From Chief Drew Smith:
Here are two photos of our old tanker.
It is the second tanker owned by the PHFD. This one was a 1968 Ford/Darley with a 750-GPM two-stage pump and 1,500-gallon water tank. In 1989 we sent it to Darley to have the pump rebuilt then to Monroe Truck to have a wet side 1,500-gallon tank installed. The rest of the 1989 refurb was done in-house and included paint, striping and lettering, and the installation of cross lays and new pump panel. It served from 1986 until 1994 when the 3,000-gallon/1,250-GPM Spartan/S&S tanker was placed in service. During it’s 21 years it had the radio signatures of “#6,” 174, and Tanker 9.
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#1 by Mark on June 2, 2024 - 10:49 AM
Matt C- This one needed to be double clutched. And first gear was just to get it moving, then an immediate shift into second. A lot of the guys just started in second and rode the he**. out of the clutch. I remember learning to drive on it, and Tim S. and Joe C. each said if they caught us starting it in second gear they’d beat us with their wrenches …….
#2 by Drew Smith on May 30, 2024 - 3:14 PM
It was third out on fires when I joined in 1981.
The whole fleet was manual transmissions then.
The Ward LaFrance had the odd shift pattern.
I don’t recall how hard this was to drive because I rarely drove.
When we rebuilt it, it was because the tank had rusted badly. We rebuilt the pump since we were replacing the tank.
The wet side tank from Monroe was cheaper than a new steel tank and keeping the old body plus we were able to add a dump valve since the original tank only had a 4-inch butterfly valve that only drained the tank about 80 percent.
#3 by crabbymilton on May 30, 2024 - 1:18 PM
Nostelgia is fun but that’s an excellent point about transmissions. Why would anyone want a manual let alone in an emergency vehicle? This rig does look good before and after the rebuild.
#4 by Mike on May 30, 2024 - 10:59 AM
In today’s money this is equivalent to about $225,000.00 which today would still be 100-200k short to replace.
#5 by Matt C on May 30, 2024 - 10:45 AM
Woah, having flashbacks. Wasn’t that the one we had to triple clutch to get in gear?
#6 by Chuck on May 30, 2024 - 8:40 AM
$24, 200 wouldn’t buy you a front bumper nowadays. And those commercial chassis trucks were probably a lot less problematic.