Volvo comes to the rescue
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• This week Commercial Motor drives the first of a pair of ST300-S equipped Volvo T-Ride trucks to join West Midlands Fire Service.
The 237kW (318hp) TD102FL-powered FL10 6x4 24tonner costs £300,000, weighs 22,5 tonnes unladen and can hit 96kmfh in under 40 seconds thanks to an Allison HT754 CR five-speed gearbox and lock-up torque converter.
Grab rails The West Midlands Fire Service vehicle has made several modifications to its new appliance including grab rails and full dashboard instructions. A rocker switch replaces the conventional ignition key and a chassis subframe was fitted by Volvo to accommodate a Simon Dudley ST300-S hydraulic platform. This can be driven by two sets of controls and is capable of lifting a team of five more than 30m. A computerised safety system automatically prevents the platform from over reaching itself if any landing legs are not fully extended or the vehicle becomes unstable.
Simon Dudley has also fitted a heavy duty front anti-roll bar.
The truck, supplied by Hartshorne Motor Service of Walsall, has four-channel ABS, seatbelts, an 80amp alternator, a 704lit/mm compressor and low-profile tyres. A sleeper-cab was specified to increase storage space; the bunk will probably be removed before the appliance goes into service.
The green band on the rev counter is a reminder of the truck's intended performance curve and its automatic gearbox: it stretches from a high 1,400rpm right up to 2,400rpm.
This 10m long 24-tonner has all the acceleration of a solo tractor and is certainly agile through city traffic. The automatic box gives the driver time to pay full attention to the road without losing speed and also has a sidemount PT-0 through which a Chelsea pump provides hydraulic pressure for the landing legs and platform.
Parked cars
Steering precision and visibility are both good. Obviously this is extremely important with a fire engine as it has to negotiate narrow side streets full of parked cars at speed. This is coupled with good, clean braking.
In these days of depressed CV sales the fire engine market is providing a small but stable source of income for some truck manufacturers, The fire engine market totalled 300 units in 1990 with Volvo capturing more than 40% and Dennis, the regular market leader, taking
about 30%.