my new deuce, 1994 m35a3

[smokeydabear]

recieved a new deuce to make into a brush truck for the fire department. It had a nice canvass top on the back and a soft top. We removed the soft top, installed a hard top we recieved from gaylord dnr,and it now has a new heater kit installed out of the crate.We have a 900 gallon poly tank being made along with a compressed air foam unit. Should be fun.

 

[TedG]

Nice score! I have some nice 900 x 20 NDT's I will donate for your singles! I also have some A3 parts...

 

[319]

Smokey, I'm not an expert on M35's but adding a 900 gallon water tank, plus equipment, is going to put you well over the off road capacity for that truck. There was an article recently in Firehouse, Fire Rescue or some other fire publication addressing this very issue. You might want to do a little more research.

 

[emmado22]

Just the water weight of 900 Gal = 7,510 pounds........

You need a 5 ton atleast...

Thats not the weigh of the tank ifself, the CAF unit, hose, and all the other goodies....

 

[tamangel]

whichever truck you choose and build up, please keep us up on its progress..

Mike

 

[rockman]

I agree, too much water. How about a couple 225 gallon poly totes? There was an article a year ago about an overleader M35 converted to brush truck that rolled an killed it'st operators.

Bill

 

[cranetruck]

The M49 and M50 tanker trucks have 1,200 gallon tanks....but only loaded 50% off-road.
Does your 900 gallon tank have baffles?

 

[maddawg308]

AAHHH my eyes!!! Red paint and ugly A3 up front!

 

[smokeydabear]

The tank is mady from poly with baffles. It looks like an upside down T. It is flat on the bottom, 14" high at the side and 24" high in the center. WWW.roscommonequipmentcenter.com has alot of info. Our specs are alot lighter than what they build and was told it would be a well planned design.

 

[gringeltaube]

Flipped wheels..... Hope that is only temporary???

 

[bottleworks]

Looks good. I'm sure it will perform great for you!

 

[emmado22]

Smokey,

Bottom line, is JUST WITH WATER WEIGHT, your overloading the truck. It might be a GREAT design, but the truck your mounting it on, it isnt supposed to take that sort of weight... Now add the tank, a pump, hose, the CAF unit, and everything else people put on brush trucks, and you have the makings of a disaster on your hands........... Just add some crappy terrain and a inexperienced driver, and you'll have a news story with a unhappy ending on firehouse.com and in a NFPA LODD report. Your going to kill someone with this truck......


The military M44 series tankers have ONLY the liquid and small pump and a roll or 2 of hose.. There is NO other room to put anything, BY DESIGN because of weight issues...

 

[No.2Diesel]

"AAHHH my eyes!!! Red paint and ugly A3 up front!"

 

[M1075]

Nice truck. Is it common to see A3s with winches? When I need the assistance of a fire truck, I don't care what color it is as long as it comes!

 

[neilhendrix]

 

[WarCloud]

tank truck?

I'm kinda new around here, but I am an ex armor crewman and have a lot of seat time in Deuces, 5 tons, M113 and M60 tanks, and I can tell you things that suck in order.

Flipping over and dying. Really sucks. Seen guys do it in tanks.

Breaking your ride in the middle of nowhere. Sucks.

Getting in the soft sht and discovering you're short half an engine as you sink. Sucks.

And the smell of flaming clutch material just has that general aroma of real suckyness all over it.

Of course, as I learned very quickly in my old M60A1 back at Ft Knox, getting 60 tons moving is not nearly as hard as getting it to STOP moving, or as important.

Good luck man. I agree with the critics. You're short half a truck.

 

[smokeydabear]

the flipped wheels were on it that way when we got it. As for it not handling it, i am quite sure the dnr and the fed forest service would not construct a truck that weights alot more than this one will. On road, the engineering tag say's 12000 highway and 6000 offroad. If you look on the website i posted you can look for yourself. The design we had specified is ALOT lighter and has a lower center of gravity. This truck will be legal when its done and is being outfitted by a profesional fire apparatus builder. If you want to make negative comments...keep them to yourself. Being constructive is one thing, telling someone you are going to kill people is another. I have saw quite a few trucks on this site that are extremely overweight and top heavy and dont hear all the complaints.

 

[MGD]

dangerous truck

I normaly wouldnt get involved but you should get rid of the chip on your shoulder and listen to what these people are saying.Just because the dnr built a truck does not mean its safe or legal.Also remember the winch lowers your payload.Alright now go back to your station and lookup the NIOSHA firefighter fatality reports and investigations August 2007 issue specifically Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Investigative Report #F2005-27 read this report before you go any further.If you still dont believe maybee you can call the Fire Chiefs widow and see what she thinks of your plan.I dont care what you think of me but maybee you should be concerned about the fine people of your fire district.
Mike DeGaray

 

[Crash_AF]

RE: dangerous truck

I am not going to get into the personal issue except to say that safety is the most important aspect of any job and the issues that have been raised in this post are valid ones. Don't discount them because of ego or a defensive attitude. Everyone here only wants to make sure that at the end of the day, everyone goes home safe.

On the technical side of things, I would also recommend that you look for a 5T instead of the deuce for what your planned use is. At the very least, lower your water capacity to get closer to the recommended payload of the vehicle. The 939A2 series trucks are much better suited to the duty you are planning to use this truck for and are at least as plentiful if not more so than the A3 deuce you have now.

In any case, (and I am not meaning this to be an accusation against you or your training program) please spend the extra time to properly train your men on the differences between operating a civilian truck on the highway and operating a former military vehicle off highway, to include side hill limitations and center of gravity issues. If you need assistance coming up with a lesson plan, I'm sure there are many here who have the knowledge and experience to help you plan one properly.

Stay safe and thanks for serving your community.

Later,
Joe

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

RE: dangerous truck

It doesnt look like you taped off the tail or clearance lights?

I agree that the truck if run with that weight for long periods should be a 5 ton. The other option is towing a water buffalo and sucking the water out of it to take a load off of the axles.

At any rate I am glad to see the old/new girl serving the fire department keep us posted and stay safe.