1958 F.W.D.

Yes. The gentleman who owns the rig (and was driving) that cause the accident is a close friend of mine. We spoke at length this past Tuesday. I am not 100% sure how much is out there or who knows what- but out of respect for his privacy I am not going to say much other than to say it was a terrible accident, no one was injured, the parties involved are all working towards an amicable outcome as far as compensation for repairs and that the gentleman is upset. I will also add that he is very conscientious about maintenance and pre-trip inspections. The truck in question was pre-tripped on Friday, and was driven approx. 120 miles one way to the muster with absolutely positively no hint of trouble whatsoever.

My Daddy always said "Son a REAL ladder truck has two steerin' wheels......"

Can't you read? It's a fairy tale- it never happened. A figment of Yarnall's imagination. But if it really did happen, it might have been a Pemfab/Hamerly heavy rescue ex-Reading Pa & ex-Wilkes Barre Pa. that was sitting at Micro Fire Apparatus in Allentown Pa. Wasn't in too bad of shape either, not as much rot as one would have thought. Had a freshly rebuilt 8V71 and HT740. Went to the Schuykill County Fire Museum for what is reported to be a steal. But that's if it actually happened and not a figment of Yarnall's imagination.

OK all you 2-strokers out there. Had a question posed to me the other day. Apparently with all these new fangled low-sulfer fuels out there, people have been adding oils to 2-stroke fuel. The person posing the question said that he heard everything from ATF, to 30W or 40W oil, to true 2-stroke oil (I would giggle my ass off....) to 10W-30....The purpose of course is to lubricate the parts in older engines that benefited from the lubricating qualities of older diesel. Has anyone heard of doing this, and if so, what do you use and how much?? Ben? Tim? Anyone else??? Also, on a side note- if Yarnall comes in here telling some fairy tale about how I supposedly said last saturday that I would buy this firetruck (that we were discussing) for $2000 just to get the freshly rebuilt 8V71N alone (nevermind the rest of the truck) he must have been delirious that day- it was awfully sunny and hot and he didn't have a hat on and he didn't look like he was properly hydrating himself. Just thought everyone should know.

The FWD Corporation- Hellertown Pa. Field Headquarters is 32x26. I have a 22,000btu window unit. If I know I am going to be out there for an extended period of time, I'll go out there an hour ahead of time and turn it on. It doesn't cool the place off to arctic-like conditions, but it certainly drops the temps down to a tolerable level.

Leo??? My Dad and I used to catch a ride with the DC that was quartered there every now and then when I was a very young lad.

NO. This was tried by by Seagrave at some point, and it failed miserably. Not only is the true steering needed for navigating streets, but it is also useful for when you need to position the rig on a fireground for most efficient use of the aerial. A good driver and a good tillerman will get that rig into places a short wheelbase engine company could only dream of. Better to have the true directional steering so that everyone is on the same page without confusion. I know of at least two rigs built by Seagrave with the reversed gearing and they were converted back to true directional in a rapid orderly military manner.

Backing is easy if you remember to hold the wheel at the bottom and turn it in the direction you want the trailer to go in.

Carl, that version is completely dead wrong. I spoke to the owner of the WLF today and got it straight from the horses mouth. Call me tomorrow.

I have to rotate the air in the tires on the FWD that day.

Paul, the tillerman turns the wheel OPPOSITE the tractor's steer axle. The whole idea is to keep the trailer as straight/inline with the tractor as possible and when possible (sometimes articulation is needed like around a VERY sharp corner.) I was taught to pick a point on the tractor's cab- maybe a center antenna or a marker light and to keep the center of the tiller cab (the steer column) as close to that center point as possible. If the tractor is making a right hand turn, YOU TURN LEFT. This keeps the entire vehicle straight. The other thing that you have to do is to count your turns by 1/4ths. Every good tiller company has the wheel marked in some fashion with an arrow pointed straight up for "centered." When you make a turn, its always a good idea to announce in your head or out loud as you turn the wheel..."One fourth. One half. Three fourths....." and so on.....That way when it's time to recover (straighten the trailer steer axle back out as you finish the turn around a corner) you can recover backwards the same number of turns that you originally made by announcing in reverse the 1/4 turns you made- or else you could cause the trailer to dog-leg or crab track and wipe out cars or trucks parked or waiting on either side of you.

