Pleasantville's Ferrara's?

[x134 46]

I was wondering how the Pleasantville Fire Department likes there Ferraras. My vollie department is looking into them to replace possibly two engines. Looking for positive and negative input.

[ENG47INE 17]

I have seen Pleasntvilles Rigs pleanty of times and there are some things i don't like about them like how big they are. The hose beds and cross lays are too high. I have talkes to some pleasntville Firefighters and I have heard many don't like them.

[houlidsa 76]

thats a design feature that you don't like. thats usually the fault of the FD wanting 10 lbs in a 5 lb bag and a salesman who is too greedy to say NO or come up with a creative solution.

I would personally be interested in how they are. Reliability? Integretity? Quality of workmanship? Function? Did you get your dollar's worth?

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

What about Mount Vernon's or Pelhems engines or Greenville's Squad Support Unit? How do they like those?

[IzzyEng4 427]

thats a design feature that you don't like. thats usually the fault of the FD wanting 10 lbs in a 5 lb bag and a salesman who is too greedy to say NO or come up with a creative solution.

I would personally be interested in how they are. Reliability? Integretity? Quality of workmanship? Function? Did you get your dollar's worth?

Serving on my vollie company's apparatus committee when we replaced our old engine with a rescue-pumper, I can't stress and agree with this more. What you design is what you get, what is not in the specs you don't get.

I have a Ferrara hazmat-rescue and a 1500 gpm pumper at work. The hazmat was provided by the state OEM / DHS while our new pumper was a demo that we purchased. I drive the engine a lot and while its not a bad truck, it could be a lot better.

[DCurtis 1]

Ahh yes our Ferraras. **THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY** I will say, they have nice cabs and drive very well. However, yes our rigs are too big, and yes our hosebeds are way too high. I wasnt in the dept when they were specing these trucks out so there isn't much I can say about why they turned out the way they did. Not to insult anybody who worked on the project at all, there are a few things I would have done differently. It really is true, you get what you spec. As far as quality is concerned, its not very good. It always seems like something is wrong with at least one of the trucks at any given time. These may not big problems all the time, but even so, it seems like its always something that shouldnt be an issue. All this aside, they still make a decent truck, however this is my warning to any dept considering purchasing a Ferrara. They like to gloat about how good their warranty is and their customer service is. With our experiences, in this respect they have been absolutely horrible. They didnt want to warranty things that should be, and they just havent been good to deal with. This is as I see it, if there is anybody else from my dept on here, please, correct me if anything I said is inaccurate. Personally, do I like the trucks? I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan.

Edited July 21, 2008 by DCurtis

[ny10570 745]

At the time the rigs were specked the leadership was getting away from the half mile hose lays required to supply several areas of our district and switch to tanker shuttles to get us the water. So in that vein it was decided to go with a 1,000 gallon tank on the engine and 750 gallons on the rescue. That plus added compartment space and 1500' of 5" equals very tall apparatus. On the service end the dealer we have been using out in LI has been impressively bad. We had had one real problem with the rear differential on the Engine that was complicated and made worse by the dealer before it was finally fixed but other wise the problems have been largely smaller nuisance issues. In short, excellent rigs crap service.

[RICHEB126 5]

Ahh yes our Ferraras. **THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY** I will say, they have nice cabs and drive very well. However, yes our rigs are too big, and yes our hosebeds are way too high. I wasnt in the dept when they were specing these trucks out so there isn't much I can say about why they turned out the way they did. Not to insult anybody who worked on the project at all, there are a few things I would have done differently. It really is true, you get what you spec. As far as quality is concerned, its not very good. It always seems like something is wrong with at least one of the trucks at any given time. These may not big problems all the time, but even so, it seems like its always something that shouldnt be an issue. All this aside, they still make a decent truck, however this is my warning to any dept considering purchasing a Ferrara. They like to gloat about how good their warranty is and their customer service is. With our experiences, in this respect they have been absolutely horrible. They didnt want to warranty things that should be, and they just havent been good to deal with. This is as I see it, if there is anybody else from my dept on here, please, correct me if anything I said is inaccurate. Personally, do I like the trucks? I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan.

As a crusty old Vollie of too many years I have seen many changes. I have worked on several apparatus committees and helped design what I felt were functional apparatus for our fire dept. Form and function take up alot of design issues. In my department we have to take virtually all our water with us. This time of year it gets worse, central water for all in my town is eons off. So what do you take?, you take it ALL and there presents the size issues. The broader problem is dealing with all the initials. NFPA, EPA, Niosh, PESH, with subtitles like PPE, TPE,

To vary from an apparatus MFG basic specifications whether it be Pumper, tanker, ETA, ladder,

quint, what ever adds $$$$. Most municipalities have already started to rein in their 2008 spending because of budget short falls and or miscalculations, I know first hand because I help supply alot of items related to those initials mentioned above

Boards want it kept as inexpensive as possible, we want it built to fit our needs and it is very tough to accomplish both these days. Affairs of warranty need to be scrutinized. Typically Engine, tranny, pump each are covered by their manufacturers. The apparatus itself should have a warranty which needs to be read very carefully.

Unfortunately "Rock Solid" apparatus manufacturers are hard to come by and so is trust. In 1962 my department bought two class "A" Oren 750/750 pumpers for $32,000.00 In 68 we bought two front mount "Custom" Oren pumpers for approx $38,000.00 by the way that was the total cost for each purchase of two! My how times have changed!

[Guest]

just get a pierce...strong and very reliable

[RICHEB126 5]

Don't even get me started on the "P" word. We were essentially told we couldn't "Afford" their product and this after we purchased a 2007 Contender. As far as I'm concerned, theee worst job of salesmanship by a dealer. Many Pierces have been built and serve their communities well but if the dealership doesn't step up then the apparatus, no matter how well built is doomed to failure!

[hudson144 150]

FDMV Engine 3 & 4 -- water comes out as needed,no real bells or whistles on the rigs and they do their job as 1st line engines. Some problems in the beginning but appear to be ok now!

[ex-commish 490]

just get a pierce...strong and very reliable

Not so sure about that. Had Pierces for years and nothing but trouible, especially electrical.

[ny10570 745]

This thread and every other thread on manufacturers turns into the same discussion. Every company makes great apparatus and at the same time they manage to make the biggest pieces of poo rolling. Take a look at whats out there, the way they're wired, the frames they're built on, and way they're put together. Unless you're one of the blessed few your rig is going to give you problems at first and there will be nuisance problems. So good luck with whatever you decided to go with.

[Bnechis 3,961]

however this is my warning to any dept considering purchasing a Ferrara. They like to gloat about how good their warranty is and their customer service is. With our experiences, in this respect they have been absolutely horrible.

Is this a Ferrara issue or the local dealer?

If its the local dealer, a change is about to be (if it has not already been) anounced.

[Bnechis 3,961]

just get a pierce...strong and very reliable

I hope your in better shape than any our 18-20 year old Pierce units.........Of 3 1988 Pierce Pumpers: 1) was sold for scrap metal.....1) is awaiting the next scrap auction and the 3rd is a back-up to a spare engine and will be scraped as soon the new E-25 arrrives this winter.

Now we do push them hard (and got our money's worth), but before you claim they are strong and very reliable, you need to have at least some experience.

And we wont talk about our 1989 105' rear-mount that collapsed 10 years ago (2 members are perminantly disabled from that).

[Danger 160]

Is this a Ferrara issue or the local dealer?

If its the local dealer, a change is about to be (if it has not already been) anounced.

I think Garrison Fire Equipment is official now

[Guest ECAFD3]

I was wondering how the Pleasantville Fire Department likes there Ferraras. My vollie department is looking into them to replace possibly two engines. Looking for positive and negative input.

Don, we have One at work stop bye one day if u want to check it out

[FFPCogs 863]

I've heard (so this isn't first hand) mixed opinions about Ferraras. The one I am most familiar with...an engine..has served well to the best of my knowledge. Price is usually better than others i.e. Pierce and Seagrave, so that can be a huge factor. And as stated so many times here, it's all about the specs. Design your rig to suit your NEEDS and make it as user friendly as possible to get the most out of it.

Just a quick opinion on Pierce..when you have 60-65% of the market they don't have to give a sh*t about every sale. The Depts I know using Pierce..including my last overseas outfit were happy overall, but electrical issues are still very common especially with the mid mount TLs.

I still long for the Bulldog...man do I miss my Macks.

Cogs