How long should fire trucks last?

[callbay]

A town nearby just passed a good sized (1%) sales tax increase to replace 10 year old fire trucks of different types. Not a lot of salt used on the roads here and relatively mild winters. No adverse conditions that I can think of. I believe the town has a population of about 60,000.

Just wondered if 10 years is reasonalbe for replacement?

 

[eljefino]

I understand the ladders need inspection and certification. But I think 30 years is the typical lifespan. After that, you can buy one for $1000 and always be invited to parades.

I looked at buying a 1976 dodge 4x4 3/4 ton pickup from the "forestry unit" that basically just plowed the snow from the fire station parking lot. It had real low miles and dents everywhere.

 

[Scorch]

Full inspection of everything and maybe a couple motor overhauls but I would say far from needing a whole new fleet of trucks.

 

[bradepb]

We keep our school buses for 12-15 years and we have salty winters. They haul important cargo and are safety inspected yearly by the State police.
Ten years is ridiculous for well kept fire trucks. I would say 15-20.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: bradepb
We keep our school buses for 12-15 years and we have salty winters. They haul important cargo and are safety inspected yearly by the State police.
Ten years is ridiculous for well kept fire trucks. I would say 15-20.


Wow, busses here are replaced every 7-8 years or so.They are replacing the older freightliner series with the new Bluebird cummins units. They also have a lot of International ones as well.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: callbay
A town nearby just passed a good sized (1%) sales tax increase to replace 10 year old fire trucks of different types. Not a lot of salt used on the roads here and relatively mild winters. No adverse conditions that I can think of. I believe the town has a population of about 60,000.

Just wondered if 10 years is reasonalbe for replacement?

Some mnicipalities. fire depts, police still don't seem to understand that governments at all levels are broke, including the one in which I live.

Fire Depts in my experience are Toy-Crazy. They want the best/finest/expensiviest that money can buy (even though there is none).

A 10 year old Fire truck is not even approaching midlife.

When there are multiple fire stations in an area. Each needs to have the one "Show Stopper" piece of equipment.

I am painting with a broad brush, but I have seen in many times.

They should be taken to task on "why" they need it. Could they have bought the wrong one initially??

 

[PhillyJoe]

I believe there is a crowd of towns that would line up to buy 10 year old fire trucks to offset the cost of the new ones. Never heard of a town around here replacing more than one at a time.

 

[pbm]

I believe NYC tries to replace apparatus at approximately 10 years of age.
This isn't always possible due to budgetary constraints, but I believe that's what they aim for.
The better (10 year old) rigs are usually kept as 'spares' to replace crashed, broken, etc..units..the others are auctioned and often bought by small towns nearby (where they are often used for years).

 

[bradepb]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Originally Posted By: bradepb
We keep our school buses for 12-15 years and we have salty winters. They haul important cargo and are safety inspected yearly by the State police.
Ten years is ridiculous for well kept fire trucks. I would say 15-20.


Wow, busses here are replaced every 7-8 years or so.They are replacing the older freightliner series with the new Bluebird cummins units. They also have a lot of International ones as well.


I work for a bus contractor , the districts dont always keep theirs quite as long but many go 10-12 years, and some of the wealthier districts will lease them and turn them in after only 3 years, just depends on budgeting

 

[MNgopher]

Depends on how the trucks are used. As noted above, the use of a truck in say, New York City, versus in a small town, are dramtically different.

The City I live in has a fleet average of around 15 years old. Our city grew from 25,000 people in 1990 to around 55,000 in 2010, so this is even after adding equipment to deal with growth. The age would be even higher if one starts to include things like brush trucks (mostly '80s equipment here). This even in another salt belt state... Part of the deal is the equipment is washed off routinely in the winter time.

School buses are a tougher comparison - different usage again.

 

[crosseyedwx]

Would probably depend on call volume, apparatus type, and maintenance schedule. Some cities probably use the sale of older vehicles to offset the cost of new. Plus, the safety features of fire apparatus today far outshine that of 10 years ago. The 1989 and 1990 engines of my previous volunteer FD don't have shoulder belts. The 2003 does. That, and things simply break and fail after time, and repair/replacement costs also begin to add up, but shouldn't constitute the reason for purchasing a new vehicle after just 10 years. They may also have grants to burn... if they don't use 'em, they lose 'em.

 

[Chris142]

Is there any emission reasons for them to replace them? Might get a kickback from the state or Feds if they switch to low emission engines?

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Our volunteer fire department still uses a 1958 flat fender Power Wagon as a brush truck, and has a couple Chevy Topkicks(somewhere around the early 80's vintage) for pumper trucks.

 

[meangreen01]

Originally Posted By: callbay


Just wondered if 10 years is reasonalbe for replacement?


Absolutely not. These are seriously heavy duty trucks that should last at least double that. Do you have a link to a news story? I'd be curious to read more about this.

 

[Cujet]

30 years, just like aircraft. Yes, it actually takes some maintenance to keep a heavy duty vehicle that long. But, there is no reason not to expect long life from them. It's impossible to justify replacement, other than to say they were poorly maintained or involved in catastrophic crashes.

Sorry, but that town is sticking it to the "subjects" that live there. Our town does the same, letting cops drive huge patrol cars and trucks home, then replacing them every 2 years. Absurd. It's time to hold our .gov to account, in every way.

 

[callbay]

+1

 

[dwendt44]

It's a good excuse though isn't it?

A small town wouldn't have a lot of usage(miles/hours); and most fire equipment is washed religiously shortly after returning from a fire call.

Of course, IF it's because they want to upgrade to a different level of equipment, it MIGHT be a worthy cause.

 

[turbodieselfreak]

Sometimes there are "behind the scenes" reasons for replacement. The town I work for can't keep a vehicle in service past 100,000 miles because the municipal insurance policy won't cover them for liability past that point. The only way around it is a bumper to bumper reman, so it's just easier (and usually cheaper) to buy a new vehicle. Doesn't matter if it's a vic, dodge ram, snowplow, fire engine, etc. I don't believe calendar age is an issue though.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

There was a city or county around here that needed to rebuild the engines on their fire engines because the maintenance people failed to change the oil even though they said they did. From what I remember the news said they weren't that old.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: turbodieselfreak
Sometimes there are "behind the scenes" reasons for replacement. The town I work for can't keep a vehicle in service past 100,000 miles because the municipal insurance policy won't cover them for liability past that point. The only way around it is a bumper to bumper reman, so it's just easier (and usually cheaper) to buy a new vehicle. Doesn't matter if it's a vic, dodge ram, snowplow, fire engine, etc. I don't believe calendar age is an issue though.


Once again, that a failure of .gov. They could self insure, find alternative insurance, negotiate with the provider they currently use and/or so on.

I've had enough of being trampled by bureaucrats who decide things on my behalf, without ever considering what's right.