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Iowa - Floyd County | I've been in the fire service for over 20 years and seen a lot of changes in equipment in that time. The cost of fire equipment has gotten out of hand and the suggested timeframe for replacement has as well, no common sense used by bureaucrats.
A 1996 model is getting up in age but if well kept it should still function well, but there may be issues that aren't immediately noticeable by just looking at the truck. Corrosion could be an issue on the body and frame at this point, regardless of miles, due to road treatments or a plumbing leak that hasn't been taken care of. Depending on chassis or apparatus manufacturer parts could be an issue. Pump may have issues passing testing. There may be plumbing or tank leaks. My department got rid of a 1990 engine on a Ford chassis about 8 years ago, parts were becoming hard to obtain for the chassis/motor. We replaced it with an engine from the DOD/USDA program, it was essentially "on loan" to us from the government. A couple years ago we replaced that engine with a used custom chassis rescue engine. My point in this rambling is that there are options out there to upgrade to good equipment without breaking the bank.
Depending on what the issues are with the current apparatus a small refurbishment may be the way to go. Another poster mentioned adding another used truck to the fleet, also a viable option if there is space for it. It does mean more maintenance though. If you buy used you take the chance something unseen may need major work, not much different than buying used farm equipment. New apparatus will have some type of warranty but is it worth the huge price tag? For my department, we plan on buying used apparatus for the foreseeable future, we feel its the most bang for the buck.
Edited by JChamb 5/2/2025 09:32
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New fire truck for small fire district.
