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Does the M35A3 really make a good FD Brush Truck

Ghostrider73

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Here's a e carry 150 ft of hose on the reel, and have a 0 ft line at the front of the tank. There's also a 1.5 in line that is plumbed in at the drivers side of the reel that we use to fill other trucks off of when needed.

Matt
 

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trukhead

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I crawled under one of our A3's, and both A2's today, and could not find anything resembling a PTO on the A3.

Matt
I was under the impression that the 6 bolt cover on the side of the tranny was a spot that a pto would bolt to.
:mrgreen:

on the A3
 
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MRFD715

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Marble Rock, Iowa

MRFD715

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These folks have all the parts to set up a PTO: Muncie Power Products

Problem is the cost, $500-$600 just for the PTO, then we'd have to have power shafts and brackets for the pump made. So if we end up doing this we're thinking that we're going to stick with the original plan of the gas powered pump.

Any other thoughts/suggestions for me?
 

Maverick1701

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Lubbock, TX
These folks have all the parts to set up a PTO: Muncie Power Products

Problem is the cost, $500-$600 just for the PTO, then we'd have to have power shafts and brackets for the pump made. So if we end up doing this we're thinking that we're going to stick with the original plan of the gas powered pump.

Any other thoughts/suggestions for me?


We just mount a gas pump on the back and call it good. Simple, "cheap" and easy to use.
 

preyn2

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Google "Roscommon equipment center" also. It's a division of the minnesota (?) forestry dept, and they've done a lot of research and development work on using surplus military vehicles for firefighting. IMNSHO, when the Good Lord said "Let there be brush trucks," what He had in mind was a Deuce with a 500 gallon skid unit in the back.
 

MRFD715

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Well it looks like we may finally have the opportunity to move forward with this project. Our Forestry Dept. has a 1992 A3 with just over 11,000 miles. It has seen time in Iraq, would there be any maintenance issues we should look for if we can pick it up? Also, anyone know where to pick up a winch for them? Our Forestry rep was going to look but he didn't know if he would be able to come up with anything.
 

quickfarms

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Orange Junction, CA
These folks have all the parts to set up a PTO: Muncie Power Products

Problem is the cost, $500-$600 just for the PTO, then we'd have to have power shafts and brackets for the pump made. So if we end up doing this we're thinking that we're going to stick with the original plan of the gas powered pump.

Any other thoughts/suggestions for me?
Look for a used pto, they are out there
 

MRFD715

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Look for a used pto, they are out there

Thanks for the reply, after some discussion we decided that if we can get this thing done we will just stick with the KISS principal and use our 300GPM gas-powered pump. There were just to many things to figure out to use the particular PTO pump that we have.
 

John S-B

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Just remember that just because this is a military vehicle, it's NOT a tank. Unless you have ROPS made for the truck, you will have NO rollover protection. Read the NIOSH reports on military vehicles and do drivers training BEFORE you put this truck in service. Good luck with your "new" truck.
 

MRFD715

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Just remember that just because this is a military vehicle, it's NOT a tank. Unless you have ROPS made for the truck, you will have NO rollover protection. Read the NIOSH reports on military vehicles and do drivers training BEFORE you put this truck in service. Good luck with your "new" truck.
Thanks for the concerns. It's nice to know that there are other people that worry about safety as well.

We are not unfamiliar with MV's as we used an M54 as a tanker until just a couple months ago and we used to have an M38 Jeep(talk about an unsafe vehicle!) so we realize there are some shortfalls. Rest assured that everyone undergoes training before they are allowed to use any of our trucks so that than can safely operate all of our apparatus.
 

kfdk14

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We have 1. Only problem we have is tires and we're probly harder on it than we should be but they are a good slow speed off road truck. 600 gal. is enough to be effective but not over loaded. Just make sure anyone that drives it is well trained they are different to drive than any other truck military or otherwise. We've had everything from m715s to m923s.
 

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MRFD715

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Marble Rock, Iowa
We have 1. Only problem we have is tires and we're probly harder on it than we should be but they are a good slow speed off road truck. 600 gal. is enough to be effective but not over loaded. Just make sure anyone that drives it is well trained they are different to drive than any other truck military or otherwise. We've had everything from m715s to m923s.

Thanks for the info! From the picture it looks like yours is set up pretty close to what I'm thinking of doing for us!
 

MRFD715

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Marble Rock, Iowa
We got our name on it before anyone else so we will be moving forward with this. Our Forestry rep is looking for a hydraulic pump and winch for us since it doesn't have one, anyone know where we can pick one up if he isn't able to?

We are very much looking forward to upgrading almost 30 years from our M54 and the P10 that this truck will be replacing.
 

bgates

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Nampa, ID
I have 25 military trucks and I use an M35A3 for a trail truck and now and then as a daily driver. It drives nice and runs great.
It will haul anything in it's load limit very nicely.
A fun truck to drive.
 

mcmullag

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Colorado Springs, CO region
university of co in Ft.Collins, CO

I have seen these in person, prolly do it with an A3 no problem, low center of cravity water tank......

