consider them due to "retread". There are more standard on retreads than on new tires, they are about a 1/3rd the cost of a new one.

Stay safe.

Try these.

http://www.wanlitires.com/products.php

We have the S3012 in 19.5" on ours. They're made in China, but have held up fairly well as a drive tire on our F-450. Steer tire, not so much, but never expected the steers to last near as long as a drive in this aggressive of a pattern. We don't do a lot of off road travel, but they handle well in the snow we get around here.

[simpleguy68]

How much did you guys pay? If you dont mind me asking...

IIRC, the final price was just under $117k and was partially paid for with a Texas Forest Service grant for the skid unit. We'd already gotten a tanker grant a few years back, so they won't give you two truck grants, but will give a grant for a skid unit. That covered nearly $36k of the purchase price.

[simpleguy68]

What did yall do on the rims and tires, yalls look like the super single units.

...I just wish we had upgraded to the larger CAFS from Rowe, He is a standup guy, we have the small unit that we bought when we had a truck go down and we bought it to get it quick. Our previous Chief thought that we should keep it simple for our volunteers, but failed to realize that that unit will decent on brush fires cant supply multplie whip lines or a single 1-3/4", which he designed despite teh objections by us volunteers who have been around. Now we are still here, we have a nice brush that could have been really capable with teh larger CAFS...

Truck was sent off by Freedom and converted to super singles on 20" wheels and Mickey Thompson Baja tires.

Yeah, we looked at the basic Wildland unit from Rowe, but upgraded to the Wildland Interface to be able to get the 1-3/4" CAFS line. Plus we wanted to upgrade from the FoamPro 1600 to the 2001 and they couldn't do that with the basic Wildland.

Department down the street went with the basic unit and were disappointed when they found out that it didn't have CAFS to the 1-3/4", especially when they put it on a rescue-style body and intended to run it on vehicle fires. Sad thing is they didn't do there homework and were convinced they had 1-3/4" CAFS until I showed them the difference in the two units.

[simpleguy68]

Really wish y'all wouldn't have ordered that truck... Our chief saw the truck while it was being built @ Freedom, I think he's totally forgotten the new tanker we're getting from them next month! Guess what he wants now!!!

Yeah, from what I understand Freedom has gotten a LOT of inquiries because of this truck. From what I understand, this was the first they built like this...

[pyromedic802]

Thanks for the info on the tires, when they sent the truck off did they do the lift kit and suspension upgrades ? When we bought our original it was an off the lot type deal with only one CAFS being able t obe bought quick. The original unit has done real well but is not able to handle multiple discharges at the same time or the 1-3/4" line. We have other units that do have those capabilities, but yall did good in upgrading to the foampro and the larger compressor and the Hale pump. Did they send the unit to the outfit in the carolinas to get the mods on the tires and lift? I cant think of the outfit but he has some really innovative ideas for wildland units.

Thannks erie for the info on the link to the China based tires. Those were ones I had seen along with some from South America. I am really wanting to get a set of retreads for evaluation. The super single is the best solution but it is hard to explain to the council and to some on our dept that 1500 per axel is a good investment. My take on that is that we do not always have the luxury of choosing the best access or egress, I would rather spend the money on more capable tires, than to stick a unit and get rolled over by flames. Texas lost 2 FF this because of burnovers during the wildfires back in April. IT all goes back to being safe and keeping an eye on what is going on around you but wildland fires can be more unpredictable than a structure at times.

Stay safe.

[simpleguy68]

Yeah, they did the lift, suspension, wheels, and tires all at the same time. Not sure exactly where they sent it. Give Travis Rakestraw at Freedom a call and he can tell you.

Also, our CAFS can run both the 1" booster or whiplines and the 1-3/4" at the same time, but won't do the booster and whiplines at the same time.

[pyromedic802]

Thanks, after looking I am pretty sure the single setup is from the 1rst attack up in indiana, same style of rim pattern. They have the fast attack side seated truck for race car belt system for FF in the bed behind cab.
The other outfit is GFE fire trucks with the BRAT and the super single military grade tires.
Will give a holler at Freedom but since we have ours we are set for a few years. Still need to get tires upgraded one day though.
That unit is nice but not enough for 3 lines unfortunately, but then you have a limited amount of water at that rate also.
Stay safe.

[LVFD301]

Whipline? What is this magic you speak of?

Really, never heard of it.