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| On Wednesday July 11th 2001, Nesquehoning Hose Co. #1
put in their order for a new fire engine. The order was placed with
Kovatch Mobile Equipment of Nesquehoning, Pa. for a custom built EXCELII-XLFD
(extra long with full doors)1500
gpm pumper. As it turns out it will be KME's 5,000th truck. Because we are
located in the same town it gives us the opportunity to take pictures of
the truck in production. I will be visiting the factory and taking
pictures as the truck is being built.
Click on pictures to enlarge
and click your back button to return.
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ALL TRUCKS START ON
PAPER FIRST |
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Specifications |
Front View |
Rear View of Cab |
Rear View |
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Top View-Seating |
Top View |
Right Side |
Left Side |
| 2002 KME Excel II-XLFD 1500 gpm pumper, with 22”
Raised Roof and Seating for 10, Detroit Diesel, Series 60 - 470 hp
Engine, Allison HD 4060P Five Speed Automatic Transmission, Anti lock
Brake System, Automatic Traction Control, Air System Synflex, Heated Air
Dryer, 6 Polished Aluminum Wheels, 385/65Rx22.5 18ply Front Tires,
12Rx22.5 16 ply Rear Tires, Silicone Hoses, Jake Brake with Brake Light
Activation, Vertical Exhaust, 50 Gallon Fuel Tank, Detroit Diesel Fuel
Pro 382 Fuel Heater/Separator, 110 Volt Super Auto Eject For Battery
Charger, Kussmaul 0919=DPP Auto Charge D Pump Plus Dual Charger, Collins
Pulsar Hand Light, Recess Mounted Perlux Fog Lights in Bumper, AM/FM/CD
Player Stereo w/4 Speakers, Ground Lights, Stainless Steel Trim Band,
Excel Style Grab Rails, Velvac 2025 Heated/Remote Control Mirrors, Air
Conditioning (L.A. Style) Roof Unit Painted To Match Two Tone Color,
Rudd Automatic Tire Chains, “T” Type Shifter, Leece Nevelle 320 Amp
Alternator, Battery Jumper Studs Driver Side Step Well, Red Filters For
Fluorescent Lighting In Cab, Q2B Installed in Grill, Whelen 9x12 Scene
Lights On Cab with Internal Refraction, Fire Research 500 Watt
Telescoping Lights Rear Of Cab, Second Air Brake Actuator Provided At
Officer’s Position, Radio and Cell Phone Antennas, Two 6 inch Defogger Fans, Auxiliary Manual Cab Lift (Back Up
System), Audible Alarm To Indicate When Cab Is Being Lowered Or Raised,
20 inch Bumper Extension with Gravel Shield and 3 Hose Wells With Lids
On Center And Right Hose Wells, Painted Tow Hooks Recessed Through
Bumper, 2 Ground Lights Under Bumper Facing Forward, 500 Watt Front Cab
Mount Fire Research Light, Door Open Indicator with Integral Audible
Alarm, Additional Air Tank For Body Accessories, Fuel Gauge On Pump
Panel, 8,000 Watt PTO Driven Generator Above Pump. |
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DETROIT 470 HORSEPOWER |
ALLISON HEAVY DUTY 5 SPEED |
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October 3, 2001
First pieces are put on jig and welded together. |
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--------------------October 17,
2001-------------------- |
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--------------------October 18,
2001-------------------- |
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----October 19, 2001---- |
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--------------------October 22,
2001--------------------
Expert welder, Frank Ryder, continues
building KME's largest cab for truck #5,000 |
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-------------October 23, 2001--------------
At this point the cab will be removed from the jig and moved to another
part of the plant where more welding is done to it and other pieces
added. |
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October 30, 2001
Welding of cab almost done, going to body shop
next. |
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November 5, 2001
Cab in paint booth. |
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November 7
Primer sprayed |
November 12
Painted white |
November 12
Painted white |
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November 13
White masked off |
November 15
Paint finished, interior and wiring next |
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November 19, 2001
Interior started. Cord reels will be installed in cab
compartments.
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November 20, 2001
Cab interior |
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....................November 23,
2001....................
Cab continues down assembly line. John McArdle, fire chief and assistant
chiefs, Bill Fauzio and Bob Stempa meet with KME officials to view
progress of new truck. Bob Stempa, checking out inside of
cab. |
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....................November 27,
2001....................
Front seat, door panels, clearance lights, mirrors, cab fans, front and
rear air conditioner units |
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....................November 29,
2001....................
