I am trying to find the location of these platforms made for Charlotte, NC. I know one ended up in Windsor, Vt. Does anyone else know where the other platform ended up after leaving Charlotte??
Thanks for your help. The attached photo is from Firepics and is from the Scott Mattson thread. Photo by Mack
And to me, it appears that the bucket/basket appears to extend considerably farther out over the front of the rig on Ladder 16 than Ladder 18's bucket/basket....just sayin
Remember, it's their Emergency, not yours ! Arrive Alive !
Quote:Is it me or does the basket seem small on those platforms ?
As I recall, the platforms on these rigs had a special design. If you look at the top edge, it appears to have two layers, one outside and one inside and slightly above the other. The inside one is the top of a second sidewall, which raises up to a normal height when the aerial is in operation, but stows away for travel, giving a lower overall height.
Quote:And to me, it appears that the bucket/basket appears to extend considerably farther out over the front of the rig on Ladder 16 than Ladder 18's bucket/basket....just sayin
That's because it does. If you look at the body of each rig behind the rear axle, you will see that Ladder 18 has an extra compartment and is a longer truck. The turntable is farther back from the front of the cab.
I rode Ladder 18 from Jan 03 until it was replaced with our current 05 Smeal. The platform was a "fold up" design that allowed it to be stored on top of the cab rather than out in front of the cab for ease of travel. Once you step in the platform you folded each side up and then the controls for the platform folded up as well. It was a decent design as long as the firemen remembered to stow it correctly - I can only remember once that the controls were hit on the station door. The trucks were out of service for a large amount of time and even traveled back to the factory a couple of times. My engineer at the time kept a running tally and she swears that the L18 was out of service for a total of 2.5 years during its time as L18. Once the trucks were replaced they were immediately sold. Normally Charlotte moves its older trucks into the reserve pool but these two never saw reserve status. Both trucks were replaced with Smeal 105 straight sticks and there are currently no platform/tower apparatus in the city of Charlotte. The current Ladder 18 has been a good truck and is rocking with 115,000 miles on it...
Guerry N. Barbee
Career - Charlotte Fire Department - Relief Captain Battalion 1
Combo Dept - Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue - Deputy Fire Chief - "The Graveyard"
Believe the Windsor VT one is the former ladder 18, I talked w/ guy from Windsor VT in late 07', not long after they bought this and he had few good things to say, according to him the membership saw this truck being a mechanical problem before they even bought it but the powers to be went forward w/ its purchase anyway, again according to him it was because the price was too good to pass up, and he said the membership predicted right, its nothing but a mechanical nightmare. I think they bought it off E-bay too.
Quote:I rode Ladder 18 from Jan 03 until it was replaced with our current 05 Smeal. The platform was a "fold up" design that allowed it to be stored on top of the cab rather than out in front of the cab for ease of travel. Once you step in the platform you folded each side up and then the controls for the platform folded up as well. It was a decent design as long as the firemen remembered to stow it correctly - I can only remember once that the controls were hit on the station door. The trucks were out of service for a large amount of time and even traveled back to the factory a couple of times. My engineer at the time kept a running tally and she swears that the L18 was out of service for a total of 2.5 years during its time as L18. Once the trucks were replaced they were immediately sold. Normally Charlotte moves its older trucks into the reserve pool but these two never saw reserve status. Both trucks were replaced with Smeal 105 straight sticks and there are currently no platform/tower apparatus in the city of Charlotte. The current Ladder 18 has been a good truck and is rocking with 115,000 miles on it...
Not related to the topic.....but is there a specific reason that Charlotte doesn't run towers?
The only ladder I could think of was District Heights Truck 26, a 1996 Duplex/AI Tractor Drawn Aerial. Its probably had the wheels run off of it since it went in service and I think it still is in service.
Quote:Probably way off topic, but was there any AI product that was well respected?
I don't know if they're well respected, but Seattle and Tacoma both have AI ladders still in service from the early 2000s. Both are pretty busy departments, so I assume the rigs aren't total nightmares, otherwise they'd be gone.
Quote:And to me, it appears that the bucket/basket appears to extend considerably farther out over the front of the rig on Ladder 16 than Ladder 18's bucket/basket....just sayin
Here's the story on the different body lengths:
The photo of Ladder 16 above is the "as built" photo prior to delivery. At some point after being built, it was discovered the manufacturer did not figure the weight of firefighters and equipment in the cab when designing the apparatus. As a result, the front axle was way overweight.
As a fix, AI/Quality determined the bodies needed to be longer. Since two straight stick 105’ aerials were on order, AI removed the platform aerial devices from Ladders 16 and 18 and replaced them with the 105’ aerials. It fixed the front end weight issue since there wasn’t a bucket. These apparatus were assigned to Ladder 2 and Ladder 13, respectively.
The platforms sat on the ground for several months while the new bodies were built at Quality. The picture of Ladder 18 above is the longer body that was delivered and in service at 16 and 18.
While a good idea on paper, the platforms were a nightmare. The 105’ sticks were not much better. Ladder 2 was plagued with horrible electrical and aerial problems. I’m sure the majority of the issues were a result of swapping the aerials and bodies.
Quote:Probably way off topic, but was there any AI product that was well respected?
Fort Wayne Indiana had a 1998 IH/AI 75' MM Ladder that was built as a reserve ladder. They used the pump off an old engine. The aerial was well liked by crews and shops but the rig was not very good to drive through the tight city streets. It took a mile to turn. I think the rig is gone now have not seen it in a while.
Facebook
Google
Reddit
Twitter