This is the "PUC" design, which positions the engine, drive line and pump much lower in the chassis frame.
This facilitates a lower cab with reduced step height, a more spacious body for the water tank, hose bed and equipment lockers, and results in a lower center of gravity for improved road handling.
So far, no other custom fire apparatus manufacturer has copied this Pierce innovation, and Pierce gas built pumpers, rescue pumpers, adders, towers and quints on this new chassis in the past few years.
The low step height, low front cowl and low right side plumbing can be clearly seen in this neat photo.
A previous example of this design approach was the British ERF chassis introduced in 1967, but of course these original innovative designs tend to be very costly to design and manufacture - so manufacturers often struggle to make a decent profit selling them...
This facilitates a lower cab with reduced step height, a more spacious body for the water tank, hose bed and equipment lockers, and results in a lower center of gravity for improved road handling.
So far, no other custom fire apparatus manufacturer has copied this Pierce innovation, and Pierce gas built pumpers, rescue pumpers, adders, towers and quints on this new chassis in the past few years.
The low step height, low front cowl and low right side plumbing can be clearly seen in this neat photo.
A previous example of this design approach was the British ERF chassis introduced in 1967, but of course these original innovative designs tend to be very costly to design and manufacture - so manufacturers often struggle to make a decent profit selling them...
Added by Rob Johnson on 06 November 2017.