While conducting research for the design of their new apparatus, the eMAX, E-ONE got a lot of feedback that painted a picture of a different product than the one they had been producing.
“We found that departments are running fewer and fewer fire calls, and more and more medical, rescue, and extraction calls,” E-ONE Product Manager Joe Hedges said.
“Our customers said they needed vehicles that deemphasized the plumbing and didn’t necessarily need copious amounts of water flow, with discharges on every side.”
E-ONE spent a year researching and developing the new eMAX before introducing it at this year’s FDIC in Indianapolis. Hedges said they developed the apparatus — based on customers’ feedback — to have better compartmentalization and more maneuverability, with easier access to storage, handlines and pump controls.
The E-ONE design team found a new way to package their pump and plumbing so that the eMAX has more compartment storage than previous models, but without increasing the length of the apparatus, Hedges said.
“We ended up with smaller intake discharge panels located away from the pump operator’s panel, and the pump operator’s panel itself was designed to take up the smallest amount of space,” he added.
The storage capability of the eMAX is impressive: up to 586 cubic feet, compared to the industry average of around 200 to 300 cubic feet.
E-ONE lowered their discharge/intake panel to facilitate easier connection without having to stoop down, and they did not incorporate cab overhang, which their research found restricted panel access.
For the pump drive system on the eMAX, E-ONE went with a split shaft design, a tried and true system that relies on power from the apparatus’ engine rather than a continuously spinning power take-off.
“We went with the split shaft pump drive because it’s a reliable and proven system,” Hedges said. “Departments want it because it’s simple and because it works.”
Based on feedback E-ONE has gotten about the eMAX, both from attendees at FDIC and from those who have already requested quotes for the apparatus, the innovations they’ve made to this product will be very successful.
“People are telling us this is exactly what they’re looking for,” Hedges said. “That tells us we’re on the right track.”
E-ONE is a worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of fire rescue vehicles with more than 23,000 vehicles in operation around the world. For more details, visit them on the Web.