Hello everyone,
I'm in the very early planning stages of a fuel hauler/work/service truck to support a helicopter working in the field. Chances are it may never be built but funding and need permitting it just may be... The plan right now is to have a daycab truck with a 10 foot or so long box behind the cab that is a work shop/storage for parts, with the right wall on a hinge so it folds down for extra floor area out the right side of the truck. There would be either a slideout roof and walls that would enclose this added space or a tent-kind of support system with a heavy tarp to go over it similar to what you'd find on a curtainside van... Behind this box would be a fuel tank, roughly around 2500-3000 gallons, then behind it a crane, such as a hiab 140 so that I could lift components in and out of the helicopter and onto the fold-down floor of the box in front of the tank to allow a) transport of said component when moved into the box and b) working on the component out of the weather, mosquitoes, etc. There will also need to be a pintle hitch so I can drag a quad axle tank or tandem/tridem pup fuel trailer... This trailer would be left either at a major staging area such as an airport or other semi-easily accessible area and the truck would chase the helicopter out to wherever it goes for the day. Which brings out another requirement in the winter - an underbelly plow, as some of the places we work do not have roads plowed in the winter, in some cases for several tens of miles, and sometimes up to a dozen or so vehicles, some with trailers, need to travel up this road. I'd want to mount a big winch on the front, say a 20K lb winch, in case I did get into a pickle, or pull out other trucks as needed (a few months ago the 5 ton on one of our jobs got sunk up to it's axles in mud under the snow and with just a pickup we had a heck of a time getting him out...) Perhaps I'd stick another winch on the back somewhere but I don't see how I could manage that with a hiab and pintle hitch at the back of the truck... So all in all it's a pretty ambitious truck I'm thinking of concocting...
Now the question I originally wanted to ask is I've been looking around on the various manufacturer's websites and Western Star offers Tier 3 engines in their trucks, but there's a disclaimer saying they're for offroad use only. Can a fellow get one of these registered for on-road use in Canada as the EPA regulations don't apply here? I really don't need the headaches of all the EPA garbage on the truck and short of buying a used one that most likely won't be configured the way I'd want, this seems like a great option if I can get it registered for on-road use.
My ideal specs would be 6X6, 500+ HP engine, 18sp. transmission, a 280-320" wheel base to accomodate the shed, tank, crane, etc., and of course a pre-emmision engine. This thing won't be built for some time, if at all, but just wanted to put the thoughts out there, and maybe gather some good advice from all you fine folks here. Sorry about the long post...
Cheers! :drinkup
I'm in the very early planning stages of a fuel hauler/work/service truck to support a helicopter working in the field. Chances are it may never be built but funding and need permitting it just may be... The plan right now is to have a daycab truck with a 10 foot or so long box behind the cab that is a work shop/storage for parts, with the right wall on a hinge so it folds down for extra floor area out the right side of the truck. There would be either a slideout roof and walls that would enclose this added space or a tent-kind of support system with a heavy tarp to go over it similar to what you'd find on a curtainside van... Behind this box would be a fuel tank, roughly around 2500-3000 gallons, then behind it a crane, such as a hiab 140 so that I could lift components in and out of the helicopter and onto the fold-down floor of the box in front of the tank to allow a) transport of said component when moved into the box and b) working on the component out of the weather, mosquitoes, etc. There will also need to be a pintle hitch so I can drag a quad axle tank or tandem/tridem pup fuel trailer... This trailer would be left either at a major staging area such as an airport or other semi-easily accessible area and the truck would chase the helicopter out to wherever it goes for the day. Which brings out another requirement in the winter - an underbelly plow, as some of the places we work do not have roads plowed in the winter, in some cases for several tens of miles, and sometimes up to a dozen or so vehicles, some with trailers, need to travel up this road. I'd want to mount a big winch on the front, say a 20K lb winch, in case I did get into a pickle, or pull out other trucks as needed (a few months ago the 5 ton on one of our jobs got sunk up to it's axles in mud under the snow and with just a pickup we had a heck of a time getting him out...) Perhaps I'd stick another winch on the back somewhere but I don't see how I could manage that with a hiab and pintle hitch at the back of the truck... So all in all it's a pretty ambitious truck I'm thinking of concocting...
Now the question I originally wanted to ask is I've been looking around on the various manufacturer's websites and Western Star offers Tier 3 engines in their trucks, but there's a disclaimer saying they're for offroad use only. Can a fellow get one of these registered for on-road use in Canada as the EPA regulations don't apply here? I really don't need the headaches of all the EPA garbage on the truck and short of buying a used one that most likely won't be configured the way I'd want, this seems like a great option if I can get it registered for on-road use.
My ideal specs would be 6X6, 500+ HP engine, 18sp. transmission, a 280-320" wheel base to accomodate the shed, tank, crane, etc., and of course a pre-emmision engine. This thing won't be built for some time, if at all, but just wanted to put the thoughts out there, and maybe gather some good advice from all you fine folks here. Sorry about the long post...
Cheers! :drinkup