Purchasing a Fire Truck
With so many different manufacturers and types of fire trucks out there, it can be difficult to know which fire truck or model is right for your department’s needs and applications. Taking the time to understand all the contributing factors and components of a fire truck and what your crew’s specific needs and requirements are will allow you to select the best option for you.
Here’s what you need to consider before you purchase a fire truck for your station.
What You Need to Know Before You Buy a Fire Truck
When it comes time to purchase a fire truck, whether due to station expansion or upgrading an old vehicle for a newer one, it’s essential that you have a clear understanding of your fire department’s needs, requirements, and applications for the vehicle. Different fire truck models are equipped with different attributes, designed for different purposes, and not all brands are created equal.
Here are the 3 factors you need to consider to determine which fire truck is best for your station:
- The most important factor to consider when selecting a new fire truck is the vehicle’s mission and use. Ask yourself what kind of fires or emergencies your crew will most commonly respond to: structure fires, wildfires, or hazmat emergencies and how often this new vehicle will be deployed to respond to that emergency?
- Understand what type of terrain the vehicle will most commonly be on: urban city streets, rural roads, or off-road paths?
- Once you establish your responses to the questions in steps 1 and 2, you can determine which type or model of fire truck your crew will need. Options include: Pumper, Mini Pumper, Rescue, Tankers, Wildland, Foam/ Hazmat and Specialty, UTV’s, etc.
The needs of every department will vary. Your answers to the above questions will allow you to make decisions on the specific chassis type, length, and water tank size options. The smaller the vehicle, the better the maneuverability it will have, leading to faster response times, but limiting the amount of equipment and/or tanks it can transport. Larger vehicles will not be able to respond as quickly, but can come equipped with more equipment and larger tanks.
What the vehicle is designed to carry is also a major consideration. If the fire truck is intended to carry more loose equipment and crew, you would want a different setup than if you wanted a vehicle designed to support a large tank and pump system.
Ward Apparatus Custom & Stock Fire Trucks for Sale
With decades of experience working with fire departments to design and provide their custom fire trucks, the Ward Apparatus team has the knowledge, experience, and capabilities to work with you to manufacture the vehicle that meets your station’s needs and specific requirements. We proudly manufacture all our vehicles at our facility in Horseheads, NY, focusing on durability, strength, and exceptional performance. We stand behind our vehicles and they come backed with a 10 year warranty that covers the entire body, should anything prematurely break or fail due to normal wear.
We partner with our customers to design their custom fire truck or vehicle, offering a range of vehicle apparatus types to meet every station’s needs. With the current market, new fire truck builds may have extended completion and shipping times. Ward Apparatus’ current build time is roughly 16-18 months after delivery of the chassis and most big trucks are being projected 3-4 years out. However, we also offer in stock fire trucks for sale for fire departments in need of quick vehicle replacements, with the option to add customization work as needed.
Ward Apparatus partners with our sister company, Ward Diesel Filter Systems, to install NO SMOKE apparatus mounted exhaust filtering systems on our vehicle builds, prioritizing firefighter health and reducing exposure to cancer-causing vehicle exhaust fumes. All our stock fire trucks for sale come equipped with NO SMOKE installed, ready to ship out quickly.
We Partner with You
The team at Ward Apparatus partners with you to understand your fire department’s unique needs, providing you with a tough and durable vehicle your crew can depend on when functionality and response times count most.
Want more information on our custom build and in stock fire trucks for sale? Contact us today to get started!