Chevrolet will continue to offer the Suburban 1500 side by side with the Suburban 3500, which offers expanded capabilities and can also be set up as a marked unit.

The Suburban 3500 provides an 11,000-pound GVWR rating, 4,400 pounds of payload capability, a 12,700-pound GCWR (gross combined weight rating), and maximum trailering of 3,000 pounds. The vehicle increases GVWR over the 2013 Suburban 1500 by 2,400 pounds and offers 2,200 additional pounds in payload. Trailering will be lower because the vehicle was optimized for payload and specific applications.

This project involved over a year of preparation which included specification development, grant funding procedures and contract development.  The design team was present for all phases of apparatus construction including a final inspection with the manufacturer in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Some of the new features and enhancements on the 2016 Heavy Rescue include:

• Cummins ISX, 15 Liter, 550 horsepower motor with 18 speed Fuller transmission
• 50-ton lift capacity
• Two (2) Turret winches were added giving the operator four (4) cables to use for recovery operation and load stabilizing
• “Vista Glow” amber light package added to better illuminate the apparatus during night time operations
• All LED scene and work lights
• Extended boom reach, which allows for 6-8’ additional extension
• “Load Limit” sensor added to boom. This system alerts the operator as to load amount being picked up by the rotator boom which will help prevent overloading and create a safer operating parameters
• Back-up camera

"Officially today, Ladder 2 goes into service to help keep people safe in our community," Salinas Fire Chief Ed Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez has been pushing for a new ladder truck for two years. The truck cost $1.2 million.

"It just gives us the operational capacity that we just didn't have," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez cites instances in the past, such as the Dick Bruhn building fire, when the city desperately needed two ladder trucks.

"When you need a ladder truck, you need it right now," Rodriguez said. "People trapped, people stuck in a piece of machinery, people stuck underneath vehicles, structure fires, collapses. So they really go to the worst of the worst."