One thing you love about your rig!

[BlackJackCo]

The chief has asked all of us engineers in the department to design the specs for a new truck. We are hoping to be very pro-active and get a great truck, by looking at ways to improve on what we have had.

This new rig will be either a true Quint or an engine with an elevated master stream. It will also be a paramedic rescue unit as well as front line fire response.

Just fishing for some ideas. I don't care about manufacturers at this time so don't turn this into the typical bashing of different companies.

But tell us, what is the one feature or tool on or about your engine/truck/quint that you love!

[savingyou6]

well our sister company had a rescue tools and pumps on both sides. that was a nice touch. and telescoping light that are not stationary we have them attached to the back of our rigs.

[Dalmatian90]

Generator remote-start in the cab.

The truck I drive usually is our mini-pumper, and if I'm alone after a medical in the middle of the night backing out of a strange driveway after the call it's sure nice to hit the button and have 1500 watts of light to my rear and right side. Get to the road, I hit the button to shut it off and leave.

Our Engine, Ladder, and newest Engine Tanker also have the same idea, although with even more lights. In there cases they light up as they arrive on scene -- gives the driver a lot better visibility. We work up driveways quite often and they can get tight for spotting trucks.

[apatrol]

PTO, Class A and B inline foam, All Steer, Light Tower, and 10 man cab with 7 seats and cooler. Its very hot in Houston the cooler is a great touch.

Good Luck

[MalahatTwo7]

For a rural area, '93 FL70 with a short wheelbase, AWESOME turn radius. I would swear that it turns inside itself. Our '99 F350 crewcab: can't turn that thing around in 40 arcres by comparison.

A second point for the engine: onboard inverter, makes life so much easier; you need light, there it is.

[FroggyLegs]

The boom and an enclosed cab!

[firecat1524]

The current thing I love about my engine is the A/C. It tends to get hot in SC about mid March and stay that way till mid to late Nov.

The soon to be best thing since sliced bread has to be the add on Class A foam unit to be added in the near future. A company close by already has the unit on their engine..and we have used it more than a few times.

[Smoke_N_Flames]

I only wish I had this unit, but you should check out the apparatus from Fallon, Nevada. 2000+ gallons water. 2000GPM -Pump-N-Roll, Twin Remote Deck Guns, Tons of Hose, Lights, Tools, Goodies. 7 different x-lays. Attacks lines off the bumoer and to the rear. You name it it on there. I pretty sure they were built by Darley (there is a picture of one in the Darley catalog). The ladders are virtually the same but with a little different hose bed and less water. Their website is <www.isoslayer.com> Im sure if you contact them they would help you.

[BlackJackCo]

Thanks for all the input. Please keep it coming. Smoke-n-flames your right that looks like an amazing rig. Is that 2 deck guns as well as the ladder pipe. Talk about a ton of water. I'll bet that rig cost a pretty penny.

Anyway, What about thoughts on the storage of medical gear. We are running a rescue engine and provide ALS for our city. Therefore we have had to modify our Dash's cab to fit all the ALS junk. It is really tight in there. Any suggestions on where you store all the medical gear, especially if your engine/truck is providing ALS service?

[Mulldog]

AIr Conditioning, Intermittent Wipers and enough compartment space for tommorrow (the future).

[mcleoud151]

A nearby department has an engine which has the crosslays right at an average persons shoulder level, makes it nice to pull. They also have them on trays that slide out to make loading them easy after that three hour fire/overhaul.

[911WACKER]

Multiple pre-connects, lots of compartment space, large hose bed. The extra pre-connects can be cheap to add off the rear with an extra divider or two and a gated wye or water thief on the rear discharge. If you mount hand tools in the cab and on the exterior of the truck, you'll save much needed compartment space. Hope this helps you!!

[Fire304]

AMPS or Harrison type PTO generator. Inverters are a huge load on the alternator of an idling engine (ie., if you're circulating water), and remote start gens are nice but they take up space and the exhaust can be an issue. We have a 15Kwatt AMPS on our tower and a 15K watt Harrison on our rescue pumper. One thing to insist on is a shift on the fly PTO for it, we didn't in our engine so now we have to engage the park brake to charge the PTO, but the Tower's is shift on the fly, we leave the master breaker and the side lights on so one switch gives you 2000watt of light with lots more available.

[Fire304]

100' trash line and our Amkus combi-tool on a 100' reel under the hood on the front bumper. Amkus ultimate rescue system (operate 3+ tools with 100% power and about 4 times the speed of a 5HP honda or electric unit).

ALS stuff eats a lot of space in the cab, just plan for it. We have 4 box lights, a portable radio, a CO/Multi-gas detector, our TIC, an ALS bag, an AED, and all our preplan books, maps, and forms in the cab of our rescue pumper, there is hardly any room left for FF's. The Stokes and long board are in a "cross lay" compartment all the way aft, could be acessible from both sides if we wanted it to be. If I planed out my own rig I'd probably go for a dedicated ALS/expensive equipment compartment, maybe with a remote lock on it to protect the gear while no one was in the truck.

