The 1985 Peterbilt 359 on the left in the picture will be familiar to all of you who have ever built the Revell model. When it came to new vehicles, the Burnsville Fire Department stayed true to its policy of having a fire-fighting body built on a commercially available chassis. In 1992 a new Peterbilt of the 377 series arrived at the department.
In the following years all Peterbilt 359s were replaced by the 377 series. The second 377 followed as early as 1993, and both stayed in service for 20 years and were also the last conventionals in the Fire Department. The trucks were not scrapped but passed on to smaller fire stations in the USA. I would have loved to own a 359 privately, especially as I had developed the kit for Revell back then. Model and original at my home, that would have been awesome.
All original photos on this page, copyright: Custom Fire Apparatus
- Technical specifications
- Manufacturer: Custom Fire Apparatus, Inc. Osceola, Wisconsin 54020, USA
- Owner: Burnsville Fire Department, 100 Civic Center Pkwy, Burnsville, Minnesota 55337, USA
- Chassis: Peterbilt, model 377 A/E, chassis number 1XPCHB8X3RN343046
- Wheelbase: 5994.4 mm, width 2565.4 mm
- Engine: Caterpillar, model 3406C-ATAAC, 6-cylinder
- Transmission: Allison automatic, model HT740
- Pump: Waterous, model CMUYBX-1500, capacity 1500 gallons per minute
Why did I choose this Peterbilt in its fire truck version for this page? Quite simply because I know there are first-class model builders among you who would surely enjoy building this Peterbilt as a model. For one thing, it is designed fairly straight and angular and so should be quite “easy” to build, and for another, the chassis already exists from Italeri, namely as a tractor unit in the form of a Peterbilt 377 A/E in 1:24 scale.
Download drawing, left side: click the button.
Download drawing, right side: click the button.