Most of the interior is finished, the electricians took over and are
installing the wiring, most of the glass is installed except for the
windshields |
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November 30th
Dash, switches, steering column
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December 5, 2001
Headliner and lights, cord reels, antennas
installed. Rear seats almost done. |
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December 6, 2001
Light boxes installed, rear seats finished. The
driver side windshield is left out until the cab is put on the chassis
and all wiring is installed in dash. This is the end of the line in
plant #1. The cab will be sent to plant #3 where it will be dropped on
the chassis. |
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--------------------November 15,
2001-------------------- |
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....................November 20, 2001....................
Body primed
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November 20, 2001
Frame rails started |
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November 23, 2001
Engine and transmission bolted together and accessories added to
engine |
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November 28, 2001
Front and rear axles
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....................November 29,
2001....................
Things are going fast in the chassis shop, these guys are fast! Cross
members were added to the frame rails, springs installed, shocks and
steering box. By the afternoon the front and rear axles were installed
and the chassis was turned over and they were installing the pump. |
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November 30, 2001
Fuel tank installed and a Waterous 1500 gpm two
stage pump |
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December 5, 2001
Chassis in paint booth |
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December 6, 2001
Chassis out of paint booth, next step is the air lines and
wiring. |
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December 7, 2001
Wheels are on. Air lines, air tanks and wiring
being installed. |
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December 11, 2001
Engine and transmission installed, cab waiting in
background. |
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....................December 12,
2001....................
Cab is mounted, exhaust and wiring being finished. |
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December 13, 2001
This is why the windshield is left out, once the wiring in the
dash is finished the driver side windshield will be installed. |
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December 14, 2001
Building front bumper. |
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December 14, 2001
Plant #3 is finished with the truck and it's going to plant #4
where the body will be installed. Good job guys! |
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....................December 18,
2001....................
Truck in plant #4. Body mounted, frame work for pump house and tank
ready to be installed. The truck will be going to the plumbers at plant
#7. |
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December 19, 2001
The truck is at plant #7 where piping is started. |
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December 20, 2001
More valves and piping added to pump. |
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December 21, 2001
Work continues on the maze of piping. |
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December 26, 2001
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January 4, 2002 |
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January 7, 2002 |
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January 8, 2002
The plumbers are just about finished. Jim Bokeko is installing the
foam valve. The truck will be leaving plant 7 today. |
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January 9, 2002
The truck is in the spray booth at plant 4. The body will be
painted and the cab will be repainted to make sure the colors
match. |
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January 10, 2002
The truck is being prepared for paint, entire truck
sanded except for white. |
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January 14, 2002
The truck was moved to another spray both where the compartment
doors were installed. Truck is masked off, will be painted tomorrow. |
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January 15, 2002
Truck is painted. There's not too much room in this spray booth
for taking pictures. This is as good as it gets. |
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....................January 16,
2002....................
Entire truck is masked off to paint the compartments with
zolotone. |
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January 17, 2002
The truck is getting buffed. It will be heading for
either plant 6 or 7 next to get the diamond plate. |
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January 23, 2002
The truck went from plant 4 to plant 3 where stainless trim, wheel
moldings and bumper were installed. The truck is now at plant 7 where
the pump panel will be done. |
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January 24, 2002
Discharges in bumper |
January 28, 2002
Diamond plate for truck. You'll need to put your sunglasses on when
you look at our wheels. |
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January 30, 2002
The truck will be at plant 7 until it's finished.
Wiring is being done and tail lights are installed. |
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....................February 2,
2002....................
More diamond plate is installed and work on wiring continues. |
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February 5, 2002
Master electrician, Louie LaRizzio, works on
wiring. |
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....................February 7,
2002....................
The pump is being worked on. Quartz light will be mounted on cab roof
facing front. Vertical exhaust pipe installed. |
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February 8, 2002
Lights added, one red, one amber and two 500w Quartz. Aluminum panels
installed on cabinet doors, holes cut out for lights. |
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February 10, 2002
Roll up door and ladder compartment installed. Pump panel will be
installed tomorrow, this is a rear view of it. |
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....................February 12,
2002....................
The pump panel is installed and the gold leaf lettering is being
applied. |
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....................February 13,
2002....................
The lettering and stripping is almost done. Camera is mounted on rear of
body and monitor installed on dog house. Two hours and two miles on
truck. |
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....................February 14,
2002....................
The UL inspector on left and Fred Battle on right do the testing and
certification of our new engine. The test consists of running the pump
at capacity for 2 hours, then 10 minutes at over capacity, 1/2 hour at
75% capacity and 1/2 hour at 50% capacity. |
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February 16, 2002
John Kovatch, CEO of KME hands over the keys to our
new engine to Fire Chief John McArdle. |
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