By Alan M. Petrillo
Some fire departments and EMS providers are turning to refurbishing apparatus as an alternative to purchasing new rigs.
Their motivation is to best use a strong and often still functional body and equipment and replace the chassis, if necessary, with the latest in designs. Such replacement typically saves a great deal of money for municipalities.
Ambulance Remounts
Matt Minerd, segment marketing manager for fire and emergency at REV Group, says late in 2016 REV Group acquired a manufacturing facility in the Jefferson, North Carolina, area that fit its needs perfectly to become REV’s Remount Center for all its ambulance brands. “Previously Horton, AEV, and some other brands did their own remounts, but when you put a remount into the new ambulance production process, it can create some ineffiencies,” Minerd points out. REV Group owns the AEV, Horton, Frontline, Leader, Marque, McCoy Miller, Road Rescue, and Wheeled Coach ambulance brands. “We wanted to consolidate remounts for all eight of our brands into the Remount Center,” Minerd says. “The benefits for customers are dedicated engineering, electrical, and production staffs that are committed to remounts.”
1 This ambulance on a Ford E-450 chassis is undergoing refurbishment by Braun Industries Inc. (Photo courtesy of Braun Industries Inc.)
Minerd notes that the REV Remount Center staff performs a full evaluation of the vehicle to be remounted. “They look at its current condition, identify potential problem areas, and report on what the vehicle needs to get up to current standards,” he says. “We’ll discount the vehicle and dispose of the old chassis, bring in a new chassis, and perform the remount and refurbishment, which includes a new cab console; front switch panel; siren speakers; heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning unit (HVAC); door switches; handles; and upholstery. If a customer wants changes inside the box, we can accommodate them to change the configuration and the cabinetry.”
Chad Brown, vice president of sales and marketing for Braun Industries Inc., says that typically what drives the need for an ambulance remount is either a vehicle that’s been in an accident and its chassis is not repairable or one that has worn through its life cycle. “Most remounts on a five- to 10-year-old truck mean replacing the chassis with a new one and completely refurbishing the module,” Brown says. “We meet with the customer and talk about safety upgrades necessary and also look at high-wear items and decide whether they need to be replaced, repaired, or have nothing done to them.”
2 Louisville (KY) Metro EMS turned to Life Line Emergency Vehicles to rehab this ambulance (inset). The Louisville ambulance is shown after the rechassis and refurb done by Life Line. (Photos courtesy of Life Line Emergency
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Posted: Nov 9, 2017
1711FA_HTML_022-030
By Bill Adams
This article addresses 2½-inch fire pump hose connections on midship-mounted pumps, the part the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) plays when purchasers specify them, and their approximate costs.
1 This pumper does not have internally gated steamer inlets or a 2½-inch gated inlet controlled at the pump panel. It does have an electrically operated master discharge valve, so the department might add an external valve or a suction siamese when it gets the rig home. (Photos by Allan Smith, Spartan ER apparatus sales manager, Colden Enterprises.)
At trade and equipment shows, manufacturers, their dealers, and sales representatives (vendors) are constantly asked, “How much does it cost?” As mentioned in previous articles, vendors giving ballpark or approximate prices are not being ambivalent or deceptive. Often, multiple questions must be answered to provide definitive costs. Vendors and purchasers alike should exercise caution when pricing is discussed out of context. Context refers to all the circumstances or conditions that should be defined before a question is asked and an answer given. Simply put: You quote a homeowner a price to paint his small ranch house and you learn later it’s actually a large 2½-story home that he wants painted for the same price. Similar scenarios occur in the fire truck world.
2 This pump panel behind a roll-up door has three gated steamer inlets plus a separate 2½-inch gated suction. A Storz/2½-inch adapter is a lot less expensive than the 2½-inch gated suction.
Tradition
When 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pumpers were considered high-volume and 2½-inch fire hose was the mainstay, it was generally accepted that there was a 2½-inch discharge for each 250 gpm in pump capacity. A 500-gpm pump had two, 750-gpm pumps had three, and so on. Departments that commonly laid supply lines hydrant-to-fire (forward lay) often specified like numbers of 2½-inch gated suction inlets but seldom more than two per side. Little changed with the use of 3-inch hose with 2½-inch couplings. Even with the use of large-diameter hose (LDH) and multiple high-volume preconnects, some departments still specify the same number of pump-panel-mounted 2½-inch discharges and inlets they did 50 years ago. They could be expensive ornaments.
There is no intent to disparage departments that regularly use 2½-inch panel-mounted discharges and inlets. Their fireground operations are not being questioned, nor should they be. Departments that rely
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Posted: Nov 9, 2017
1711FA_HTML_022-030
By Bill Adams
This article addresses 2½-inch fire pump hose connections on midship-mounted pumps, the part the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) plays when purchasers specify them, and their approximate costs.
1 This pumper does not have internally gated steamer inlets or a 2½-inch gated inlet controlled at the pump panel. It does have an electrically operated master discharge valve, so the department might add an external valve or a suction siamese when it gets the rig home. (Photos by Allan Smith, Spartan ER apparatus sales manager, Colden Enterprises.)
At trade and equipment shows, manufacturers, their dealers, and sales representatives (vendors) are constantly asked, “How much does it cost?” As mentioned in previous articles, vendors giving ballpark or approximate prices are not being ambivalent or deceptive. Often, multiple questions must be answered to provide definitive costs. Vendors and purchasers alike should exercise caution when pricing is discussed out of context. Context refers to all the circumstances or conditions that should be defined before a question is asked and an answer given. Simply put: You quote a homeowner a price to paint his small ranch house and you learn later it’s actually a large 2½-story home that he wants painted for the same price. Similar scenarios occur in the fire truck world.
2 This pump panel behind a roll-up door has three gated steamer inlets plus a separate 2½-inch gated suction. A Storz/2½-inch adapter is a lot less expensive than the 2½-inch gated suction.
Tradition
When 1,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pumpers were considered high-volume and 2½-inch fire hose was the mainstay, it was generally accepted that there was a 2½-inch discharge for each 250 gpm in pump capacity. A 500-gpm pump had two, 750-gpm pumps had three, and so on. Departments that commonly laid supply lines hydrant-to-fire (forward lay) often specified like numbers of 2½-inch gated suction inlets but seldom more than two per side. Little changed with the use of 3-inch hose with 2½-inch couplings. Even with the use of large-diameter hose (LDH) and multiple high-volume preconnects, some departments still specify the same number of pump-panel-mounted 2½-inch discharges and inlets they did 50 years ago. They could be expensive ornaments.
There is no intent to disparage departments that regularly use 2½-inch panel-mounted discharges and inlets. Their fireground operations are not being questioned, nor should they be. Departments that rely
Read more
- 189
- Article rating: No rating