New tanker from ex-Military chassis

[fireman29b]

This is a 2008 Freightliner tractor that we obtained from the Oklahoma Forestry Department's Rural Fire Defense program. It's military designation is a M915A4.

The retrofit and finish was done by Blanchat Mfg. in Harper, KS. We have just under $90k in this truck and it has a 250gpm pump powered by a 35hp Briggs gas motor and a 2750gal tank with a Newton swivel dump on the rear

All lighting is Whelen, controlled by a Carson remote Elite Force siren/switch control.

 

[fireman29b]

Some more fabrication pics

 

[fireman29b]

Finished product.

 

[Crashy]

Good looking tanker!

 

[boboloo]

That looks great. Cummins 400?

 

[lafd55]

Now that's a sweet looking rig!!! I always love military surplus, some nice trucks out there and low mileage, and auto trannies.

 

[FireEMSPolice]

Thats nice! I like the "after" product!

 

[JennyCop]

Wow! Amazing work, great job! The truck looks great! :thumbsup:

 

[VolEms]

Nice job. Tanker looks great. Only thing I would have gone with all color lenses on the M series lightheads.

 

[pdk9]

Wow, that is a phenomenal refurb! The finished product is fantastic!


I would like to see another 1-2 M-series on the side (upper and lower in middle of truck) and a pair of lightheads down low on the rear, but I couldn't complain about those minor tweaks.


Good luck, and get us some interior pics!

 

[CPDG23]

Damn that looks good.


It looks like a whole different truck.


Do you have any pics of the interior?

 

[Marc M]

Good looking truck. What else y'all run.

 

[acala91]

Great looking truck, looks very sharp!


Can we get a video of the lighting? It looks like a very well thought out setup.

 

[Eric1249]

Truck looks fantastic.

 

[Jeremy0966]

:hail: WOW! That is seriously one of the most epic builds i have ever seen. Love the paint scheme and lighting setup. Well done. :thumbsup:

 

[RolnCode3]

How much would something like this cost on the regular market? $90K invested sounds like a lot (not criticizing-I know squat about fire vehicles), but I imagine these would be very expensive new.


Truck looks awesome. Good job repurposing surplus equipment!

 

[Flashguy]

That is bad a$$. :woot:

 

[theroofable]

How much would something like this cost on the regular market? $90K invested sounds like a lot (not criticizing-I know squat about fire vehicles), but I imagine these would be very expensive new.

Truck looks awesome. Good job repurposing surplus equipment!

However much the truck chassis costs. Plus the back part. Plus equipment. Easily more than 90k.

 

[Marc M]

How much would something like this cost on the regular market? $90K invested sounds like a lot (not criticizing-I know squat about fire vehicles), but I imagine these would be very expensive new.

Truck looks awesome. Good job repurposing surplus equipment!

New tankers start in the $170k range and go up from there.

 

[Storm4200]

video ? opcorn:

 

[fleetcomm]

Great way to make the most of your money! I am impressed great looking tanker.

 

[RolnCode3]

New tankers start in the $170k range and go up from there.

Cool. Thanks for the info.

 

[fireman29b]

That looks great. Cummins 400?

Yes sir....Big Cam 400

 

[fireman29b]

I will work in the video soon. We've got great weather expected this week so it should pan out. I'll also grab some interior shots.


This truck had 9300 miles on it when received from the Forestry folks and the tires we like brand new. Even had a brand new spare.


If you figured a brand new, like chassis and the back end, we'd be looking at 200k plus, easily.


Here's what it replaced. 1991 Ford F800/Smeal 1800 gal tanker with 429 V8, coupled with a 5 speed manual with 2 speed rear end. What a pain in the a** to drive

 

[fireman29b]

Wow, that is a phenomenal refurb! The finished product is fantastic!
I would like to see another 1-2 M-series on the side (upper and lower in middle of truck) and a pair of lightheads down low on the rear, but I couldn't complain about those minor tweaks.


Good luck, and get us some interior pics!

