Rig Recon Live
Obsessed with Fire Trucks? We are too! Join us on Rig Recon Live as co-hosts Bruce Quick and Jason Witmier discuss the industry's hottest topics. Featuring the industry's top names, this podcast covers everything apparatus related including new products, spec designs, fire truck tactics, industry headlines, and much more. Make sure you sign up for notifications as new episodes release monthly.
Rig Recon Live
Fire Apparatus Suspensions 101 with Bob Albano
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
On Rig Recon Live, hosts Bruce Quick and Jason Witmier interview Bob Albano of Hendrickson Fire about fire apparatus suspension and why it matters beyond comfort; protecting firefighters, electronics, cab/chassis, and keeping trucks in service over long lifecycles. Bob outlines front options (beam/straight axle with multi-leaf or parabolic springs, and independent front suspension via air or mechanical torsion) and rear options (multi-leaf/parabolic, rubber ride, and air ride), emphasizing how front and rear should work as a system and how wheel travel affects handling and stopping by keeping tires in contact with the road. He discusses durability issues driven by corrosion and “rust jacking” in long-leaf springs, benefits of parabolic springs and zinc-rich coatings, air-ride stigma and serviceability, load-leveling advantages, and how tire pressure and maintenance capability influence ride complaints and spec decisions.
Chapter Markers:
00:00 Tradition vs Innovation
01:14 Show Intro and Sponsor
01:59 Meet Bob OB Bono
03:44 Why Suspension Matters
05:07 Front Suspension Options
06:23 Rear Suspension and Air Ride
07:50 Handling and Stopping
09:20 Corrosion and Spring Failures
11:13 Parabolic Springs Upgrade
12:14 Rear Setup and Matching
14:23 Air Ride Myths and Maintenance
17:56 Dumping Air and Ride Height
19:06 Preventing Corrosion
20:30 PM Schedules and Costs
23:12 Spec Advice and Wrap Up
25:04 Final Takeaways and Outro
More - https://rigrecon.com/podcast/