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My 1970 Fire Department Bump's Replacement and some cool pics

taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
BEFORE:

IMG00047-20110405-1758.jpg


AFTER:

replace_1.jpg


BEFORE:

IMG_0336.JPG


AFTER:

replace_2.jpg



I also found some really cool pics online when my bump was still being used by the fire department on their website:

Can you tell which one is my bump? smilietease
bump_2.jpg


bump_1_copy.jpg


I don't know about you fellas, but I still think this 1970 rig can keep up with some of the newer technologies, when it comes to function and durability anyways....guess they thought it was time to upgrade.
 
taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
At least they stuck with Ford, eh?smilieFordlogo
 
LEB Ben

LEB Ben

Arrogant A-hole At-Large
34,919
1,124
outside your house
I'd go with the before if it were me. But I'm right there with you Ken...if the vehicle can still serve the purpose, why change? I understand there comes a point where fixing the rig is futile and it really is necessary to update (I say update because I don't really see it as an upgrade, unless you're purely judging on the number of toys it has over the 70). I also understand where with old school steel and new technology there could be a compatibility issue as well. Now, pardon my ignorance for all the fire fighters, but if you can receive a call, get to that call and pump the water...isn't that all that's really needed? Hopefully someone can school me on what a new(er) rig does to be considered 'value adding'? Or is this simply a case of 'there's an allotment in the budget, so lets use it before we lose it?'



Edit...don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving the folks that help and keep the public safe anything they need to make life easier on them, I'm just curious as to how a new/different vehicle expenditure is justified is all.
 
Last edited:
taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
UTfball68 said:
I'd go with the before if it were me. But I'm right there with you Ken...if the vehicle can still serve the purpose, why change? I understand there comes a point where fixing the rig is futile and it really is necessary to update (I say update because I don't really see it as an upgrade, unless you're purely judging on the number of toys it has over the 70). I also understand where with old school steel and new technology there could be a compatibility issue as well. Now, pardon my ignorance for all the fire fighters, but if you can receive a call, get to that call and pump the water...isn't that all that's really needed? Hopefully someone can school me on what a new(er) rig does to be considered 'value adding'? Or is this simply a case of 'there's an allotment in the budget, so lets use it before we lose it?'



Edit...don't get me wrong, I'm all for giving the folks that help and keep the public safe anything they need to make life easier on them, I'm just curious as to how a new/different vehicle expenditure is justified is all.
Click to expand...

Yup....great points Ben.....the 1970 has 52k miles on it and when it was sold in 2008, it didn't have one ounce of rust on it! Was in a heated garage and meticulously maintained for 38 years. It needed NO maintenance....I have been in contact with the people behind the scenes on this rig. It was completely set up and running perfect to serve it purpose. This rig was purchased to go into the woods to put out little fires before they became big ones.....or to get to homes where a big fire truck couldn't get to because of woods. It was still able to perform this function 100% and it didn't need any maintenance whatsoever!

The new one is nice, has AC, is more comfortable, has a better stereo (I have the original AM stereo in there, how cool is that?), but as far as power and torque, they're pretty close and for the job it needs to do, won't do any better. Both rigs had pumps and tanks, lights, etc. And I bet they spent $50-70k for the new truck and all of it's custom built features (like water tank and pump, winch) for this small town in Maine.

I have the same questions you do and maybe some of the fellas on here can shed some light. I, myself, think it's a budget thing (meaning, if they don't spend it, they won't get it next year - was how the military worked when I was in) and maybe even the comfort of some of the new options.
 
Evan's f250

Evan's f250

963
12
Southern Indiana
cool pics, I also like the older Ford fire truck on the fire station pic.
 
taxreliever

taxreliever

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287
Maine
m78 said:
I'd still like to know if the older trucks would survive a Electromagnetic pulse
Click to expand...

We know the new ones won't, right?:suspicious:
 
Truckin4life

Truckin4life

Texas Chapter Leader
9,037
287
San Antonio, Texas
Basically the state says...

We will allow you x amount of dollars to do what services you need to this year.
You have this much, thats all you get. The end.
Alot of departments do fund raisers for various things and all that money goes in to the same account.

The end of the year comes and the state sees 50k extra and says, oh we over funded were cutting your budget 50k.
Next year, fund raising isnt as productive and an engine in a truck locks up, or a pump has a catastrophic failure. well now there out the money. They have none so they have to ask the state, the state ultimately gives them the cash, but then the firehouse will likely be audited as to where all the money went... plus the state is un happy that they went over budget even though they just took 50k away. That dont matter.

The budget will be spent one way or another, alot of companies will plan training excersises, they will try to upgrade and or update equipment.



Also, another thing. The trucks are really the ONLY thing the public has to judge the department on... You very rarely see a dirty old fire truck ( not talking about kens truck in particular.) But the trucks are always kept up and kept clean and shiny. Especially when the public will be up close and personal, ask me how i know. So the trucks are the image that the company has to the public. So they want to have the best looking trucks they can. Thats why the chrome is always shining, and the paint is CLEAN!

So with kens truck, the truck is getting old. Some people dig it, others wonder why they haven't upgraded to a new truck.
So the department says, lets go ahead and get a new truck. It could be a brand new truck, or it could be a used truck from a big company, that often gets new trucks. (the latter is how my company got a few newer and very nice rigs... )

Just a little bit of what i have seen from the inside.
 
taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
Truckin4life said:
Basically the state says...

We will allow you x amount of dollars to do what services you need to this year.
You have this much, thats all you get. The end.
Alot of departments do fund raisers for various things and all that money goes in to the same account.

