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Fire Engine Photos
No: 40193 Contributor: Jon Godden Year: 2016 Manufacturers: Dennis, Range Rover Country: United Kingdom
West Sussex Dennis D VPO 699N at Worthing
1974 Dennis D VPO 699N running as the 2nd Whole time pump at Worthing in 1988 when part of the Reserve fleet. New to East Grinstead in September 1974 she also served as the 2nd pump at Petworth from 1983 to 1987 before joining the Reserve fleet. West Sussex had 20 Dennis Ds, the 1974 N reg batch of 4 being the first to have slightly higher bodywork to allow the hard suction hose to be stowed centrally under the middle locker, rather than high up on top of the body - early attention to manual handling! Alongside is Worthings Range Rover Carmichael RT MBP 550P in original day glo orange livery. Ford BACV CPO 635L just visible in rear drill yard. Worthing was allocated identical Dennis D GBP 998N as 2nd WTL from 1974 to 1976 and 3rd WTL between 1976 & 1979.
1974 Dennis D VPO 699N running as the 2nd Whole time pump at Worthing in 1988 when part of the Reserve fleet. New to East Grinstead in September 1974 she also served as the 2nd pump at Petworth from 1983 to 1987 before joining the Reserve fleet. West Sussex had 20 Dennis Ds, the 1974 N reg batch of 4 being the first to have slightly higher bodywork to allow the hard suction hose to be stowed centrally under the middle locker, rather than high up on top of the body - early attention to manual handling! Alongside is Worthings Range Rover Carmichael RT MBP 550P in original day glo orange livery. Ford BACV CPO 635L just visible in rear drill yard. Worthing was allocated identical Dennis D GBP 998N as 2nd WTL from 1974 to 1976 and 3rd WTL between 1976 & 1979.
Hi John, funnily enough I was talking to Pete Matten about this yesterday and the good news is I have got some open locker pictures of the M reg. rescue tenders and Worthing's MBP550P and they are colour print. I will scan them Would you like them emailed to you direct? Jon
Added by on 19 October 2016.
Added by on 19 October 2016.
Hi Jon. That would be fantastic! Yes I would really appreciate anything you have, it's really tricky to work out how everything went in. Owe a lot to Pete he has helped me greatly with information and pics over the years & been inspirational in encouraging me to get TPO back. Think West Sussex had fine taste in appliances & liveries. It's why I have particularly appreciated your pics. Best regards. John
Added by John D on 20 October 2016.
Added by John D on 20 October 2016.
Worthings RangeRover was registered KBP 550P, GBP 998N moved to 3rd pump at Worthing late 1975, replaced as 2nd Pump by JCR 324P, Ist Registered 11/8/75, TPO 513M was at Chichester for a time, I hated it, rolled about, one of a few machines I
rode on which failed to get to the job twice, engine severe misfire, a common fault, and on one occasion the rear axle broke away from its mounting.
Added by M.West on 21 October 2016.
rode on which failed to get to the job twice, engine severe misfire, a common fault, and on one occasion the rear axle broke away from its mounting.
Added by M.West on 21 October 2016.
Thanks Martyn, for spotting my typo with Worthings RT, and clarifying the dates for GBP 998N for moving to 3rd pump, I was only 6 at the time so memory a bit hazy - sadly can't even remember the Bedford PE it replaced - which is a bit odd as I can remember the yellow ex East Sussex C reg Land Rover that KBP 550P replaced. Jon
Added by on 27 October 2016.
Added by on 27 October 2016.
I trying to locate information on the Stemlight. I worked on the original design in Canada many years back and would like to locate one, if available.
Added by Dave Warrington on 20 March 2018.
Added by Dave Warrington on 20 March 2018.
Hi Dave. I have been looking for Information on the Stem lite, I required dimensions for a scale model. I found a specification sheet on the Internet from Zumro ResQ. Don't know if this helps
Added by Paul Warnock on 23 March 2018.
Added by Paul Warnock on 23 March 2018.
M. West:
No surprise! The trailing axle on these tandem axle conversion Range Rovers was seriously overloaded, and Carmichael were just asking for problems. It was a standard Range Rover axle, with standard suspension, wheels and tires (which reputedly needed changing every 2, 000 miles!)
The design pushed almost all of the added weight of the frame extension, the water tank, the pump, the extra bodywork and most of the equipment as well as the axle itself on to those two rear wheels, which was not too successful unless the vehicle was always driven in a straight line!
A standard Range Rover only had a 250 KG payload once the rear seat was occupied. This conversion increased the GVW with a full 900 liter tank to well over 5 tons from 3.05 on the standard 4X4 version.
All of this extra weight - around two tons - was supposed to be carried by the third axle and suspension, designed for a maximum of 1.65 tons, but the extended rear bodywork meant that even more weight ended up on the third axle, due to weight transfer from the front.
Some rescue versions, omitting the pump and water tank, may have carried a lot less weight and been less of a problem, but the fire fighting rigs were really not a very safe design....
Added by Rob Johnson on 25 October 2018.
No surprise! The trailing axle on these tandem axle conversion Range Rovers was seriously overloaded, and Carmichael were just asking for problems. It was a standard Range Rover axle, with standard suspension, wheels and tires (which reputedly needed changing every 2, 000 miles!)
The design pushed almost all of the added weight of the frame extension, the water tank, the pump, the extra bodywork and most of the equipment as well as the axle itself on to those two rear wheels, which was not too successful unless the vehicle was always driven in a straight line!
A standard Range Rover only had a 250 KG payload once the rear seat was occupied. This conversion increased the GVW with a full 900 liter tank to well over 5 tons from 3.05 on the standard 4X4 version.
All of this extra weight - around two tons - was supposed to be carried by the third axle and suspension, designed for a maximum of 1.65 tons, but the extended rear bodywork meant that even more weight ended up on the third axle, due to weight transfer from the front.
Some rescue versions, omitting the pump and water tank, may have carried a lot less weight and been less of a problem, but the fire fighting rigs were really not a very safe design....
Added by Rob Johnson on 25 October 2018.
Dennis
I am particularly interested in this vehicle as I now own the vehicle and am currently restoring it back to how it was in service. I will post some pictures of how it is now in due course, but it's tucked away having lots of work done (so tricky to get good shots). I am particularly interested in any locker or internal cab pictures of either of the three West Sussex Commandos, which will aid me greatly with the restoration.
Added by John D on 16 October 2016.