How to get a new fire truck without new emissions equipment - DPF SCR
Ok guys,
I've been racking my brain on this for a while and this is what I've learned.
If you have an old fire truck that has all the power you want, and is reliable but worn out, yet it doesn't have a DPF or SCR, you can reuse the powertrain in a new Fire Truck chassis, and retain the original make, model and VIN number of the truck you're disposing of. The key is, you have to call it a "refurbishment,", but the only parts being reused are the powertrain components, or other parts that you dictate to the manufacturer.
This is allowed under Federal Law, 49 CFR 571.7(e). This Federal Law allows a vehicle to retain it’s original VIN and year of manufacture, if the engine, transmission, and drive axle of the assembled vehicle are not new, and at least two of these components were taken from the same vehicle. It's designed to address glider kits used by trucking companies.
Now, to the NFPA stuff. The NFPA standard on refurbishment is 1912. It offers two levels of refurbishment. Level I takes an old truck and brings everything into compliance with present NFPA standards, and present EPA emissions.
A Level II refurbishment takes an old truck and brings it into compliance with standards that were in effect when the truck was originally manufactured. But, all you have to do require the manufacturer to make every vehicle component compliant with present NFPA 1901 standards, except the emissions. And give the manufacturer a specific list of components they are allowed to reuse, and don't allow them to deviate from it.
New cab, front axle and steering, new cooling system, electrical system, new pump or old, new body, new booster tank, add a pto generator, etc. etc.
We've got a lot of Detroit 60's in our inventory, and a few trucks are ready to put out to pasture, but the engines are still going strong. The B50 life (the point which 50% of the engines are still running and 50% require a rebuild) of a Detroit 60 engine is 1.2 million miles, so it’s safe to say that we’ve only scratched the surface of their useful life.
To put that into perspective, if you drove a truck at 50 MPH for 8 hours a day, it would take 8 years and 2½ months to reach 1.2 million miles.
Want a larger axle than the old truck has? Sure, upgrade to a larger one, it just has to come from a used truck. Want another engine? Fine, just make sure you keep the original transmission and drive axle.
I'm pushing to do this in our Dept, but it's like pulling teeth.