Daft question regarding support vehicles

[SChanyi]

Wasn't sure where the most appropriate forum to post this was, so thought I'd give it a go here.

In as general terms as possible, what constitutes a good support vehicle? What types of vehicles are commonly used? What types of equipment would be carried? Who gets it to site - the operator, or does the pilot bring one along?

I'm thinking of more remote operations; heli-logging, fire-firghting, and such.

Thanks :)

[coalface]

I asked my boss for one of these for support;-

http://www.rvamerica.com/rv_ventures/4.gif


I got this;-

http://members.aol.com/cotsmm/del.gif

[SChanyi]

That's pretty funny. I was thinking of taking one of these back to Canada with me :D

http://www.chanyi.org/1.jpg

http://www.chanyi.org/3.jpg

It's a Land Rover Defender 110 Pickup based 4x4.

Any thoughts

[coalface]

The type of support vehicle will depend on several factors including task and frequency of requirement. The cheap option is a trailer on which you can put a few drums of fuel and a pump and a box for the other odds and sods you might need. This can then be towed behind most vehicles. There are however regulations regarding weight of trailer vs weight of towing vehicle and also regarding carriage of dangerous liquids. Jet A1 is not so much a problem but petrol is. One advantage of a trailer combo is that the trailer can be left on site and the towing vehicle used for other tasks. A 4 x 4 towing vehicle can also provide good fire fighting cover - lots of CAA regs apply if thinking about "H" RFF requirements.

Trailers also have the advantage of being easy to fabricate to a purpose designed plan. There are "off the shelf" fuel bowser trailers which can also store other bits of kit such as lifting strops etc etc.

Lorries or vans can also be modified and can include a crew room to include kitchen/toilet/sleeping quarters etc. Look at some of the horse lorries at your local equestrian centres - the sky is the limit cost wise.

[SChanyi]

Cheers for that. Quite helpful, and good point about trailer based versus vehicle based. Hadn't given a lot of thought to trailers, other than using them as for re-fueling.

Thanks :)

[Ascend Charlie]

To support powerline inspections, we have used two types of vehicles:

The simplest was a Tarago towing a trailer with 3 drums of Avtur. Plenty of room for pumps, maps and other support gear, plus the ability to shed the trailer for a run to town to the motel.

The biggest was a truck with 2 x 1500 litre flow bins on the back, plus 2 drums, a hydraulic crane, electric pumps and hoses and filters, all fully certified as a fuel truck with flash suppression, extinguishers etc. It had a duwl cab for extra lockable storage. It was towing a car trailer carrying a small sedan. This meant that the truck could be left in the field next to the chopper and the car could ferry us to the pub. Fuel trucks are not allowed in motels. And the car let us drive the 5 or 6 hours back home for the weekend for a crew change.

Horses for courses.:cool: