Midmount Vs. Rear Mount

[WAS967 97]

What are the major advantages/disadvantages between rear and midmount sticks? I would think a midmount stick would offer more stability no? What pother ladders locally have a rear mount ladder?

[Remember585 815]

With rearmounts, you have the stick and/or bucket hanging over your front end, which reduces visibility. If you have to squeeze the rig into a tight spot and don't have much room to spin the turntable around, you can nose in and throw the stick up.

With midmounts, the ladder hangs off the rear-end. Our old L44 was a middy, and the overhang on the back-end made it a little tougher to make some tight turns - especially around the dummy light when cars parked in the intersection.

There's other advantages / disadvantages, and I am sure others will bring them up.

[Remember585 815]

Rear mounts I know of....

L4 Greenville

TL6 White Plains

L7 Fire Training Center

TL8 Montrose

L10 & L35 Mohegan

L12 & L13 New Rochelle

TL12 Hawthorne

L15 & L16 Eastchester

L19 Town of Mamk

L21 Vill of Mamk

TL21 Elmsford

L25 Rye

L36 Irvington

L37 Tarrytown

L40 Briarcliff

L41 & L42 Ossining

L43 Mount Kisco

TL44 Croton

TL45 Peekskill

L47 No. White Plains

L50 Ardsley (Quint 1)

TL53 Purchase

L55 Elmsford

L70, 72, 73, 74 Yonkers

[TRUCK6018 50]

Mid-mounts are an advantage with those who have vertically chalenging apparatus bays.

[mfc2257 464]

Well... If height of apparatus isn't a problem, and the MPO is capable and willing to back into the scene, the rear mount allows you to put the most "stick" on the building. HOWEVER, most drivers of rear mounts don't take the time to consider how much length they are losing by pulling in forwards and often times (especially at residential fires) they leave the truck near useless for performing roof operations.

With a mid mount, you can pull in forwards and you only lose the distance from the turntable over the roof of the cab. In addition, if it is some form of a Quint, it keeps the turn table and the pump panel closer to each other with helps with communicatoin b/t the pump operator and aerial operator.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

When it comes down to rear vs mid, you need to look at your particular situation.Where is it going to operate, where in the response does the rig respond , what are you using it for. Each rig has its advantages and disadvantages.

People will say mid mount TL's have too much overhangand can hit cars on sharpo turns. Well, We have mid mount tower and the bucket has been replaced twice but not due to cars, but because of no dead man switch in the bucket and they vented peaked roofs with it. I agree a rear mount has a better scrub area. Rear mounts are good on long driveways where you have to nose up to a house, whereas midmounts cannot get low enough and will be too far away ro be effective. I guess the best course of acrtion is to have both !. Mid mounts are great when you have a truck equiped with a pump as the tt operator and po are together. Mid mounts have a lower center of gravity. Most of the aerial rollovers I have read about are rear mount due to the higher center of gravity.

But it all comes down to the following..

department needs

department limitation and response area

training

training

training

[WAS967 97]

Thanks for all the info....I appreciate it...I didn't realize there were so many rear mounts in the area. I guess I just never really noticed before.