With the M6's on the side, coupled with the lightbar and beacons, it's plenty bright. Trust me! I know it's a bit deceiving but there is a pair of M6's on the lower rear in the common bezel. The brake lights are also turn signals.

 

[fireman29b]

Good looking truck. What else y'all run.

Here's a few others. Our brush rigs....


Brush 3 - 1983 AM General M923 5 ton/In house build (125gpm pump/1000gal water/30gal Class A foam)


LINZ6's all around lower, Justice mini bar and L31 beacons on rear


FS SW300 switch box and 295HFSA1 siren


Brush 2 - 1997 Chevy 3500/In house build (125gpm pump/300gal water/10gal Class A foam)


FS JetSolaris with Carson siren (I know it's plain and simple but this is the go anywhere, beat the sh*t out of it truck)


Brush 1 - 2006 Ford F550/Blanchat Mfg. B-5Xtreme (125gpm/500gal water/10gal Class A foam)


M6's on front, 500's sides and rear, Duo Color TA on rear


SLSA6 controlling it all


(And yeah, she is one BAD A** truck! We LOVE it)

 

[fireman29b]

Command 2 - Battalion Chief/Shift Commander's ride - 2012 F250 w/ ExtendoBed slide out command module


M6's on front and sides, 4 LINZ6's on back plus a Duo Color TA and a Axixtech Torrent lightbar


All controlled by a Carson SC-409 Commander


Ambulance 1 - 2007 F450 4x4/FrazerBilt ALS Ambulance


All 400/600 series Whelen's, EQ2B and PA300 sirens plus dual Buell air horns


Ambulance 4 - 2005 F450/AEV ALS Ambulance


LINZ6's in grille and M9/M6 lighting everywhere else, Whelen remote siren is the only sound on this one. We bought it used but I've got enough parts now to put a EQ2B on her.


We have two other F350 ALS ambulances (2008 and 2009) but they're the old style striping and lettering (we have re-done the above two) plus they're equipped identical to Ambulance 1 in light and sound. We have a 2013 Dodge 4500/4x4 ambulance being built by Osage Industries that will be in this summer and the 2008 unit goes bye, bye. Just wait!

 

[efdny2003]

Really like taking a retired other service truck(in this case military) and turning it into a tanker. That looks like a very well thought out truck, both in design, build, and light set up. Definitely saved money by going about getting a tanker that way. The rest of your apparatus look great as well and love the black over red design. Just one question, you have 4 ambulances; an '05, '07, '08, and '09 with one currently being built. Why is the '08 being replaced instead of the oldest one the '05? Just curious.

 

[fireman29b]

Really like taking a retired other service truck(in this case military) and turning it into a tanker. That looks like a very well thought out truck, both in design, build, and light set up. Definitely saved money by going about getting a tanker that way. The rest of your apparatus look great as well and love the black over red design. Just one question, you have 4 ambulances; an '05, '07, '08, and '09 with one currently being built. Why is the '08 being replaced instead of the oldest one the '05? Just curious.

I know....sounds weird. I can explain though. When I was hired as Chief in 2011, we only had 3 ambulances...the 07, 08, and 09. We have had so many problems with the 08 (first year of the 6.4L diesel by Ford) that it's the problematic truck to get rid of at this point in time. I had to buy the 4th truck (used in 2011) just to make sure I had 3 trucks in service all the time, due to the problems with the 08 and 09. The 08 is on its 5th...yes, 5th, engine block and 3rd turbo. The 09 has been a lot better, only experiencing some exhaust and DPF/regen issues. Before I started, they really didn't rotate trucks except for the 08 and 09, so both of them are at 100k miles and they're very HARD miles due to some of our county roads. The other issue is the 08 and 09 weren't purchased as 4wd trucks AND they're only F350's and they just don't carry the load on our rough roads very well.


In a couple years, we will re-evaluate what to replace, but probably due to mileage, it'll be the 09. We've replaced injectors and turbo's on the 05 and 07 so they run like new trucks. The 05 has 100k on it and the 07 has 70k on it.


