Tanker & Pumper Vs. Pumper tanker

[Curious]

Can anyone provide any insight on the pros/cons of Tanker & Pumper Vs. Pumpertanker concepts.

Thanks

[FiremanJoeJCCFD]

well what are you going to do with the truck???? I think if you have a tanker you need a pump on it atleast a 750 GPM. Because some time you supply into lines to get the water flowing and this way you can dump and run or supply that supply line. Really you should have 2 truck what ever you do dont get a tender they are not that good unless you only dump and run.

[fd36]

A pumper/tanker is a good if you are limited on manpower one apparatus that can do both hold lots of water and do engine operations if it is setup correctly. The one set back to this though is general the size of said rig. As shown in the picture is Otisville's TA 145 8 man cab 3000gal/2000gpm set up for tanker and engine operations (closs lays and 5 inch hose, full compliment of ladders, etc just like an engine ). The tanker next to it ( on the left ) is Howells tanker, that one too has attack lines and ladders, but does not carry 5 inch. As you can see two different depts, two different setups it is all up to the indvidual depts on how they like to run/ manpower. Tankers and pumpers both have their place, if you can combine the two and get one to meet your needs then so be it. Remember everyones needs for their fire district is different if you have a need for tankers (or tenders carry water with no pump or a pump less than 500gpm) just to shuttle water then that might be what works best.

[FiremanJoeJCCFD]

Howells tanker does not carry ladders. But it can work to make a attack on a fire. If you have the man power to run 2 trucks keep them apart if you have to multi task then do that too. Really I think a tanker needs more then 2,000 gallons of water and atleast a 750 GPM pump. And yes If you can set it up to do both then do it.

[talbot50-ff/eng]

my dept is on the eastern shore of md. we used to have a 6000 gal trailer tanker with a 500 gpm pump. in 1999 we replaced it with a peterbilt chassis with a custom built tanker setup by 4guys in pa. we love it. it has a 1250 gpm pump,3000 gallon tank, two 1 3/4" preconnected crosslays, several hundred feet of 5" hose stored in compartments in rolls (doesnt get used much)two hard sleeves stored in compartments over the back wheels, several hundred feet of 3" which gets used the most and is usually sufficient. most of our boxes have a 6000 gal tanker with a 1500 gpm pump on the initial alert coming from our second due and it sits as nurse tanker and we put ours in the water shuttle. it is alot shorter than some of our neighboring companies commercially built pumper tankers therefore it is easier to get around with and isnt as top heavy either. i would not cut yourself short on the pump size because if you get put in a relay position you need to be able to supply water as fast as it is being pumped away from you. 500 or 750 might not be big enough. besides a little bigger pump probably will not raise the overall cost of the unit that much and it will be something you will be satisfied with also.hope i can help you along the way. check ours out at www.cordovavfa.org

[fd36]

thought that they did have ladders

[FiremanJoeJCCFD]

Sorry they dont. They have some 5 inch hose in cabinets and some small equipment and hard suctoin on top and a though the tank comparment for the pond. Look on ocnyfire.com you will see what they have on it. And Talbot50. Your right you should have a bigger pump then a 500 or 750. We got our 1980 mack used so we got it with what it came with. It has a 750 GPM and 3,000 gallons. The old tanker had 1,200 gallons and a 350 GPM pump so we got something bigger that works.

[RoofTopTrucky]

Here's my take.....

Pumper Tanker..... Good for areas where tanker shutles are a way of life. It gets your wagon on scene and has a lot of water to use while the tanker shutle operation is getting up and running.

Pumper & Tanker..... Gets your wagon on scene and a tanker....but I've scene it alot where the first in tanker gets blocked in by other rigs and now cannot be used in the tanker shuttel, or the wagon lays our from the tanker a bit down the street and due to limited space the hose lay and/or the dump tank block access to the scene for additional units.

All depends on what you think will work for you.

[bacalou]

Really I think a tanker needs more then 2,000 gallons of water and atleast a 750 GPM pump.
I disagree. What size tanker you need depends on the area you serve.

We've run 1500 gal tankers with a jet dump system since the 1980's and they work fine for us. When my department was looking to improve our water supply system they looked at several different systems used by other departments and decided that the mobility and quickness of the smaller tankers would serve our needs better than having larger tankers. We adopted the 1500 gal tankers, and have since always ordered pumpers with 1000 gal booster tanks.
The one drawback with our system is in the border areas where other departments run with us. If their tankers are larger it throws the timing out of sync and could cause interruptions in delivery because of the added dump and fill times. However, when the system is working correctly it delivers a lot of water.