Gday,
Are the trucks that have been built in the last few years going to last to 20 years?
Naracoorte Pumper - 9 Years old & full of rust
Stirling Pumper - 4? Years old & continual problems.
Seaford Pumper - 14? Years old Continual Problems (seems to be going well at the moment)
McClaren Flat 34 - 2 or 3 years old and has problems staying on all 4 wheels.
Was speaking to a GO down my way a few weeks back and he said the workman ship on the newer trucks is shocking. The electrical system in the truck is useless - The water level indicator has 10 wires in the same tube all black! no colour coding.
And then you look at the appliances built 20 years ago like Burnside Pumper & Eden Hills Pumper. Still going strong at 25 & 20 respectively. Why is this? New parts not as good? Competition is greater therefore cheaper prices therefore lesser quality?
What are peoples thoughts?
The Naracoorte pumper body was manufactured from Ali - if it is rusting it would have to be the chassis rails?
Chassis rusting has been and will be an ongoing issue. Addressing the issues by having any requirements written in to the spec, at the time of tender, would help eliminate the issues.
The last lot of appliance I worked on have a 20Yr warranty on the plumbing - this was a requirement of the tender documentation and was designed and manufactured accordingly.
You only get what is asked for - no manufacturer will or can afford to do any more than that, or the price of the tended appliance would be to high.
Also, you may not realise it, but, there is not a lot of money to be made by manufacturing fire appliances. For the risks and hassels involved in making trucks, they deserve a hell of a lot more.
just my 10 cents worth.