Hopefully, I didn't confuse you but this is the reasoning in a nutshell.

 

[efdny2003]

I know....sounds weird. I can explain though. When I was hired as Chief in 2011, we only had 3 ambulances...the 07, 08, and 09. We have had so many problems with the 08 (first year of the 6.4L diesel by Ford) that it's the problematic truck to get rid of at this point in time. I had to buy the 4th truck (used in 2011) just to make sure I had 3 trucks in service all the time, due to the problems with the 08 and 09. The 08 is on its 5th...yes, 5th, engine block and 3rd turbo. The 09 has been a lot better, only experiencing some exhaust and DPF/regen issues. Before I started, they really didn't rotate trucks except for the 08 and 09, so both of them are at 100k miles and they're very HARD miles due to some of our county roads. The other issue is the 08 and 09 weren't purchased as 4wd trucks AND they're only F350's and they just don't carry the load on our rough roads very well.

In a couple years, we will re-evaluate what to replace, but probably due to mileage, it'll be the 09. We've replaced injectors and turbo's on the 05 and 07 so they run like new trucks. The 05 has 100k on it and the 07 has 70k on it.


Hopefully, I didn't confuse you but this is the reasoning in a nutshell.

Didn't confuse me at all, I understand completely. I've just seen departments near me replace newer rigs that were in great condition just to replace them. We have two ambulances in my department, I believe the newest is an 06? Ford and has had a lot of issues including stalling out while responding to calls so I understand that completely as well, and the older is an early 80's box on an early 90's cab and sadly is the better of the two.

 

[acala91]

I know....sounds weird. I can explain though. When I was hired as Chief in 2011, we only had 3 ambulances...the 07, 08, and 09. We have had so many problems with the 08 (first year of the 6.4L diesel by Ford) that it's the problematic truck to get rid of at this point in time. I had to buy the 4th truck (used in 2011) just to make sure I had 3 trucks in service all the time, due to the problems with the 08 and 09. The 08 is on its 5th...yes, 5th, engine block and 3rd turbo. The 09 has been a lot better, only experiencing some exhaust and DPF/regen issues. Before I started, they really didn't rotate trucks except for the 08 and 09, so both of them are at 100k miles and they're very HARD miles due to some of our county roads. The other issue is the 08 and 09 weren't purchased as 4wd trucks AND they're only F350's and they just don't carry the load on our rough roads very well.

In a couple years, we will re-evaluate what to replace, but probably due to mileage, it'll be the 09. We've replaced injectors and turbo's on the 05 and 07 so they run like new trucks. The 05 has 100k on it and the 07 has 70k on it.


Hopefully, I didn't confuse you but this is the reasoning in a nutshell.

I'm not sure how well this would go over with a government agency, but deleting the DPF and retuning the engine on the 6.4 PSDs eliminates A LOT of the problems those motors had. Part of the reason they were so problematic is when the motor goes into the regen process for the DPF it just dumps fuel into the 7 and 8 cylinder when the exhaust valves are open and sends 1400-1500 degree exhaust gasses through the EGR cooler and the turbo to cook off the carbon deposits in the DPF. The reason this problem is worse on a heavy service vehicle like an ambulance is they get driven hard and therefore build up a lot of carbon in the DPF which makes the regen more often, so on top of the increased wear and tear from hard service, the system basically self destructs at a much higher rate because of it.

 

[fireman29b]

I'm not sure how well this would go over with a government agency, but deleting the DPF and retuning the engine on the 6.4 PSDs eliminates A LOT of the problems those motors had. Part of the reason they were so problematic is when the motor goes into the regen process for the DPF it just dumps fuel into the 7 and 8 cylinder when the exhaust valves are open and sends 1400-1500 degree exhaust gasses through the EGR cooler and the turbo to cook off the carbon deposits in the DPF. The reason this problem is worse on a heavy service vehicle like an ambulance is they get driven hard and therefore build up a lot of carbon in the DPF which makes the regen more often, so on top of the increased wear and tear from hard service, the system basically self destructs at a much higher rate because of it.

