Huber Heights Fire Department in Ohio had not had a tractor drawn aerial (TDA or tiller) in its fleet since the 1990s when it transitioned to rear-mount aerial quints. But the development of three-story townhome and apartment complexes on narrow streets with limited parking, setback configurations, and higher elevations made the department take another look at the usefulness of a tiller.
“When I started with the fire department in 1989 we had a 100-foot steel ladder 1956 American LaFrance tiller pulled by a 1981 Pierce Arrow tractor, with no water, open ladder rack storage, and an open tiller cab that had been boxed in,” says Michael Muhl, Huber Heights battalion chief. “Then during the 1990s, we moved to the quint concept on rear-mount aerials.”
In the ensuing years, a considerable number of townhome complexes were built with parking in the middle of the complex and with overflow parking congesting the narrow streets facing the complexes, Muhl says. “At the time we had a 105-foot aerial ladder on tandem rear axles that was difficult to get into those complexes,” he points out. “Plus there were a lot of plans for three story apartment and townhome complexes with elevations and configurations that would make it difficult to get a straight frame aerial in to them. In addition, we couldn’t hit most third floor balconies with our ground ladders.”
Muhl says Huber Heights needed a more maneuverable truck with longer ground ladders. “We have an all Sutphen fleet, so we talked to Sutphen about a tiller quint,” he says, “and we had four bullet points that we would not compromise.” Those stipulations were that the rig had to carry at least 300 gallons of water, a pump, and hose lines; it had to carry a 45-foot extension ladder; it had to have a lot more storage than the department’s existing 246 cubic feet; and 62 feet was to be the maximum overall length of the rig.
Zach Rudy, Sutphen’s director of sales, says that Huber Heights got the second TDA produced by his company and the first tiller quint it has made. He says the rig is built on a Sutphen Monarch heavy duty custom chassis with a 62-inch extended cab and flat roof with seating for six firefighters, 10-inch double domex frame rails, a front tractor axle and suspension rated at 23,000 pounds, a rear tractor axle and suspension at 35,000 pounds, and a rear trailer Hendrickson SteerTex™ axle and suspension at 23,000 pounds.
Rudy points out that the tractor wheelbase is 179 inches, the trailer wheelbase is 364 inches, the overall length is 61 feet 11 inches and the overall height is 11 feet 7 inches, and the TDA is powered by a 500-horsepower (hp) Cummins X12 engine, an Allison 4000 EVS Gen 5 automatic transmission, and a 420-amp Leece Neville alternator.
Jason Frankle, partner at Heritage Fire Equipment, who sold the TDA to Huber Heights, says the quint has a Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump, a 300-gallon water tank, two 1-3/4-inch hose crosslays, two 2-1/2-inch discharges on the left of the rig, one 3-inch and one 2-1/2-inch discharge on the right, and a Task Force Tips Typhoon electric monitor with a M-ERP-1500 nozzle. He adds that the TDA has almost 600 cubic feet of compartment space, has a combination of roll-up and hinged doors, and carries a 10-kW SmartPower hydraulic generator, a Hannay electric reel with 150 feet of electrical cord, and a FRC inView™ TrueSight camera.
Lighting on the rig includes two Mars 888 LED lights, a Roto-Ray LED warning light, a Whelen Freedom IV LED 72-inch lightbar, a HiViz FireTech three-piece 12-volt LED brow light, and HiViz FireTech LED FT-MB-27 and MB-6F 12-volt scene lights.
Roto-Ray LED warning light, a Whelen Freedom IV LED 72-inch lightbar, and a HiViz FireTech three piece 12-volt LED brow light.
Muhl notes that the new tiller quint carries ground ladders in an enclosed compartment that include a 45-foot three-section extension ladder, two 35-foot two-section extension ladders, two 28-foot two-section extension ladders, two 20-foot roof ladders, two 16-foot roof ladders, and one 10-foot folding ladder, plus one 20-foot and one 12-foot roof ladder on the aerial. He observes that the tiller quint “has worked wonderfully for us. It fits the needs of our community very well.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
