Rear mount vs. Mid mount

[foreman1923 22]

Dont have a ladder in my fire department. But was wondering what the pros and cons are of midmount and rear mount aerials

[osufire90 18]

Rear Mount: larger overall height, shorter overall length, generally more compartment space.

Mid Mount: shorter overall height, longer overall length, generally less compartment space.

Both can be found in true truck or quint body styles. Some think it is easier to place a mid mount on the fire ground because the turn table is right behind the cab, making it easier to place the ladder directly in front of the fire.

[antiquefirelt 994]

There area a few older threads here that really delve into this fairly well. In addition to the above items:

Often a MM will have more sections to attain the aerial length, allowing it to come to the ground closer to the apparatus body. Also, RM often hang out over the front of the cab presenting a visual obstruction, while MM's have a longer body from the rear tires back, making the "tailslap" much more pronounced. Another minor issue is loading the tower bucket on a RM requires members walking the length of the bedded ladder to the bucket, where on a MM you usually can climb in close to the rear body ladder and pass tools up (saws, ect.)