Bronto users

[fire325]

Looking for feed back from any Bronto users, specifically the 114'...thanks in advance

[bvfd1927]

At my career department we have a 2002 118' Bronto, we all have a love-hate relationship with it. We hate that its on an E-ONE chassis and some of the issues we have had with it, but when the bronto works fine we like it. We have had to change out various circuit boards out(im sure that cant be cheap) The bronto can be very meticulous, there are alot of safety switches and you can put the bucket up one way but because of the safety switches you might have to come down a different way. We were told that it needs to be set up pretty much every day. I personaly dont care for the waterway on ours because of the 3" flex rubber hose at the turn table and at the jib boom, it might be different now but i just cant see flowing 1200gpm with that much friction loss. The most i have flowed out of the bronto was about 900 and that was on a hydrant with roughly 60psi with a residual of about 10 just to see how much we could get out of the hydrant. All in all its not a horrible truck, but in my opinion its all in what your department needs. We deal with ships and putting divers in the water of warfs so when it works its nice to have.

[SFD_E73_RET]

You might check out the Spartan ERV Telestar as an option.

[RFDACM02]

We were just discussing the articulating aerials the other day and wondering what purpose many FD's see by selecting this type of apparatus? We could come up with some tactical advantages for certain areas, but see them as more complicated to operate to the point that I'd think they'd best serve FD's that can dedicate assigned operators. I'm interested to hear why people choose them.

[Bones42]

One company near me that got one chose it for it's better access to roof's with parapets. They could easily go up, over, then back down to the roof.

[RFDACM02]

One company near me that got one chose it for it's better access to roof's with parapets. They could easily go up, over, then back down to the roof.

I know a few "older" cities in New England use them due to tight street and overhead wires, but again, careful operation. Certainly as was noted above, placing the bucket below grade is advantageous in some cases too. Just seems watching the bucket in front of you and potentially the knuckle behind makes me think I want a sharp operator every time, not that I wouldn't for any aerial.

[retiredchiefone]

When you get finished checking out the ERV telestar you may want to look at the Rosenbauer T-Rex.

[Eno305]

+1. ^

We just took delivery of ours... Did a lot of work comparing the two platforms back when we initially researched the candidates and Bronto seemed to be better from the roof to the platform while T-Rex was better from the roof to the ground.

Take a look at the "T-Rex on the prowl once again" thread- there are a lot of side by side comparissons.

[skylifter]

We have a whole lot of Brontos that are rented to the electric utility industry for work on the high-voltage transmission lines, and if linemen can't break them too easily, then that's saying something.
The suggestion about setting it up every day really goes to the familiarity that the users have. If the unit is a hanger queen, then it becomes foreign to everybody, and when it's time to use it, the little things get forgotten.
We can pull any of our Brontos out of the garage, set it up, fly it for 20-30 minutes, and then fold it up and park it. No second thoughts, no worries about getting stuck, etc.
Three of them are former fire units, and the is virtually no difference between an industrial unit and a fire unit. The limit switches are there to prevent an operator from getting injured or damaging the unit. If one understands where the limits are, then you basically never even get the unit to stop operating, and if you do, you just reverse the operation until everything is in the clear.
Training breeds success...

[mitchkrat]

If my memory is correct - this is a 2007 Bronto that's beeing replaced.


By Mark Taylor
Gardner News – September 26, 2012

The Olathe City Council approved the purchase of a $1.053 million aerial truck for the city’s fire department on September 18.

The 100-foot apparatus replaces a 2007 model that has “major safety, repair and maintenance issues,” according to city staff.

The 2007 model was expected to have a 15-year life span.

According to a staff memo in the council’s packet, the “unit has been in service only 59 percent in the past three years and only available one day in 2012.

“…The articulating arm of the apparatus, which was the major reason for its purchase (for overhead water dispersion) has, on occasion, become stuck in mid-air, causing severe safety concerns with the firefighters caught on the apparatus.”

Also, when the unit is out of service, it places additional burden on the department’s other apparatus, which could shorten their life spans.

Council members were told the 2007 model is manufactured in Finland, and getting replacement parts from overseas is difficult.

A retrofit of the 2007 model would cost an estimated $700,000 and the unit would be out of service for eight to 12 months, according to staff.

The city will receive a $330,000 credit for trading in the 2007 model.

The trade-in credit, and a $27,596 pre-payment discount, will bring the price of the new aerial truck to $695,569.

The new aerial truck is expected to arrive between March and April next year.

[LT2410]

If my memory is correct - this is a 2007 Bronto that's beeing replaced.

That era of Brontos had quite a few issues with limit switches which would certainly cause the issues that they are referring to. I'm unsure if they are still using them or not.

[SFD_E73_RET]

Yes it is a Bronto that they spent 1.2 Million on and just got 330K for it.