posted @ Monday, October 2, 2006

The decision has been made to mount one last major project. I've decided to upgrade the rear axle and replace the Sterling 10¼" rear axle with a Dana 80 rear axle. The Dana 80 I found is a single rear wheel axle with disc brakes. The reason for the upgrade is due to the weight of the truck. Not only for the ability to carry the weight, but also to stop the truck effectively. What I've found, is that even with the rear disc brake conversion, the truck will not stop quickly and this can be a problem in an emergency situation. So to make the truck as safe as possible, I'm going to swap it out and go with the biggest, baddest single rear wheel axle available. So Project Responder will end up being completely "bad to the bone" as well as being able to stop on dime (with a full load of water). So stay tuned, this latest project will begin shortly as the Dana 80 axle is being delivered tomorrow.

Link: Dana 80 Rear Axle Upgrade

posted @ Sunday, October 1, 2006

I took the truck down to the JEFFCO Fire Truck Rally in Herculaneum on Saturday, September 30. The day started out with a little disappointment as there were light showers early in the morning. I had taken the truck out the week before to get it washed and detailed so the rain was not a welcome site. On the way down to the staging area for the fire truck parade, the rain stopped and the sun poked through here and there. So that was good. The truck ran very well down to the event and it just motored along as if all of the motor and ignition issues had never occurred.

I stopped in town for breakfast at the Main Street Cafe, courtesy of Scott, one of the guys I work with. His wife's brother owns the place. After a great omelet, I headed down to the school parking lot and found at least fifty fire trucks from all over the St. Louis metro area. It was an impressive site. The parade began around 9am and Project Responder was somewhere in the middle.

Scott's son rode along in the parade with me and was nice enough to shoot some video from the cab of the truck during the parade. That will be edited and put up on youtube shortly. The fire truck parade route was over three miles long and it took nearly 45 minutes to make the trip. It was a heck of a site to see. Once we arrived at the fair grounds, I parked the truck in the front row, at the end of the row and spent the rest of the day answering questions and talking shop. I ended up leaving a little early as more than half of the apparatus had already left by 1:30. Scott and I drove by the Festus fire house and the Crystal City fire house so I could snap a couple of photos for the website. After that, I was on my way back to the garage. The whole time, the truck ran better than ever and I'm very excited about the prospect for next year.

Link: JEFFCO Fire Truck Rally 06