New tanker for Prospect Heights (more)

From Drew Smith:

The 1994 Spartan/S&S Tanker is DOA. During its annual maintenance inspection, it was discovered that there was fracturing of the oak planks that are part of the mounting between the tank frame and chassis frame. The vehicle was sent to Alexis Fire Equipment for repair. When the tank was removed as part of the work it was then found that both chassis frame rails and both tank frame rails were severely corroded. The cost to repair the tank (of which the body was part) was tens of thousands of dollars. The chassis frame was determined to be not repairable as it had pitting along the top and deep pitting on the sides. The side pitting was in the location of the suspension mounts and was deeper than half the thickness of the frame. The top pitting ran the entire length of each frame rail. In some spots, when struck with a welding hammer the areas deepened further.

corrosion makes fire truck not repairable

Prospect Heights Fire District photo

Tags: corrosion makes fire truck not repairable, new tanker for Prospect Heights, Prospect Heights FD Tanker 9, Prospect Heights Fire Chief Drew Smith, rust makes older fire truck too expensive to repair

This entry was posted on September 25, 2017, 11:00 AM and is filed under Fire Department News. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Comments (and 2 trackbacks)

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#1 by Michael M on September 26, 2017 - 1:02 PM

I agree 23 years is a long time for a truck, they did get their money’s worth! Will the new tanker be delivered by the open house?
#2 by Mike on September 26, 2017 - 9:08 AM

I think part of the reason they last 23 years is because they’re washed regularly. It keeps the dirt off and the paint clean. I would guess that over the lifetime it did get some paint and body work done, but 23 years of Illinois winters with salt and grime. A lot of departments do power wash the under carriages regularly and do what they can to take care of their vehicles.
#3 by harry on September 25, 2017 - 9:39 PM

as much as ff wash these rigs u wonder why they rust especially for a tanker of a small town like prospect heights however 23 years is getting their money worth however I know most parts on the east coast replace rigs a lot sooner than this
#4 by Crabby Milton on September 25, 2017 - 5:26 PM

Anyone who complains that FD’s replace apparatus too often should be shown those pictures. On top of that, the rig is/was 23 years old.
They don’t see the whole story when they say such things.
#5 by Drew Smith on September 25, 2017 - 1:09 PM

The last photo is of chunks of the frame that fell off when the tank was removed. Many were as large or larger than charcoal briquettes.