Just bought a 1973 bread truck(at least thats what I call it). It has 8000 miles on it. Thats right 8000! It is an old fire and rescue truck from the local Fire Dept. There is tons of storage and perfect for hauling annuals and an irrigation vehicle. I paid $2000 for it. My mechanic said it was in good working condition as it has been maintained by the Fire Dept. I was going to get a enclosed trailer but this is even better. Anyone ever buy anything like this? I will tag it and use it this season then customize it in the off season. Harry
Just bought a Fire Truck!
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I have a buddy who buys and sells equipment and owns an auction yard. A few weeks ago at a sale he bought a 1960's LeFrance firetruck with a bucket. It has a 70' reach and is a convertible top. He tried to talk me into driving it home from the sale, 120 miles. Powered by a gas engine and top speed is around 30 to 40 mph. It still has all the lights and sirens on it. He paid Can$2800 for it. It will be in his sale next Monday.
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Just remember low miles doesnt mean low hours. I was in the fire dept. and know that most have lots more hours on them than miles. And the age still affects the systems with any kind of liquid in them. Radiator,hoses,seals,water pump,fuel system, etc.
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My friend just bought a 76 F-700 pump truck with 26,000 miles on it. It's in perfect condition. Only paid 3,000 for it. He's also selling sirens and the pump off of it on e-bay to pay for it. He got $450 just for one of the lights! The frame has original paint on it and the tires look brand new.
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We just had a small town fire dept buy an old Coke truck and converted it to a rescue vehicle, they even had a small room to recover form smoke inhalation in it. Kind of opposite of your deal but it just goes to show peoples ingenuity.
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if the fire dept you bought it from is like most other fire departments the truck is very well maintained. most fire departments to extensive pre maintenance and regular maintenance also. should be a great truck for you. good luck
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If you can go back to the fire department that had it and see if they will give you the maint. records for it. We all keep records and it will show any problems in the past. But remember, it being an old fire dept. vehicle it has seen a rough life even with only 8000 miles. In other words, it was probably cranked and driven immediately during both cold and warm months with no warm up time and it was probably run like a bat outta hell. I work with a fire dept and I too have thought about getting an old stepvan type vehicle but I know how they have been driven. Good luck and like I said, try and get the records.
Thanks for advice but I had a change of mind and heart. My brother, (also my partner) dosent like it. I didnt really think this through because I cannot expect my wife and other bed/maint crew members to drive it. The truck has manual brakes and drives like a tank. As much as I like it I am probably going to sell it on ebay. Anyone want a good truck?lol-Harry
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i disagree with starting and leaving, atleast in my company the truck sits and idles for quite a few minutes before leaving, driver is usually first there then he sits and waits for the rest of the crew. also the best drivers in the company are the ones that become truck drivers.
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I Just bought a 1996 F350 dulley 4X4 52,370 miles with service body, lift gate, Snow Plow and Salt Spreader at our local city fleet auction, Paid $3850. Going to work great for pulling the bobcats around.
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must be different everywhere else because our trucks are very well taken care of and not beat at all. the guys at the station take better care of the trucks then they do there own vehicles. our ambulances are a little different, they do get beat, same for cop cars and medic units. but not the fire trucks.
I agree with you stslawncare, our trucks (ambulances and crachtrucks) are WELL maintained (I know this because I do all the routine maintance). We have bought some lower mileage units from other depts. and had no problem. We are in the mountains so the brakes take the worst beating (easy total fix). Our cop cars are ragged (rode HARD and hung up wet). It all depends on the dept..
Same here, all of our fire trucks are Internationals except for our small brush truck, a Chevrolet 3500. The advantage we have is that there are 6 members of our department all from the same family, and they have alot of power in our department. This family owns a large International truck dealership and service center in town, so all of our trucks come through them as a dealer and are maintained exclusively by the firefighters only. We have a total of 8 firefighters that work there.
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