[HFDCLanger]

-Around the pump A/B foam system
-Enclosed ladder and suction storage
-3 15' lengths of Kochek 6" suction with floating strainer
-Oversize water level lights mounted on cab
-18" raised roof, extended custom cab
-Engine governor
-Dual remote side dumps in the dead space between the axles
-SCBA seats for everyone but the driver
-Spare bottle for each pack
-Color coded, single stacked pre-connects
-Streamlights mounted in cab for all rear seating positons
-Full height, rescue style compartments on both sides
-A 2,500 gallon tank combined with an over sized tank-to-pump connection makes a great combination for blitz attacks (we run the rig as our first-due engine company).

No where near to being a perfect truck - there are hundreds of things that will be added/changed next time. I'll keep that list for another thread or email.

About the hose bed...get it as big as you can. Most manufacturers will extend the sides for little or no cost. And spend the extra $200 to get an extra divider for the LDH bed - it will allow for much greater flexibility when the big one comes.

As far as ALS gear goes...go with an exterior, full height, locking compartment (roll-up doors are good) if you've got lots of gear and not a lot of space to spare in the cab.

Fire304: Nice rig. Probably the best thought-out rig at the NE Chiefs' show last week.

[engine10_iaff12]

For the record I now drive Engine 2, and my favorite option on my truck is the motor. It is a 60 series Detroit. Bar-None, it is the best running truck I have had the privelage of operating. This truck goes up a steep hill as fast as it comes down. It's 437 hp motor and comes out of the hole like nobody's business!!!!!It also has a three stage Jacobs engine break. We live in a very hilly city. The truck has been in service for 3 years and still has the original breaks and rotors. I can literally come down the steepest hills without touching the brake pedal, just by gearing down and using the Jake brake. This is an incredible safety feature also. A must for anyone tangling with long downgrades.

[Engine101]

Great thing about our engine's is there manuevrability (Did I spell that right?) Our Engine's have a shortend wheelbase which helps them manuver in the narrow streets of our hillside areas

[ffemtpnbs]

-Class A & B foam system
there are foams on the market that handle both Class A & B fires though this type of foam is reportedly unable to suppress POLAR SOLVENT fires. (remember, this is an investment you can use at EVERY fire. Buy it because it works, not because it's the new thing)

-engine governor
-hydraulic generator (just a flip of a switch in the cab)
-raised roof
-bumper mounted car fire/trash line
-jaws on a reel
-ALS equipment stored in outside compartment (ours is taking up a lot of room in a compartment built in our cab)
-A/C
-large water level indicator lights (on driver AND passenger sides)
-manual operated gate valves (old school but they won't let you down)

[Fletch 8903]

Our primary engine was designed for use at both structure fires and MVA (we cover a section of I-71 that has an S-curve that causes headaches). The features I like (and actually use):

-100 ft bumper line for trash or car fires
-Dual 100 ft hydraulic reels to run 2 tools at once
-4 cross lays that are just slightly higher than shoulder-height
-Roll out drawers for saws and rescue tools
-Rescue style body with lots of cabinets, though we seem to find more stuff to carry than we actually need

One disadvantage to our truck is that the ground ladders are inside the body. It can be challenging to get the ladders out of the compartment in the rear, especially if someone decides to park another truck directly behind you.

[TC33FF]

FOR THE ALS EQUIPMENT IF YOU RUN 4 MAN COMPANIES PLACE A FULL HEIGHT CABINET IN THE REAR OF THE CAB AND PLACE ALL THE ALS STUFF IN THERE. IT PROVIDES THE EQUIPMENT WITHIN REACH OF THE FF AND YOU HAVE THE STUFF AS YOU WALK OFF. PLUS IT IS IN THE AC. AND MOST PEOPLE WON'T LOOK THERE TO STEAL STUFF. A LITTLE MORE OBVIOUS. OUR NEW TRUCK HAS IT AND WE LOVE IT. I KNOW HOUSTON HAS DONE THIS TO ALL THE PUMPERS THAT ARE NEW. A FEW OTHER DEPTS. HAVE THIS LIKE ARLINGTON TX. IT TAKES UP SOME ROOM BUT ALSO LEAVES ROOM FOR THE FF EQUIPMENT OUTSIDE. ALSO THINK ABOUY BUILT IN MAP BOOK OR BOOK CABNETS ABOVE THE ENGINE. WITH COVERS. AND POSSIBLY MAP BOOK HOLDER IN FRONT OF OFFICER SEAT IN THE DASH. I HAVE SEEN THIS A FEW TIMES AND LOOKS GOOD AND KEEPS THE STUFF FROM FLYING ALL AROUND.
ALSO HAVE PLENTY OF COMPARTMENTS, LIGHTS, EMERGENCY LIGHTS, BIG ENOUGH PUMP AND TANK AND A Q2. THE NEW THING THAT HAS BEEN STARTED IS TO PLACE THE RED AND WHITE REFLECTIVE TAPE ALL OVER THE BACK (THE WHOLE BACK) TO PROVIDE GREAT HIGHWAY PROTECTION.
GOOD LUCK