Excerpts from the NorthCarolinaConsumerCouncil.com:
Drive Shaft Defect Leads to Fire Truck, Emergency Vehicle Recall
An emergency vehicle manufacturer is issuing a recall due to a crash risk.
Pierce Manufacturing is recalling certain model year 2016 Arrow-XT, Dash, Enforcer, Impel, Quantum, Saber, and Velocity fire and emergency vehicles. The fastener cap over the bearing on the universal joint of the drive shaft may have been improperly tightened.
If the cap was not properly tightened, the cap may detach from the vehicle and become a road hazard. Additionally, the universal joint may separate and the vehicle may not be able to be driven, increasing the risk of a crash.
Pierce is including about 240 vehicles in its recall.
The company will notify owners, and dealers will check and correct the tightness of all bolts for the universal joint caps, as needed, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in March 2016.
Owners with questions about this recall can contact Pierce customer service at (888) 974-3723.
thanks Dan
#1 by Bill Post on March 25, 2016 - 11:46 AM
Speaking further of apparatus purchases, Crabby, I believe that the Los Angeles City Fire Department purchasing KME engines for the last several orders was probably a matter of price as the LAFD had suffered financially since the recession. They took 11 engines and 7 trucks out of service during and so far only one engine was put back into service.
Before the recession they were purchasing engines from both Pierce and Seagrave and for a few years they had even ordered from both in the same year.
They had been purchasing their aerial ladders (all tillered models) from ALF/LTI, however since ALF folded they ordered some from Pierce, the first of which are now in the process of being delivered.
#2 by Crabby Milton on March 23, 2016 - 3:16 PM
Then we can only conclude that they are run by stupid people. Like I said, most of us who love fire apparatus care about the heritage and have our back and forth about who is the best or worst builder. But a good number of those customers really don’t care about heritage. Heck many people don’t even care where their car comes from beyond the dealership lot nowadays. They care if the thing is going to work and carry out it’s mission to save lives and give a reasonable service life and low as practical price.
I too think PIERCE will survive for now but if they keep goofing up, they won’t be as strong but doubt as least in the near term end up like ALF.
#3 by JS on March 23, 2016 - 1:54 PM
Pierce isn’t what they used to be. Not to say they still can’t build a decent rig, but overall quality is down and prices have skyrocketed.
#4 by Crabby Milton on March 22, 2016 - 2:56 PM
Yes ALF was bought and sold any number of times over the many years but the last owners has it for about 10 years but they were too far gone for anyone to save them.
I think you are right about SEAGRAVE in that while they seem to be strong and never hear too many bad things about them, they are priced higher than most. I would also put SUTPHEN in that tier. For all of the jokes about KME, they do sell and when you get FDNY and LA, that’s a gold mine. Plus, those cities turn over rigs faster so it’s easier to see why they may shy away from the more premium builders.
#5 by Bill Post on March 22, 2016 - 1:17 PM
I certainly hope that they don’t become an ALF. American La France had become a political football and they were sold at least 3 times if I’m correct. Hopefully Pierce will solve their problems.
Another company that is still around but lost a lot of market share is Seagrave. They seemed to have priced themselves out of the market. New York City who had almost exclusively relied on Seagrave for engines, ladders, and tower ladders awarded their most recent contract orders to Ferrara for rear mounted ladders and to KME for engines. Seagrave has recently delivered Aerialscopes and some tillered aerials to New York but other than that fire departments ordering Seagrave apparatus seem to be few and far between.
The manufacturers that are on the upswing are Ferrara, Spartan/Crimson, Rosenbauer, and yes even KME has been getting major orders from New York City, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.
#6 by Crabby Milton on March 22, 2016 - 12:34 PM
I sure hope there isn’t another AMERICAN LaFRANCE in the making. In other words a great company with heritage to match and then turn into turds and get flushed down the toilet. Perhaps it was a slight oversight but for crying out loud they should know better and not get overconfident.
Keep going like that though and they may as well just sell out to CHRYSLER.