By Alan M. Petrillo
Depending on what part of the country your fire department is located, you probably have a preference for a certain type of body material for your fire apparatus. It might be aluminum, stainless steel, or copolymer.
But, one thing is certain - the choice of body materials will have a major effect on the vehicle’s life, performance, and durability.
![1 Pro Poly of America Inc. built the body of this light-duty rescue that Fouts Bros. built for North Pekin (IL) Fire Rescue.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetBodies1.jpg) |
1 Pro Poly of America Inc. built the body of this light-duty rescue that Fouts Bros. built for North Pekin (IL) Fire Rescue. |
Copolymer Bodies
Andrew Lingel, president of United Plastic Fabricating (UPF), says the bodies UPF makes for the fire service commonly are used on tankers, pumper-tankers, mini pumpers, Type 1 pumpers, and rescue trucks. “We started designing our first formal PolyBodies® in 1994 as a utility body, while before that we were making body components like compartments and trays,” Lingel says. “This past December, we celebrated our 30th anniversary since UPF started building Poly water tanks, and 2016 was a year when we built the most PolyBody units for the fire industry that we’ve ever done.”
Michael Ashley, UPF’s vice president of engineering, says UPF’s PolyBodies are a copolymer of polypropylene and polyethylene. “We use hot gas fusion welding to weld the plates together and also use extrusion guns using air and/or nitrogen to preheat the parent material. The rod heats up and gets molten into the joint, welding the panels together,” Ashley points out. “We also use a hot knife and pressure to fuse panels together where appropriate.”
![2 Fouts Bros. built this mini pumper on a PolyBilt body made by Pro Poly of America Inc. for Oconee County (SC) Fire Rescue. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Pro Poly of America Inc](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetBodies2.jpg) |
2 Fouts Bros. built this mini pumper on a PolyBilt body made by Pro Poly of America Inc. for Oconee County (SC) Fire Rescue. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Pro Poly of America Inc.) |
Lingel notes that the biggest benefits of a copolymer fire truck body “are that they will never rust or corrode; have very good impact resistance so they avoid dents, dings, and minor repairs; and hold their beautiful finish a lot longer.”
Ashley adds that PolyBodies are about the same weight as a typical aluminum fire truck body. “However, there’s a weight savings over steel, stainless steel, and fiberglass composite bodies,” he says.
Tim Dean, president of Pro Poly of America Inc., says his company created the PolyBilt® limited liability corporation with W.S. Darley & Co. in 2000. “We have been in business 25 years, and our bread and butter has been water tanks,” Dean observes, “but 15 years ago we put our heads together with Darley and decided to make the entire back end of a fire truck out of copolymer. Our Polyprene™ is a special blend of monomers, a polyethylene and polypropylene blend, that form the copolymer.”
![3 Maintainer Custom Bodies built this wildland crew carrier with an aluminum body for the San Bernardino (CA) Fire Department. (Photos 3-5 courtesy of Maintainer Custom Bodies.)](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetBodies3.jpg) |
3 Maintainer Custom Bodie
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