The end of the year comes and the state sees 50k extra and says, oh we over funded were cutting your budget 50k.
Next year, fund raising isnt as productive and an engine in a truck locks up, or a pump has a catastrophic failure. well now there out the money. They have none so they have to ask the state, the state ultimately gives them the cash, but then the firehouse will likely be audited as to where all the money went... plus the state is un happy that they went over budget even though they just took 50k away. That dont matter.

The budget will be spent one way or another, alot of companies will plan training excersises, they will try to upgrade and or update equipment.



Also, another thing. The trucks are really the ONLY thing the public has to judge the department on... You very rarely see a dirty old fire truck ( not talking about kens truck in particular.) But the trucks are always kept up and kept clean and shiny. Especially when the public will be up close and personal, ask me how i know. So the trucks are the image that the company has to the public. So they want to have the best looking trucks they can. Thats why the chrome is always shining, and the paint is CLEAN!

So with kens truck, the truck is getting old. Some people dig it, others wonder why they haven't upgraded to a new truck.
So the department says, lets go ahead and get a new truck. It could be a brand new truck, or it could be a used truck from a big company, that often gets new trucks. (the latter is how my company got a few newer and very nice rigs... )

Just a little bit of what i have seen from the inside.
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to explain......and based on what you said, I get it, I really do, but if everybody operated that way (ie: public perception, lowered budgets because a municipality was frugal, etc.) I'd be hawk in debt and going bankrupt every 10 years.

There is some fiscal responsibility here and we'd hope the public would be smart enough to understand why this little town is running around with a perfectly good 41 year old rig. They could spend 5-10k every 10-15 years or so and get a body restoration (we all know the engine, tranny, and other mechanical parts on this rig don't need restoring as it was driven less than 200 miles a week by the fire chief for 38 years) to make it look nice and pretty, take the $50-70k they saved on the new rig and put it towards other town needs such as roads, welfare, lower local property taxes, etc.....heck, I wonder if towns know what it means to actually save in case of a depression....that would be a hoot, huh? A savings account for a town that's being built up during plush times?

So, if someone in the town complains or doesn't understand that because of perception or what not, then they can move to a town that is hawk in debt, constantly increases real estate taxes or property taxes on vehicles and such and complain about that.

It comes down to common sense and wasteful spending for me and the bottom line is if Americans operated their budgets like government, local or national, we'd have a recession every other year.
 
Truckin4life

Truckin4life

Texas Chapter Leader
9,037
287
San Antonio, Texas
The FD is typically a state run agency.... Atleast the ones ive been apart of.

I do see your point, but it really just doesnt work like that.

This account has x dollars
That account has y dollars, use it or were gunna take it and put it in our own pockets...

I was a cadet captain for awhile and as cadets we often did fund raisers and stuff for training and new gear...

I was told that i needed all Cadets at the next business meeting, it was very important.

Basically the end of the fiscal year was coming around and we had to much money in the account. We could transfer it to the main account or we could find out how to spend it, justifiably, our selves...

We dont go through a recession every year. But the state budgets are getting cut, and that means that fire houses will be getting less money too...

There are only so many dollars...

All those dollars have to be spent, to be earned.
The gov makes money on taxes from money being spent by civillians, they get money by spending money...
IF that makes sense?
 

my69

76
3
Australia
The purchase of a new truck will help stimulate the economy,keep workers working. We had a goverment tax break on any new work gear a couple of years ago.Helped get us out of the ****.
 

my69

76
3
Australia
Sorry didn't know sh-- was a banned word. I do remember word being beebed out on shows like occ that are acceptable here we get the f word on tv. apologies !
 
taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
my69 said:
The purchase of a new truck will help stimulate the economy,keep workers working. We had a goverment tax break on any new work gear a couple of years ago.Helped get us out of the ****.
Click to expand...

This is true ONLY IF you (or the municipalities) can afford it. Most municipalities, including the biggest one of them all, the US Govt, is bankrupt and has more going out then coming in and paying the debt at a 40% clip....not only is that insanely stupid, it's crippling to the economy.

The town that bought this rig from a local dealership (and I know it helps the Ford plants elsewhere), could have lowered everyone's property tax, or put it into a street light that is causing accidents at an intersection, or lowered our water bills, or brought on 2 more police officers to keep our streets safe....and the list goes on as to the benefits of saving big bucks....and even if we couldn't do any of those things simply cause we couldn't afford it, we aren't going into more debt for the next few generations to pay. That's how small towns get shut down in Maine. They merge with the next largest town and become a burb of the burbs.
 

my69

76
3
Australia
I am sorry to hear how bad things are in the US,hope you can get your self back up and running soon!. We didn't get overly affected by the GFC in AUS i think because we export so much to China, if there economy or growth slows we could be in trouble. Our police and other services are controlled by the state goverments which rely mainly on state and federal funding. Still think you truck is so cool! would love to have it.
 
taxreliever

taxreliever

Licensed to Represent!
14,695
287
Maine
my69 said:
I am sorry to hear how bad things are in the US,hope you can get your self back up and running soon!. We didn't get overly affected by the GFC in AUS i think because we export so much to China, if there economy or growth slows we could be in trouble. Our police and other services are controlled by the state goverments which rely mainly on state and federal funding. Still think you truck is so cool! would love to have it.
Click to expand...

Thanks.....I doubt things will slow down in China....they are larger than people can even imagine and are getting bigger.
 

my69

76
3
Australia
Yep there economy and infrastructure growth is on a massive scale,road,power,drains,tens of thousands of bridges all the things we take for granted they have to build from nothing. Still if AUS dosn't invest in life beyond selling raw materials our day will come to. still love ya truck lol gotta laugh what else ya gonna do
 

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