Very popular with German volunteers as a less expensive alternative to the much more common Mercedes 7.5 ton chassis back then. These were both able to be driven by volunteers without a HGV license, which was a big advantage. Its 28 year service life is not exceptional. These volunteers in small towns like Walldorf (with 16,000 inhabitants) made relatively few runs a year - and were traditionally very religious about maintaining their vehicles to a very high standard. The only real drawback with the old LF8 design was that - because of its limited GVW - it had no water tank. To compensate for this, many volunteer fire companies also ran another light truck under 7.5 tons GVW, which was a water tender holding 1800 litres, with a two man cab, 80O LPM pump and not much other equipment. This LF8 has a PP in its rear locker, but this was not a standard feature. Strictly urban companies tended to rely on getting set into a hydrant quickly, while those with more rural response areas typically set the PP into open water and relayed it to the LF8 using 75mm hoses.
Added by Rob Johnson on 03 September 2026.