Mallory Safety and Supply in Longview (WA), and particularly its fire division manager, have built a better mousetrap, so to speak, when it comes to the body of a Type 6 wildland firefighting truck.
Mike Beutler, Mallory’s fire division manager and chief at the volunteer Wahkiakum County (WA) Fire District #1, says that he conceived of a vehicle that was safer for firefighters while responding, returning, and on the scene. “The vehicle’s low-profile body is made up of modular boxes that can be configured in different formats to meet a fire department’s needs,” Beutler says. “This body design lowers the deck height six inches below a standard flatbed deck, and 11 inches lower than a deck with under-body hose storage.”
Beutler says the Mallory prototype is on a 2020 Dodge D-5500 crew cab 4X4 diesel-powered chassis with a 60-inch cab-to-axle length. The unit has a Mallory/Pro Tech low-profile modular body spring-mounted to the frame rails, and with all aluminum construction using huck bolt fasteners. The rig has a Liquid Spring suspension package on both front and rear axles, and Mallory roll-out, drop-down equipment baskets.
The Mallory Type 6 demo has a four-stage wildland pump powered by a Kubota 24-horsepower (hp) diesel engine with 330-gallon polypropylene water tan, an eight-gallon low-mount foam cell and a Waterous Fire Troll Foam System, Beutler points out. “The vehicle has dual LOFA Industries engine control panels,” he says, “an engine throttle with in-cab control, all welded stainless-steel pumping, FRD water and foam level gauges, and a FRC mini gauge in the cab.”
Beutler notes the rig has a Red Goat front bumper, with a hose tray and discharge, and an Elkhart Brass Brush Hawk monitor with a cab-mounted joystick, as well as a Hannay aluminum Super Booster reel on the body. The demo also carries Federal Signal LED warning lights and a siren, and a Blue Seas battery charger and auto eject plug.
He adds, “The vehicle’s transverse compartment, which has 17 inches of storage height, straddles the 330-gallon water tank, allowing it to be only 19 inches tall. Combined with the low body, the center of gravity is far below a standard flatbed configuration.”
Beutler says that the Mallory equipment baskets are designed to roll out and drop down, allowing a firefighter to load gear without climbing on top of the truck. “Also, with the low-mount foam cell, there is no reason to climb on top of the truck to refill a foam tank, eliminating the possibility of injury from a fall,” he says. “Our goal is to keep people off the top of the truck and reduce injuries.”
Liquid Spring’s suspension system is essentially an ‘active suspension,’ Beutler maintains, that monitors vehicle movement and steering input and makes adjustments as needed. “It has three ride heights: travel height, off road that raises the vehicle four inches, and dump mode that lowers it three inches,” he says. “This suspension system has superior handling characteristics on road, providing not only a safer, better handling vehicle, but also giving superior comfort while traveling.”