Ya think????? LMAO!!!!

Later today I learned that it was indeed the fully restored 1963 Ward Lafrance owned by a close friend of mine. I have not spoken to him, going to let things cool off for a few days and maybe call him later this week. It has hydro-vac juice brakes. Many rumors that he lost the brakes and rear-ended another rig.

What the heel is this "baler" and "hayin" crap you fine folks are discussing? LOL

Carl, if the information I received is correct, it is the WLF Fireball owned by a NJ gentleman who is a regular at the PPP muster. Souces state the accident was not his fault, that he was rear-ended.

From what I am told the accident occurred at the intersection of Third and Maclay (sp?) during the parade procession while enroute to the muster grounds.

ANTIQUE FIRE APPARATUS OWNERS: There have been two high-profile accidents within the last two weeks involving antique rigs- one having a fatality. The most recent one (yesterday) occurred during the parade for the annual Pennsylvania Pump Primers Muster in Harrisburg, Pa. Although the reports are still unclear as to what happened, at least two, if not three rigs were involved and one was towed away. This accident also may have involved some parked cars. Thankfully there were no injuries reported with the PPP/Harrisburg accident. Both of these accidents are being attributed to a sudden and total loss of brakes. Again reports are third-hand and investigations are still underway, however it goes without saying: **ARE YOU PERFORMING PROPER PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE?** *ARE YOU PERFORMING PRE-TRIP INSPECTIONS OF YOUR DRIVELINE EQUIPMENT?* No, you are not delivering freight, you are not operating the vehicle every day and you are not putting high amounts of miles on it weekly. However that DOES NOT RELIEVE YOU from ensuring that your antique rig is road-worthy and safe to drive- not only for yourself and for other motorists. Additionally, just because many states (Pennsylvania being one of them) relieve you from annual safety inspections- does not relieve you from the due diligence of ensuring your rig is ready to go. In light of these occurrences, I predict annual safety inspections to be mandated by SPAAMFAA for members very soon. Are you ready? Are you ready whether you are a member of SPAAMFAA or not????

You should go to the Museum on "STEAM DAY" when they put a fire to the tea kettle of their 1893 American Lafrance Steam Pumper- one of only about 12 operating steamers known to be left in existence. They usually pump into their 1907 Hale Water Tower. I am pretty sure the paddy wagon is part of the Gary Mahan Family truck collection.

VIN- is that like a Cereal number?

There's a couple of Superdog firetrucks out there.............

It may or may not help. Part of the problem here in Pennsylvania (as I am sure it is everywhere else....) is the lack of knowledge, even and across-the-board enforcement and also lack of knowledge among PENNDOT offices. I have many friends and contacts who are Police Officers through my being a firefighter. I have the opportunity to speak with these guys professionally and personally at many events, and every time the subject comes up, I try a little experiment. I ask them what the laws are. And almost never do I get the same answer, never mind the correct one!!!! The biggest offenders of all are Pennsy State Police Officers!!! The ones who SHOULD know!!!!!!

Weren't they "Fire Spires?" I thought those were Hahn's ladder???

When it's time to leave please stay clear of the left-hand lane.

Leslie: I'm kinda confused here....(ok wait kinda bullshit I AM confused....) We're talking the Superdog, right? That's a full blown grown up class A tractor, which should have a GVWR of 80,000....Yes? No?? Are you sure it is only registered as 21,600? Or does it WEIGHT 21,600? He is absolutely, positively correct. I have reviewed the law inside and out, forwards and backwards and even have a letter from the Commissioner of PENNDOT to confirm it. You do NOT need to have a CDL for any privately owned antique vehicle, not operating in commerce and weighing less than 26,001 lbs. You do however have to have the appropriate-class NON CDL for anything in excess of 26,001.

I will most likely be there- Still debating whether I want to get a hotel room Friday night or just suck it up and get up early Sat AM and drive out- I'll have the three kids, so either way it's a pain in the ass/pick your poison kind of thing. (Oh and it will be in the pickup- that's a bit too far for the FWD.)