Crimson Vs. American Lafrance Vs. Darley

[RAMFIRE42]

My Dept Will Be Ordering A Pumper/tanker Soon And I Was Wandering If Anyone Could Give Me Some Info. (good, Bad Or Just Opinion) We Have These Three Companies Quoting Us On Basicly The Same Truck. Crimson And Darley Is A Spartan Advantage 2000 Gal Single Axle. Darley Is Quoting A Poly Body???. Lafrance Quote Is For A Liberty Truck. Any Tips Or Tricks Or Cautions Would Be Great.

Thanks

[5FVFC3]

If you plan on keeping the new tanker for a very long time why wouldn't you take advantage of a Lifetime warranty on the Poly body and pump that Darley offers. No one else last as long as a Darley. IMO

[RFDACM02]

I've not seen a Darley to speculate, but having just looked at about 30 rescue engines in service, I was not impressed with Crimson. The build quality was poor: Unground welds, sharp edges, and overall poor fit and finish. Coupled with at least one dept. that was unhappy with the overall result they got, I'd be leery. Granted, these were a few years old (2-4yrs) and they may be improving (by many accounts they are). We were happy to hear good thing from ALF owners as we're taking delivery of an ALF tower next month. Of course most guys were real happy with their Pierce's and even E-One's.

[dday05]

Our neighbor to the south of us have a Darley pumper with the poly body and it's a pretty nice looking unit.And if it gets damaged from what I've been told they can cut the damaged piece out and fix it with a new piece how ever they do that. Any way I'm impressed with th craftsman ship of their truck and they have'nt had any problems with their truck that I know of. The American LaFrance truck I have no comment as we own one. Our next new truck will be either a Pierce or KME probally. Good luck to you and your dept.BE SAFE!

[RAMFIRE42]

Thanks For The Info. The Committe Has Traveled And See A Darley Poly Tanker. It Was Very Nice But How Proven Is The Poly Body? Has These Truck Been Around For A While Or Are They New. Living In Central Pa. The Tanker In Six Mile Run Bedford County Is The Only One I Have Ever Known About.

[firepiper1]

You can't beat Darley's warranties: lifetime pump, lifetime tank and lifetime Poly Body. Here is the link to Polybilt, which is a Darley partner. Give them a call with any of your questions. They aren't a new kid on the block and have been building bodies for years.

http://www.polybilt.com/

The attached photo is Bear Creek, Alaska's Poly Body tanker. They go from a 70 degree station to -50 degrees outdoors in a matter of seconds without problems.

[rwm550]

RE: poly body

be aware that if a tire ever blows out - the body & tank is history....

ask Dallas County, TX - their Darley F550 had a blow out at highway speed - looked very similar to a hand grenade exposion under rear duals.

[npfd801]

If you try hard enough - you will find someone to have something bad to say about everyone's product - Darley, ALF and Crimson included.

My question is this - it sounds like you've got three very different rigs competing for your business. Just how close are they when it comes to specs?

If you have a Darley dealer close by that you really like, then maybe that's the route to take. We have some poly bodied rigs nearby, and they are not without their "quirks," but they roll down the road and pump water just like everyone else's metal bodied rigs, so for me to tell you that you should or shouldn't go the poly route is really sort of improper. Do you want a Darley pump? Will Darley build you a poly bodied rig with a competitor's pump in it?

If poly is the way to go - others will build out of it. VTEC is one, might be helpful to have two poly builders bidding for your business.

Get a list of references from each builder, then seek out ON YOUR OWN users for each that aren't on the reference list. It really is worth the extra homework to do that kind of thing. Don't bother with a competitor giving you "horror story" references for a competing brand, EVERY builder has skeletons in their closet.

Good luck with the new rig!

[RAMFIRE42]

I HAVE RECIEVED NOTICE OF OUR 2006 FIRE ACT GRANT. $250k. WE HAVE A CRIMSON DEALER 15 MILES FROM OUR STATION, AND THEY HAVE BEEN SOLD MANY TRUCKS IN THE AREA. AMERICAN LAFRANCE DEALER IS NEAR PITTSBURGH, ABOUT 2 HRS AWAY. DARLEY, OUR SALEMEN IS ABOUT 3 HOURS AWAY BUT HAVE NO LOCAL SERVICE CENTERS THAT I KNOW OF.

OUR ORIGINAL GRANT WAS FOR $285,000 BUT THE FEDS HAVE CUT THE AMOUNT TO $250,000 STILL NOT BAD BUT ME MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE OUR SPEC SOME TO MATCH THE $$$. I DOUT THAT MY DEPT WILL BE ABLE TO PUT MUCH MORE THAN OUR 5% TO THE TRUCK, MAYBE UP TO $10K EXTRA.

[FWDbuff]

Did I read correctly- you are spec'ing 2000 gallons on a single axle?

[Res343cue]

For fears of manufacturers calling fire chiefs again, PM me if you want details about some VTEC rigs.

[chiefengineer11]

That's 16,660 lbs. of water alone! That's before anything else, even the truck itself. Do the math.

Stay safe out there, everyone goes home!

[npfd801]

For fears of manufacturers calling fire chiefs again, PM me if you want details about some VTEC rigs.

Wow. Did someone tattle?

"Johnny said something bad about me Mrs. Smith!"

[RFDACM02]

I HAVE RECIEVED NOTICE OF OUR 2006 FIRE ACT GRANT. $250k. WE HAVE A CRIMSON DEALER 15 MILES FROM OUR STATION, AND THEY HAVE BEEN SOLD MANY TRUCKS IN THE AREA. AMERICAN LAFRANCE DEALER IS NEAR PITTSBURGH, ABOUT 2 HRS AWAY. DARLEY, OUR SALEMEN IS ABOUT 3 HOURS AWAY BUT HAVE NO LOCAL SERVICE CENTERS THAT I KNOW OF.

OUR ORIGINAL GRANT WAS FOR $285,000 BUT THE FEDS HAVE CUT THE AMOUNT TO $250,000 STILL NOT BAD BUT ME MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE OUR SPEC SOME TO MATCH THE $$$. I DOUT THAT MY DEPT WILL BE ABLE TO PUT MUCH MORE THAN OUR 5% TO THE TRUCK, MAYBE UP TO $10K EXTRA.

If you're in Central PA. American LaFrance has a large facility in Lebanon where they do refurbs and repair work to all types of trucks. I mention this only that having nearby factory service is a huge asset over the life of a 20+ year purchase. Of course KME also is built not to far away.

[RAMFIRE42]

Did I read correctly- you are spec'ing 2000 gallons on a single axle?

IN OUR AREA THE SINGLE AXLE 2000 GAL TANKER IS NOT UNCOMMON. A LOCAL FIRE DEPT JUST TOOK DELIVERY OF A DARLEY POLY BODY 2000 GALLON TANKER. SPECS ON THE AXLES ARE VERY IMPORTANT BUT THEY HAVE AN ADDIONAL 10,000 LBS FOR EQUIPMENT.