530B Firetruck Main water tank questions...

[neil2007]

Hello !

Last night I started pulling off the decking (So I can replace it) that is over the top the main water tank on my '53 Reo 530 B (Firemaster). I've got a couple of questions that hopefully someone who is familiar with the 530's will be able to answer.

1. What was the original wood used to create the decking?

2. Dealing with the water tank itself... After I removed the old decking, I noticed that there are a whole lot of bolts heads around the perimiter of the tank itself. Are the water tanks on the 530b's made in a multi-peice design to where you can unbolt the lid of of and remove it? I'm wanting to get into the tank and clean out all the 20+ years of debri it gathered from sitting in the woods and give it a good sealer coat of something.

Any thoughts or suggestions on any of the above would greatly be appreciated!!

Thanks!!!



Neil

 

[jasonjc]

I need to do the same thing to my 530C. So please post pic and any info you do come up with.

The wood I think is Oak. Mine is long gone.

 

[tamangel]

unknown if this specific info exists on the Mil Fire Truck link page of the forum, but might try there.. I have also put this thread link there for future reference..

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cckw/10371-military-fire-trucks-5.html message #42 is the links grouping.. I continue to add links to threads or other sources as I find them..

good luck,

Mike

 

[NEIOWA]

Removable tank top is a standard feature on fire trucks.

 

[neil2007]

WOW!!! Thanks for the link! Looks like I got some readin' to do!!


Neil

unknown if this specific info exists on the Mil Fire Truck link page of the forum, but might try there.. I have also put this thread link there also..

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cckw/10371-military-fire-trucks-5.html message #42 is the links grouping.. I continue to add links to threads or other sources as I find them..

good luck,

Mike

 

[neil2007]

Removable tank top is a standard feature on fire trucks.

Thank you! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear!!! Now all I have to do is hope that I can get the bolts out... Assuming I have enough air hose ...

Thanks for confirming what I was hoping!


Neil

 

[emmado22]

Hose bed decking is typically made out of hard wood. Ash, oak, maple, etc.. Make sure you leave space between the boards for air to circulate and help dry out the hose. I used brass screws on my hose bed decking. Coat with many layers of varnish.

 

[pwrwagonfire]

Removable tank top is a standard feature on fire trucks.

+1

But usually cleaning them out isnt very fun

 

[neil2007]

I need to do the same thing to my 530C. So please post pic and any info you do come up with.

The wood I think is Oak. Mine is long gone.

I'll try to keep you in mind after I dig into it and find out what it takes to do in real life. (Who knows what kind of difficulties I'll run into with all the years of it sitting in the woods with the bed being full of leaves and debri) IF it's not too cold this weekend I may try seeing what kind of damage I can do. Currently its too dark by the time I get home to do anything on this during the week...

Later!


Neil

 

[neil2007]

+1

But usually cleaning them out isnt very fun

Already sounds alot better than what I thought I was going to have to do... At least it's not as bad as the fuel tank was... I had planned on cutting the top off and making a new top and welding it back on after I got the tank cleaned and protected. Glad I don't have to do that! As long as the bolts come out, the top appears to be in really good shape. Suprising considering that it had about a foot of leaves, dirt, trash and other debri sitting in the bed for about 13 years while she sat lonely off in the woods.

Later!


Neil

 

[neil2007]

Hose bed decking is typically made out of hard wood. Ash, oak, maple, etc.. Make sure you leave space between the boards for air to circulate and help dry out the hose. I used brass screws on my hose bed decking. Coat with many layers of varnish.

Thanks for the advice... I've still got the remnants of the decking and also the flat metal stock that the decking was screwed to... Knowing this, would there be a major benefit to widening the space between the decking to allow for more air flow compared to the stock spacing on the original flat stock?

Thanks!


Neil

 

[emmado22]

How wide is it now?

 

[neil2007]

How wide is it now?

Can't really tell just yet... I was able to pull a section of boards and flat stock off in one peice and carried it to the shop to let it dry out so I can separate the boards from the chunk of whatever it was that was holding it all together... I'll take a closer look at it this weekend. From the rest of the rotted wood that was still somewhat in place, I'd have to say it was about an 1/8" - 1/4" gap... all of this remaining decking was pretty much just a wet rotted mass of wood, dirt and screws... Not much to go on... I couldn't even tell you how many deck boards there are... I CAN tell you that there are 5 flat metal peices that hold it all together (only usable as a template to make new ones). Once I get everything separated I should be able to count the holes in the metal to determin the quantity of boards. I do have one solid section of board that I can cut to get a good cross section of the deck board so I can recreate it to the best of my ability...

Thanks!


Neil

 

[Scarecrow1]

Neil the wood was more than likely Mahogany .It was the wood the armed force's came to rely on . Not to step on anyones toes but please use stainless screws when you put it back together . Some woods have a chemical reaction to brass copper and steel hardware . Stainless doesen't and it wont rust or tarnish after a short while ......

 

[neil2007]

Well... The answer to the question is.... Oak. Over the christmas break I was able to take one of the well preserved sections of wood down to the wood shop and plain it down to a good finish and compared it to many different test samples of known woods and it matched perfectly with our sample of Oak.

SO... It looks like I'll be off to the mill sometime in the near future to have then cut some dried Oak to the proper thickness.

Thanks to all who suggested all the different possibilities.... This allowed me to have good samples on hand to compare my findings with!

Thanks!!!


Neil