CSFS Upgrades Fire Engine Fleet; Replaces Engine Burned in Yuma County Fire with Loaner

With firefighter and public safety in mind, the Colorado State Forest Service recently completed a four-year goal to upgrade 40 of the wildland fire engines in its 140-engine state fleet.
CSFS engine delivered to Wauneta Fire Protection District near Wray, Colo.

The newer engines offer improvements such as advanced safety equipment and lower-profile designs less prone to tipping.
One of these newer engines headed to a fire department in Yuma County, where the Heartstrong Fire burned 24,000 acres and injured three firefighters trying to escape from a stranded fire truck on March 18.
“Firefighter safety has always been our number-one concern,” said Matt O'Leary, lead mechanic at the CSFS fire equipment shop. “So our primary goals were to make sure these engines have better stability for fighting fires in rugged terrain, and to provide the best safety features we can.”
O'Leary helped deliver a new CSFS engine to the Wauneta Fire Protection District near Wray. Rather than retire the department's older engine, the CSFS instead loaned it to the Wages Volunteer Fire Department in nearby Yuma to replace the engine it lost to the Heartstrong Fire.
Since 2008, CSFS fire equipment shop mechanics in Fort Collins have worked to swap out dozens of wildland fire engines in the state fleet that had an older chassis or outdated equipment. Over the past year, the final 13 of 40 earmarked engines were replaced; the last of these are being delivered this March to fire protection districts around Colorado.
Upgrades Include Newer Chassis, Increased Stability

One of the most significant improvements is the replacement of dump truck-sized, 6x6 Type-4 engines with newer models offering a low-profile 880-gallon water tank design that drops the vehicle's center of gravity and greatly reduces rollover risk on rough terrain.
The newer engines also have automatic transmissions, air-assist power steering, three-point seat belts and better braking systems. Additionally, the water pumps on the engines run on diesel instead of unleaded gasoline, allowing them to draw fuel from the main tank.
Many of the smaller, pickup-sized Type-6 engines in the state fleet also were swapped out to replace an aging 1967 chassis with newer Chevrolet and Ford truck chassis. One of these replacement engines recently arrived at the Western Fremont Fire Protection District in Coaldale.
“Our engine desperately needed to be replaced,” said John Walker, Western Fremont's fire chief. He said the most important upgrade to the new vehicle is the addition of side-discharge water nozzles. Water now can be sprayed from both sides of the moving vehicle, rather than from a hand-held hose at the rear of the engine. This allows the engine to lay down a “wet line” as it drives across the path of an oncoming fire, which works well in grasses and other light fuels.
“A wet line can help reinforce and widen other fuelbreaks, such as roads,” Walker said. “Having these new nozzles is quicker, more efficient and safer than putting firefighters on foot in front of a fire.”
Federal Program Makes Engines Available

Jakob Bonser fabricates and overhauls a fire engine.

To build and maintain an engine fleet in Colorado, the CSFS fire equipment shop obtains retired vehicles through the Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) Program. The program allows the CSFS to acquire used vehicles from the Department of Defense and other federal entities, which become property of the U.S. Forest Service and are loaned to rural fire departments.
Together, the CSFS and USFS absorb nearly all costs of the engine fleet program to ensure that fire departments around the state have the necessary equipment to fight fires. The CSFS fire equipment shop converts the vehicles to functional fire engines and provides ongoing major vehicle maintenance on the fleet. Recipient fire departments are only required to contribute $200 annually to help cover travel costs for CSFS fire shop mechanics, who must complete annual inspections on the vehicles.
“This program is absolutely essential,” said Walker. “It's great to see a state and federal partnership that produces such excellent results.”
Starting with the chassis of a retired military vehicle, CSFS mechanics O'Leary, Nate Taggatz, Paul Rodriguez, Jakob Bonser, Kevin Podvin and Reed Hanlon first perform a full-scale overhaul of the vehicle at the CSFS State Office in Fort Collins. They replace hoses, belts, brakes, fluids, filters and shocks. They then make necessary modifications, such as mounting a low-profile water tank and attaching a pump, hose reel and tool boxes before delivering the refurbished vehicle to its new home.
O'Leary says it takes about six weeks to build a new fire engine.
Engines Benefit Fire Departments All Over Colorado

From Yuma County in the northeast to Montezuma County in the southwest, CSFS fleet engines are made available to fire departments throughout Colorado.
“We use this vehicle and one other CSFS Type-4 on a variety of fire incidents,” said Erik Johnson, fire chief at the Tallahassee Volunteer Fire Department in Fremont County, who received one of the upgraded engines last October. “They fit very well into our current fleet of fire engines, and give us a year-round tool to use with the limited budget we have.”
In 2012, the following fire departments/districts received or will receive an upgraded CSFS engine:

  • Wauneta Fire Protection District (FPD ) – Yuma County
  • Tallahassee Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) – Fremont County
  • Western Fremont FPD – Fremont County
  • Campo VFD – Baca County
  • Wiley FPD – Prowers County
  • South Fork FPD – Rio Grande County
  • Elbert FPD – Elbert County
  • Huerfano County FPD – Huerfano County
  • Stonewall FPD – Las Animas County
  • West Routt FPD – Routt County
  • North-West FPD – Park County
  • Mancos FPD – Montezuma County
  • Wet Mountain FPD – Custer County
 
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