Supply chain issues in the past couple of years have made a big impact on the production schedules for fire and ambulance apparatus, with some manufacturers reporting two-to-three year delivery times, compared with a year or less not long ago. Fire departments are increasingly turning to used fire apparatus dealers for relief from supply chain issues, with the used apparatus market heating up considerably and drying up supply.
Jacob Keltner, apparatus sales manager for Jon’s MidAmerica Fire Apparatus Inc., says that pumper-tankers are the most popular used rigs going out the door recently. “Right now, pumper-tankers are going crazy,” Keltner observes. “If you have one to sell, it’s like having gold, especially with the price of new fire apparatus skyrocketing, and the time it takes to build and deliver a new pumper or other apparatus.”
Keltner notes that a lot of departments are seeking a rig that can be utilized for multiple uses. “They want a truck that they can do almost everything with,” he says. “They might have a lack of staffing or money, but they want a truck with big water and a big pump on it that will allow them to handle most situations. For example, we recently sold a Toyne pumper-tanker built on a Freightliner chassis and cab with a 1,250-gallon per minute (gpm) pump and a 2,500-gallon water tank to Solway (MI) Fire Department, and it was exactly what they were looking for.”
And while sales of rescue trucks and aerial ladders and platforms have slowed, mostly because of a lack of vehicles for sale, Keltner notes that, “If you can find a good aerial device, they sell very quickly. We recently sold a 2012 HME 75-foot aerial ladder quint with a 1,500-gpm pump and 300-gallon water tank to Ozark (MO) Fire Department, and they were pleased to get it.”
Billy Claunch, vice president of sales for Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, believes that used fire apparatus are at the mercy of what’s available on the market at any one time. “New fire apparatus are not being delivered as quickly as in the past, so there are not as many used fire trucks being released by departments,” Claunch says. “Used apparatus sales companies are the last domino in the used supply chain.”
But even with supply chain issues, tankers and pumper-tankers still have proven to be popular in the used fire truck market, Claunch says. “They often are purchased by rural fire departments that do not have a municipal water system,” he observes. “Also, they likely don’t have a lot of structures in their coverage district, so the tax base isn’t large, so they are looking to buy a vehicle that can handle what they need and keep it for 30 years or more.”
Claunch says that Brindlee Mountain built a digital Fire Truck Finder system that can match a potential buyer with a used fire truck. “A potential buyer signs up and loads the specs of what they want,” he says. “It’s a carbon copy of the real estate Multiple Listing System. Five to six thousand people in our system receive notification of the listing specs, and when the truck gets interested hits, the department gets a text and email about it.”
Longer lead times for new fire apparatus also has driven a bit of business in the rental market, Claunch believes. “We’ve seen an uptick in the rental of fire apparatus,” he says. “I think it’s been driven by the longer lead times for new fire rigs.”
Jim Campbell, owner of Fenton Fire, says his company has been selling used apparatus from chiefs’ vehicles to pumpers, tankers and ambulances. “The supply chain issues and long lead times for the delivery of new fire apparatus has brought fire departments to the used market,” Campbell says. “As always, tankers and pumper-tankers are the most desirable type of fire apparatus right now, usually with 2,000-gallon water tanks or more. Generally, the bigger the water tank, the more desirable the apparatus is.”
Campbell notes that the “used aerial market is as strong as it’s ever been. “We have been selling more quints than straight trucks this past year or more,” he points out. “And used ambulance sales are very strong right now.” Campbell believes that the robustness of the used apparatus market is due to the supply chain choke points that are affecting new fire apparatus manufacturers. “OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have a huge backlog of builds,” he says. “We heard of two-to-three years delivery time for some manufacturers. Fire departments need trucks right away, so they are turning to the used apparatus market.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