Yes sir....the 09 is at like 98k right now. We have the programmer and new exhaust pipe sitting in my office, just waiting for her to roll over 100k. The Ford dealership's lead diesel tech is actually the one that picked everything out for us and he works on our trucks. Soon, we should have the problems fixed!

 

[acala91]

Awesome. It's a shame all the new diesels are so hindered by the ridiculous emissions controls they are forced to have.

 

[fireman29b]

Awesome. It's a shame all the new diesels are so hindered by the ridiculous emissions controls they are forced to have.

I agree. I've actually been shopping around looking at used engines and a used ladder truck just to get a decent truck with true, unhindered/unrestrained power.

 

[thefiredogg]

we have a 04 6.0L at our dept and its OOS almost every two weeks. they need to bring back the 7.3L

 

[pdk9]

So when are we gonna see some gold leaf on the side of the tank?!?! I'm guessing that red panel is for your dept's name and I think gold leaf would just too off an already kickass upgrade. Btw, is it just me or does that saw horse in the 3rd pic look like it should not be able to hold all that weight lol? (Yeah, I know that most of the weight is on the front axle there, but I would've imagined that they would've used something bigger than that)

How much would something like this cost on the regular market? $90K invested sounds like a lot (not criticizing-I know squat about fire vehicles), but I imagine these would be very expensive new.

For a barebones tandem axle commercial chassis tanker with a tank of that size, I would be very surprised if you were able to get one brand new for less than $250 (probably more), but if you built it on a custom chassis, you're looking AT LEAST the mid 300's (but definitely more if its something like a Pierce). Assuming the ex-military chassis they bought holds up well, 90K is a good deal

 

[fireman29b]

So when are we gonna see some gold leaf on the side of the tank?!?! I'm guessing that red panel is for your dept's name and I think gold leaf would just too off an already kickass upgrade. Btw, is it just me or does that saw horse in the 3rd pic look like it should not be able to hold all that weight lol? (Yeah, I know that most of the weight is on the front axle there, but I would've imagined that they would've used something bigger than that)

Yeah It does look pretty light to be holding that up. We don't do any gold leaf. It's too expensive to replace when it gets scratched or tore up. We just do reflective gold. We were trying to think of something to put on the red panel but haven't decided yet.


For a barebones tandem axle commercial chassis tanker with a tank of that size, I would be very surprised if you were able to get one brand new for less than $250 (probably more), but if you built it on a custom chassis, you're looking AT LEAST the mid 300's (but definitely more if its something like a Pierce). Assuming the ex-military chassis they bought holds up well, 90K is a good deal

I think the chassis will be fine. It was almost brand new when we got it and its a good, strong chassis. For as little as we use the tanker, it should last us 20 yrs or more.

 

[pdk9]

I think the chassis will be fine. It was almost brand new when we got it and its a good, strong chassis. For as little as we use the tanker, it should last us 20 yrs or more.

Glad to hear it!


So, is there a plan to add graphics on the red panels on the side of the tank? Also, can we get some more pics and (the most important thing) a video soon? This is too cool of a vehicle to not have a video (it's equivalent to blasphemy on ELB)

 

[fireman29b]

Glad to hear it!

So, is there a plan to add graphics on the red panels on the side of the tank? Also, can we get some more pics and (the most important thing) a video soon? This is too cool of a vehicle to not have a video (it's equivalent to blasphemy on ELB)

Videos from a small grass fire yesterday. Sorry it's so dirty but we were down a few dirt roads.

 

[fireman29b]

Glad to hear it!

So, is there a plan to add graphics on the red panels on the side of the tank? Also, can we get some more pics and (the most important thing) a video soon? This is too cool of a vehicle to not have a video (it's equivalent to blasphemy on ELB)

Some interior pics.