Lmtv Fire Dept conversion in Texas

[FireWoody]

Hello all, blessed to find a site with lots of knowledge about these trucks! I have searched every page that i could find here about FD conversions and searched for answers without any luck. So I'll ask my question of ignorance. We have a 2003 LMTV 1078 that we are converting into a brush truck/high water vehicle, and we are needing to add lots of electrical components. 12v electrical components. What would be the best way to safely and effectively gain access to a reliable 12v supply? I know that there is a 12v ignition and 12v batt access at the fuse panel, but is that safe for tapping for a high amp draw? Is there a safe way to tap at the batteries themselves without creating an unbalanced load issue? Thank you in advance!

 

[m715mike]

Howdy, from just north of Houston. I’m sure help will be along shortly to answer your question. In the mean time, welcome to the site.

Guessing by your truck, you are in Krum (near Denton?). You are not far from SS member Fuzzytoaster. He’s a good guy and great source for knowledge and parts!

 

[fuzzytoaster]

I almost bought some property in Krum some years back so you're right m715mike. Thank you for the kind words.

As for 12v tap for high amp draw it depends how high of a draw. If you're wanting max allowable power draw you can tap directly into the reverse polarity box behind the cab (behind the spare tire) as ties directly into the batteries and all power for the truck flows through it (12v and 24v). If you're wanting to tap into the PDP (passenger dash area) for low amp stuff there is a main hot that you can tap into fairly easy. I'm not too far from yall if you need assistance. Nice looking truck btw.

 

[FireWoody]

Thank you guys! The light/siren controller recommends 50a fuses, i know that's not the constant draw but i don't want to burn anything up. The pump for firefighting is diesel and would need a decent amount of amps to start. There is a box where the nato plug is that seems to have substantial supply capabilites.

 

[fuzzytoaster]

I didn't want to assume you had a power disconnect box as shown in your picture. Only later model A1 trucks and some early ones that went through a rebuild got it and it's a great feature. You could tap into it for your high amp draw or use a slave adapter if you don't want to modify anything. If you wanted to tap into them I'd recommend on the backside of the disconnect solenoid (behind the green tab) so both physical and electronic battery disconnects still work and remove all potential draws from the batteries. It should pull power evenly from the batteries too though those AGM batteries should be inspected thoroughly as one weak battery on these trucks and it can make them act up.

 

[FireWoody]

I didn't want to assume you had a power disconnect box as shown in your picture. Only later model A1 trucks and some early ones that went through a rebuild got it and it's a great feature. You could tap into it for your high amp draw or use a slave adapter if you don't want to modify anything. If you wanted to tap into them I'd recommend on the backside of the disconnect solenoid (behind the green tab) so both physical and electronic battery disconnects still work and remove all potential draws from the batteries. It should pull power evenly from the batteries too though those AGM batteries should be inspected thoroughly as one weak battery on these trucks and it can make them act up.

Thank you very much!!

 

[NDT]

That paint job is amazing! I am working on a high water LMTV as well for my fire dept. During hurricane Harvey we had a really hard time getting evacuees up and down the OEM ladder. I designed this folding stairway and had it manufactured. It bolts on.

 

[tot74]

On our M1078 I tapped off of the 12v battery tap in the battery box to a continuous duty relay mounted under the bed above the battery box. This feeds all off the high current demand items including the fire pump. I used the chemical detect circuit to trigger the relay, which allows the radio and pump power to drop out while the engine cranks.

 

[Curtisje]

I run all of my 12 volt power off of a 24v to 12v converter.

24 volt conversion... sort of

I bypassed the glowplug resistors a while back because others had done it. I also have a volt meter on each battery so I can see how each is doing. I didn't like watching the front battery drop to 10V or lower during startup nor am I a fan of swapping the battery positions every few months. I...

www.steelsoldiers.com

This way I always draw from both batteries equally. I like the way it is working out for me. You can get higher amp units than mine. I think BUSS makes a 600 amp unit for military applications. I've seen them for sale online.

Good luck.

 

[tot74]

 

[USAFSS-ColdWarrior]

View attachment 803893

Welcome, Dave!
And howdy from right here in San Angelo, too!

 

[Celticlady]

View attachment 803893

Good morning from the Ozarks.

I have a 1999 M1078 with a dump conversion for working my ranch were everthing is 4WD. I would like to put a tank and pump on a pallet that could be dropped on to the bed for a fire.

I already have a very portable gas "firepump" on a big hand dolly. It has 300 ft of 1 1/2 in hose. The idea is to drop the pallet from a stand on the bed. Strap the " firepump" to brackets installed on the pallet. Head to the creek fill the tank and head out.

I have several 1500 gal tanks that catch gutter rain water off the house. I have modified the pump suction side hose with camlock fittings for quick change from the strainer to direct take from the bottom of the tanks. I was thinking do the same for the tank on the pallet.

I see the nice pitures but I don't see any pictures of your tank/ plumbing set up.

If you all think Im nuts, Im not easly offended. I dont want to reinvent the wheel or do something inadvertently dangerous or dumb.

Suggestions?

 

[tot74]

I used a slip in unit on our truck. These pictures show some of the plumbing.

 

[Celticlady]

Yes that is what I am talking about. So I have the engine/pump. Tell me about your tank.

 

[Celticlady]

Hello all, blessed to find a site with lots of knowledge about these trucks! I have searched every page that i could find here about FD conversions and searched for answers without any luck. So I'll ask my question of ignorance. We have a 2003 LMTV 1078 that we are converting into a brush truck/high water vehicle, and we are needing to add lots of electrical components. 12v electrical components. What would be the best way to safely and effectively gain access to a reliable 12v supply? I know that there is a 12v ignition and 12v batt access at the fuse panel, but is that safe for tapping for a high amp draw? Is there a safe way to tap at the batteries themselves without creating an unbalanced load issue? Thank you in advance!View attachment 803792View attachment 803793

Tell me about your tank.

 

[tot74]

It is a 520 gallon poly tank w/10 gal foam tank supplied by the vendor of the skid unit

 

[Celticlady]

It is a 520 gallon poly tank w/10 gal foam tank supplied by the vendor of the skid unit

So you bought the skid unit complete whole from a vendor? Can you tell who that vendor is?

What does the complete skid unit weight filled. As that must real close or over the load limit what has been your experience driving it filled.

 

[tot74]

Didn't know if against site rules but vendor is a company called Wildfire here in Texas. We removed a lot of items not needed for a firetruck so by the time we got the water and everything else onboard we are right at gross. It drives very well and the load is not even noticed.

 

[Celticlady]

Didn't know if against site rules but vendor is a company called Wildfire here in Texas. We removed a lot of items not needed for a firetruck so by the time we got the water and everything else onboard we are right at gross. It drives very well and the load is not even noticed.

Thanks. I will look for them.
I don't want to reinvent the wheel. If somebody has a something all set up, maybe that is the way to go. Glad to hear about driving at load.