Rosenbauer

[10House]

What are your professional thoughts and opinions about Rosenbauer? What do you think about their products, the company as a whole, and their future in the U.S. market?

[chiefengineer11]

What are your professional thoughts and opinions about Rosenbauer? What do you think about their products, the company as a whole, and their future in the U.S. market?

Applying the difference between big trucks and large cars (big truck goes down the road as fast as he can; large car goes down the road as fast as he wants to), I'd suggest that Rosenbauer will be in the U.S. market for as long as they want to be. The product that I've had direct exposure to (an RK ladder) is excellent. But others here have disagreed. Tony? Joel? Anyone else?

Stay safe out there, everyone goes home!

[btc3205]

I'll put my dept's Rosenbauer up against anyothers. And also P****E (another apparatus manu) said this truck could not be built. Been in Service since August 2006-no problems.

[firepiper1]

What are your professional thoughts and opinions about Rosenbauer? What do you think about their products, the company as a whole, and their future in the U.S. market?

Never worked with one, but was offered a position as a sales rep in 2006 and did a bit of research. Central States is considered their low end truck for departments that dont run much and dont have alot of money to spend. I was told that I would be pushing Generals, which seem to have a good reputation. RK Aerials had some issues with a tower and straight stick that resulted in a lawsuit in my area. General ended up purchasing both trucks back from the FD. RK hasnt had much of a presence around here since.
Rosenbauer will be around for a long time. They have strong financial backing from their parent company in Europe.
Bottom line, as with any other manufacturer, some love them and some hate them.

[VanIsleEVT]

We've got two General rear mount pumpers that we took delivery of a year ago and have had great success with both the trucks and General as a company for after sales service.
We just awarded them the contract to build us a heavy rescue as well.
Your comment about the tower and stick if it's the one I'm familiar with, it was a dept issue not a product issue. The dept was the kool aid drinking type but the Chief wasn't nor was the consultant that assisted the dept to purchase the rigs.

[VanIsleEVT]

Oh ya, why would General need Crimson when they build their own 3/16" stainless body?

[npfd801]

Applying the difference between big trucks and large cars (big truck goes down the road as fast as he can; large car goes down the road as fast as he wants to), I'd suggest that Rosenbauer will be in the U.S. market for as long as they want to be. The product that I've had direct exposure to (an RK ladder) is excellent. But others here have disagreed. Tony? Joel? Anyone else?

Stay safe out there, everyone goes home!

As one that sold the product for a while, I had my likes and dislikes of the product, but overall I think each product has its strengths and weaknesses. Remember, a Central body is not a General body, and while Rosenbauer is making efforts to brand themselves more and more as Rosenbauer (not Central and General) they are two different animals, priced very different from one another, but for good reason.

Now mind you, I wouldn't sell anything that I wouldn't want my name associated with. My switch to a different dealer and brand was based on a number of factors completely unrelated to Rosenbauer on the corporate level.

I run on and drive two Generals on a regular basis. Both have been good rigs so far, and the issues we've had have been minimal compared to another brand we've purchased. However, neither has been 100% without issues, I will say that.

My primary concern with Rosenbauer when I was selling the product in general is the growth - they have taken on a lot of BIG dealers that have left other brands, and delivery times have suffered. I know there was a time when quality was slipping a bit at Central, but they realized this and quickly corrected this issue. The delivery times were nothing like those we hear from some of the other builders running MONTHS behind, at least to my knowledge.

I'll leave the "why should you buy my brand instead of a Rosenbauer" banter to the customers that are seriously looking at what I sell, but I can tell you this - if you have a strong dealer in your neck of the woods that will take care of you, I wouldn't hesitate to give them fair consideration.

However, look at the details, even between the two Rosenbauer brands, and you'll see some major differences. Consider a Central a Chevy and a General a Caddy, and I think you'll be in line. Central is priced more in line with the bulk of apparatus out there, but depending on who is specifying the thing, make sure you're apples to apples on every component. This applies to every brand.

I hope my response was fair enough to not upset the folks I know at the Rosenbauer plants, while not saying they're the best rig on the market. I think Sam and some others will attest to the fact that the brand I sell for is very respectable as well. What wins the sale in my opinion is the dealer first, the body builder second.

One last thing about Rosenbauer, they seem willing to build what you want still, where some of these others guys charge an enormous premium for doing so. In some ways, Rosenbauer is still like the smaller regional builder just doing a large volume... By the way, I don't think the folks from Austria are going anywhere, anytime too soon.

[npfd801]

I'll put my dept's Rosenbauer up against anyothers. And also P****E (another apparatus manu) said this truck could not be built. Been in Service since August 2006-no problems.

BTC - MY!!! What big cones you have!

[RFDACM02]

I'll put my dept's Rosenbauer up against anyothers. And also P****E (another apparatus manu) said this truck could not be built. Been in Service since August 2006-no problems.

You can put your's against our Central States/Rosenbauer. In fact we'd like it if you'd put it against it repeatedly within a very short timeframe and at maximum velocity!







As full disclosure I'll admit that our Central Mistakes was pre-Rosenbauer by 1-2 years but since then when problems arose Rosenbauer was rudely insulting and took no responsibility and wouldn't even help if we paid!

