Gotta Love the 5 Ton

[BDVFD784]

Our new 5 ton was a great addition.We should have gotten one along time ago.

[neiowa]

Our new 5 ton was a great addition.We should have gotten one along time ago.

Think supersingles!

[Dalmatian190]

New Mexico???

I honestly can't figure out where you are with that terrain!

[BDVFD784]

I have been thinking super singles.I am located in Bluff Dale Texas.About 50 miles SW of Ft. Worth.

[LVFD301]

And of course you were stationery when those pictures were taken, because
NO ONE in their right mind would have firefighters unrestrained in a vehicle
in motion, right?

[neiowa]

I have been thinking super singles.I am located in Bluff Dale Texas.About 50 miles SW of Ft. Worth.

See before/after photos of M813.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.p...ighlight=super

[BDVFD784]

I looked at some singles when I was in Lufkin but I couldn't get them off and haul them by myself.I need to take some guys and go back down there sometime.I think it would be alot of work to get them off and loaded.I don't even have anything that will pick the truck up.It is on my mind though.

[LCFD1L101]

5 tons rock and surely anyone that NEEDS a 5 ton knows that people are not always restrained while gettin it done.

[quint1officer]

If the Army can truck us down the interstate in the back of a 5ton theres no reason a firefighter can't ride there.

[LVFD301]

5 tons rock and surely anyone that NEEDS a 5 ton knows that people are not always restrained while gettin it done.

I might even go for this one, except that in the pictures they are not
"gettin it done" they are out playing with their new 5 ton, seeing how
it handles the road, AND, there don't appear to be anything done for the
safety of the riders - no straps, no cage, etc.

We don't throw safety out the window simply to be "gettin it done".

[LVFD301]

If the Army can truck us down the interstate in the back of a 5ton theres no reason a firefighter can't ride there.

If Jimmy Joe jumps off the cliff, why can't I? At least that is the first thing
that comes to mind.

Then I look back at the pictures. Thats no interstate. Interstates are
somewhat smooth (I know, with the exception of the PA turnpike!) with
very little lurching side to side, front to back, all of which would be very
common on that road/trail that the pictures were taken on. The lurching
would be what would throw that unrestrained person off the back of the
truck.

Then I look at the fact those folks are standing. Not sitting in troop seats.
higher center of gravity. More likely to fall out again. No higher rails like
you find with the troop seats. Nothing to catch you from falling out. No
tarp and rails, again to help you stay IN the truck. (Yes, I saw the roll bars,
but they are nothing like the seat back, heavy canvas tarp, and rails that
hold it on, not to mention they are not enclosing the people standing)

Then I think back to the 5/4 ton we got a while back from the FEP program,
that had troop seats. WITH SEAT BELTS.

Then, I think back to the troop movements I have seen in the past couple
of years. We are on a major route for these, for a while it seems like we
had a convoy go by 30 feet from our door weekly. I don't recall anyone
riding in the back of the 2 1/2 or 5 tons. All the passenger seats were
filled in the cabs, and they had buses, but no one riding in the back.

Bottom line, it can kill, its unsafe, it is unnecessary, it opens the department and its officers up to heavy liablity concerns.

[LVFD301]

And yet another concern as I review the photos again - a tree monster
riding up the brush guards, and at a minimum knocking the snot out of one of those guys standing up there - or worse knocking him out of there.

[slackjawedyokel]

Hey LCFD --- yea they ROCK ----- but sometimes they ROLL

[neiowa]

And yet another concern as I review the photos again - a tree monster
riding up the brush guards, and at a minimum knocking the snot out of one of those guys standing up there - or worse knocking him out of there.

Anything else to find fault/whine about?

How about listing the "design" changes you would require.
1. -
2. -
3. -
4. -
5. -

I see a truck that looks to be a pretty competent, well design functional unit. With a substantial cage that is probably adequate for rollover protection, has rear crew safety gates MORE than waist high. Safety gates that are actually solid vs open bars. An appropriately size water tank for a 5t truck.

You don't have much familiarity with things .mil. Canvas on the bed? Canvas is an umbrella to protect cargo and REMFs from the weather. Not a safety feature. You can't fire your weapon from a truck with canvas hanging on it. Grunts don't do umbrellas. Long distance roadmarch (interstate) in the US - buses for troops when available. Shorter distance (or combat) back of trucks, without canvas.

[TenderR6]

I like it!

Our new 5 ton was a great addition.We should have gotten one along time ago.

I want to build a 5 ton Tender some day to contract out. Only a few things I would do is get rid of the Military Tires for a better off road traction set. Super Singles are not as good as regular duals. You blow a single and you lose a Tamdom Axle. Fuel Tank protection from rocks and other hard objects. I would have put more steel on my Tender but when they see steel bars they think it can go anywhere! That way when it is stuck on a fire it is realy stuck and takes a big dozer to get it out. On a Wildland Fire that can get your rig burned up or others trapped blocking the escape routes. Mark