Have you ever wanted to cruise around town in a fire truck? Or roll up to Thanksgiving dinner with 750 gallons of water in the tank, just in case? Or make an entrance that will not be soon forgotten? So did Henry Cesari—and because of his curiosity, you can actually do it.
While perusing eBay, multiple auctions for used fire trucks under $20,000 came up. Cesari’s interest was piqued, and he got to wondering about the legality of driving a fire apparatus and did some research. He put together on his website some helpful tips on the endeavor.
“Restoring and driving one of these big rigs would be so cool,” he writes. “But legally driving a used fire truck on the street can be complicated: you have to meet local guidelines to pass inspection, and you might even need to change the type of driver’s license you have.”
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He adds that many government vehicles are regulated—but not fire trucks. However, operating a fire truck on public streets may require:
-Deactivating or removing lights and sirens,
-Removing any safety equipment that protrudes into oncoming traffic,
-Removing the fire department name/town.
Cesari adds that most full-size fire trucks (anything with a gross vehicle weight above 24,000 pounds; any vehicle with air brakes) require a commercial driver’s license.
“Fire trucks are very much commercial vehicles,” he writes. “And cutting through city intersections in one of these requires special training and skill. It’s not surprising that many large fire trucks require a commercial driver’s license to operate.”
Also, you’ll most likely need a larger garage.