[Rescue101]

Adam,you're just not talking to them right.We've got three,and the only REAL trouble we've had with any of the lot is they never heard of Loctite and they've never heard of nylon locking nuts.Every fastener on the rig will back out at some point.And the service after the sale,pre Yankee,leaves a LOT to be desired.This being said,EVERY one of mine was delivered ahead of schedule and on or under budget.Once we Loctited the fasteners we've had no issues of consequence. T.C.

[rfdmn09]

My dept took delivery of an engine last year. One of the places another member of our committee and I visited was the Rosenbaur Mn plant as it's only an hours drive. I was very impressed with the manufacturing plant, employees, and the product. However, they didn't submit a bid and I'm sure it was due to the way the specs were written. One dept I visited afterwards has 2 engines, a heavy rescue, and a quint from them. The Captain we spoke with had nothing but good things to say. We have a neighboring dept with an engine and ladder from them and they love em!! We have a Central States Tanker/Tender from the pre merger days and as with several others, would love to return it. I guess there was poor service before I joined the dept in '01 and therefore some on the committee and dept kind of had a sour taste when I suggested them.

GOod luck on your apparatus and be safe all!!!

[jay5019]

We took delivery of a Rosenbauer/General Rescue-Engine built on a Spartan Gladiator Classic cab/chassis a few months ago. So far no complaints and this truck was not cheap at all.. im told it was in th range of 450k.

Detroit Diesel Series 60 452Hp::
Allison 4000 EVS
Rosenbauer Centurion Body
Top Mount Operator's Control Panel
1500 GPM pump
5 in. Front Suction
750 Gallon Water Tank
Foam Pro 2001 Foam System
25 gal Class A and B foam tanks
Elkhart Electric VULCAN Deck Gun
Ziamatic Quic-Lift Ladder Rack
Supervac Command electronic-mast scene light
all LED lighting
Hurst tools

[Catch22]

My career department runs with 2 Central States/RK quints, 2 Rosenbauer (Central) engines, and a Rosenbauer/RK (Central) quint. I can definitely see the difference between pre-Rosenbauer and post. The build seems to be of a higher quality after Rosie took over.

I will say that it's my opinion that the Central division (no experience with General) at least wears faster with the punishment we put them through. The majority of our issues are in regards to the chassis (Freightliner engines, HME quints), but we have had our share of electrical and hydraulic issues.

After my vollie department recieved a grant for a pumper/tanker, we didn't hesitate to accept Rosenbauer/Central's bid. Our biggest issues dealt with the dealer. The only problem we found with the truck was that they had crossed two of the discharges (top-mount pump, controls were side-by-side). While it was probably due to inattentiveness, it was an honest mistake and no big deal; we simply swapped the control arms.

I will say that it took an additional 2 1/2 months after the delivery date to recieve it. Here is where the most of our dealer issues came into play. It took an act of God to get an answer about what was going on and even a speculation in regards to an updated delivery date.

The guys at the factory I can't complain about at all. We had a number of things we wanted to do that were out of the ordinary. The engineer worked great with us. If he didn't think they could do it, he offered an alternative.

When we got another grant for a quick attack, Rosenbauer was one of the first companies I called to request a bid. They were more than happy to deal with us factory-direct, as I had told them about our problems with our area's dealer and that we wouldn't work with them again. Had their delivery time been within the time-frame we needed, we wouldn't have hesitated to go with them again.

[bookworm]

My department has two Central pumpers in service and has a third on order and we have been very pleased. No big problems. We run a bunch of calls and they have held up very well.

[CooterRob]

Rosenbauer rescues have a ton of storage room and to boot they utilized dead space really well.

I also really like their rear mount pumpers.

Last year I sae several demos at a local fire muster they were pretty beat up and hate to say it... but falling apart. Quality I don't 100% know about from them, but from what I've seen as being demos they are not holding up.

[bjlffire]

We took delivery in March 07 of a truck we spec'd and no one else wanted to build.

We are very pleased with what we recvd.
We purchased the chassis through Missouri state bid from International.
7400 4door.
1250 pump, 1000 gal tank
Watrous CAFS
hydraulic genset
High sides on both sides
enclosed ladder rack
diamond plate bed cover

also front bumper true cross lay

As with any new truck there will be bugs, but the dealer has been great.

[CooterRob]

We took delivery in March 07 of a truck we spec'd and no one else wanted to build.

We are very pleased with what we recvd.
We purchased the chassis through Missouri state bid from International.
7400 4door.
1250 pump, 1000 gal tank
Watrous CAFS
hydraulic genset
High sides on both sides
enclosed ladder rack
diamond plate bed cover

also front bumper true cross lay

As with any new truck there will be bugs, but the dealer has been great.

ouch International??? I hope it has the Maxforce9 engine in it... those DT motors are terrible.

[Rescue101]

Really.And on what information do you base this conclusion?Many,many DT's in active service around the country and we're not towing them to the dealer every week.The maxforce series is relatively new,new enough I don't think one can actively tout them as the next coming.We eliminated any doubt by speccing Cummins.Yes,they fit nicely in a International. T.C.

[skipatrol8]

I was under the impression that International medium duties were once the most popular medium duty chassis around, and the majority I have seen have the DT. They must have done something right.

[BoxAlarm187]

I have to agree with TC, the DT's I've been exposed to have been very reliable.