By Alan M. Petrillo
Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) trucks have grown in size and equipment-carrying power over the years. ARFF manufacturers have come out with new designs to meet customer demand and refined existing designs to be able to do more within the same truck footprint.
Oshkosh Airport Products
Sam Lowe, senior marketing representative for Oshkosh Airport Products, says Oshkosh unveiled a new Striker™ 8x8 ARFF vehicle this year, completely redesigned and featuring a pair of rear-mounted engines driving all eight wheels. “The change is an entirely new truck,” Lowe says. “A significant change is that the frame and cab are the same as the ones we use on our 4x4 and 6x6 Striker models, which provides a commonality for airport fire departments.”
The change to dual engines at the rear of the vehicle, Lowe says, complicates gauges in the cab, so Oshkosh installs an LCD dashboard display in the 8x8 where the left side of the display shows the driver’s side engine information, and the right the engine on the officer’s side. “All of our ARFF vehicles can now be specified with Scania’s DC16 engine in horsepower up to 770,” Lowe points out. “Scania Tier 4 Final engines deliver excellent performance without the need for particulate filters, which is especially beneficial in colder climates and situations where engine regeneration is not practical, such as airport emergency response.” Lowe adds that Oshkosh ARFF rigs also are available with Deutz engines.
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1 Oshkosh Airport Products redesigned its Striker™ 8x8 ARFF truck, giving it two engines at the rear. (Photo courtesy of Oshkosh Airport Products.) |
Lowe says that a compartment above the 8x8’s front axle was moved to the third axle, allowing Oshkosh engineers to push the vehicle’s water tank forward. “It helps with the weight distribution on the vehicle,” he observes, “because we have a lot of weight in the rear with two diesel engines.” Each engine is mated with its own Allison transmission along with Oshkosh’s Power Uniter, which takes power from both engines and powers all eight wheels. The operator can switch to pump and roll at any speed, Lowe notes, where one engine drives the wheels and the other the Waterous pump’s fire suppression system.
The Strikers have the option of carrying a high-reach extendable turret (HRET) Snozzle with a piercing nozzle. “We offer K-Factor, an LCD readout in the cab for aligning the 65-foot Snozzle’s piercing attachment,” Lowe says. “It can be hard to see the tip, so K-Factor scans the fuselage to be pierced, finds a perpendicular spot to pierce, displays it on the screen, and the operator moves the joystick to match the view. K-Factor is available on all our Strikers.”
Rosenbauer
Steve Reedy, vice president of Rosenbauer, says the company has redesigned its 4x4 and 6x6 Panther™ ARFF models, making major changes in the cab and windshield areas of the rigs. “We reduced the size of the main A and B pillars and increased the size of the windshield by adding more glass to the sides,” Reedy says. “We also have a combination glass and aluminum tubing door on the Panther. Once we got greater visibility by adding more glass, we felt the need to get the cab crash tested, which we did, and it meets all United States and European crash test standards.”
Reedy says the Panthers also carry a new Rosenbauer