Maybe I missed it, but how did he get it shipped to Montana?
flatbed semi
I Bought A Firetruck
11–20 of 284 posts
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#12Does anyone remember the two-seater firetruck arcade game? That thing ruled. edit: this! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Truck_(video_game)
No, but firetrucks in GTA were always a fun ride.
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#13I've always thought that an old firetruck would make a much better RV conversion platform than an old bus. The reasoning is that a firetruck (especially a pumper truck) has a suspension that is designed to carry much more weight than a bus so you would not be as constrained in what you could build on top of it.
Jay Leno did an excellent column about how amazing fire trucks are in terms of durability.
The OP said that "fire trucks" weren't designed to drive on the highway at highway speeds, which is a bit of an over generalization. The National Forest Service for example has a number of trucks in California that are tasked with driving up and down the state to fight wild fires. They not only drive on the highway, they end up with a couple million miles on them before they are retired.
In terms of practicality (there isn't much :-) but a ladder truck has the ability to put you fairly high up somewhat "away" from the truck. (although an inexperienced operator could easily tip over their truck if they weren't careful) and they have those pretty awesome hydraulic stabilizing legs. I sketched out briefly a sort of 'circus tent' RV where the tenting was connected to a ladder truck's ladder which could then extend up and allow you to stake out a tent around it. A number of issues there, from the outgassing of the truck into your tent :-) and the ladder has a specified end load that it can move around which is often less than 500 lbs so you end can't really hoist canvas, you would get away with light nylon at best.
But in terms of interesting vehicles to own I agree with the author that there is a certain cachet there :-)
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#14I'm coming down to Missoula for Barcamp in April. I expect a ride on this thing.
A firetruck ride might convince me to make the trip over for Barcamp...
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#15"Even though it's 31 years old and technically qualifies as an antique" What makes something technically and antique? I was under the impression that 50+ years was measure of antiqueness but I can't remember why I think that.
Depends on the state you live in. In Montana it qualifies for special license plates when a vehicle is 30 years old.
https://doj.mt.gov/driving/license-plates/#antiqueplates
Although by driving it to work he probably violates the 'general transportation' provision.
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#16Don’t you guys have voluntary fire brigades or volunteer-driven agencies for technical relief[0] over there? Sure, you can’t get your groceries with one of their trucks, but driving them is still pretty fun I was told. Plus you don’t have to park them in your driveway. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technisches_Hilfswerk
Traffic accidents, railway suicides, stuff like that can be pretty gruesome. You have to be a certain type of person to be prepared to deal with that sort of thing.
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#17Someone got their childhood dream!
Mine was shattered when I found out that my dad didn't drive trains (An electrical engineer is apparently not the same thing). Since then, I've ridden on many trains, but I haven't driven one (yet).
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#18I still want an office in a light industrial area with a concrete wall/bollards/ditch, and a roller gate, behind which I could park a 5 ton truck and/or unimog or fire truck or something (so as to make it impossible to drive through the gate). I had no idea fire trucks were even cheaper than old 2.5 or 5 ton military trucks.
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#19so this is my favorite thing, ever.
Re: I Bought A Firetruck
#20"Even though it's 31 years old and technically qualifies as an antique" What makes something technically and antique? I was under the impression that 50+ years was measure of antiqueness but I can't remember why I think that.
I'd guess that he means relative to other vehicles on the road.
He follows that with "it looks like a modern fire truck." Apart from things like GPS and maybe improved radio communication, I'm curious as to what design and feature improvements have come along, considering those in nearly all other modes of transportation over the same period, and the importance they serve. E.g. do firetrucks really need to be that huge? It seems like a huge disadvantage, especially in cities.