IFRE-EXPO 2017 – International Trade Fair for Equipment, Fire Service Equipment and Emergency Services. At a joint booth with the body contractor – the domestic Zamet Głowno company – Kamaz Poland is showing two off-road rescue and firefighting vehicles using the bodies of this partner.
These are two chassis of the heavy tonnage class: a lighter GBA based on the 2-axle Kamaz B1629 4×4/4180 – 43265 4×4 type, and a heavier GCBA, based on the 3-axle Kamaz B2131 6×6/3690 43118 6×6 type.
Compared to last year’s offerings, the swap in the 2-axle chassis category is therefore noteworthy.
Previously, Kamaz, together with Zamet, promoted the lighter, 12-ton B1228 4×4 – 43502 4×4 variety, with a 250- or 280-horsepower engine.
Now a new reinforced chassis with twin or single rear wheels is proposed, with the gross vehicle weight rating raised to 15700 kg.
This feature translates into, among other things.
to the possibility of significantly increasing the combat capability of this vehicle.
As Kamaz Poland sales director Wojciech Traczuk explains, in the domestic market for firefighting variants, the company primarily wants to position itself in those areas where weak or no competition from major rivals – mainly famous Western concerns – is marked.
After all, the Polish fire truck market has gone through an extremely long development path in the last three decades.
Therefore, today price, as the primary selection criterion, still plays an important, but no longer a key role.
Domestic firefighters can afford to buy modern products with leading technical and operational parameters.
In this context, they are also increasingly beginning to look not at the cost of acquisition alone, but at the full total cost of ownership and disposition, combined with the ability to effectively perform assigned tasks.
As a result, the very basic idea behind the preparation of these cars concerns the ability to present products with virtually no counterparts.
Kamaz wants to position itself in niches where the most important unique and specific advantages of its products will take on particular importance.
These include very high off-road bravery, the ability to take a rescue team of several people, and relatively high combat capabilities.
For this, although the basic stage of production takes place at OAO Kamaz in Russia, but the final assembly is carried out within the European Union – in Lithuania.
Such a two-stage manufacturing process allows a combination of high quality workmanship and an attractive price.
As a result, the traditional strengths of Kamaz trucks prepared for customers in the European Union, such as good quality or economical and ecological sources of propulsion, come into play.
These qualities are complemented by the almost legendary durability against poor operating conditions and treatment, as well as the extremely demanding climatic environment.
The latter qualities stem from the construction philosophy itself.
In their native Russia, Kamazas must serve from Siberia to areas in the south.
Thus, they must perform well both in an environment with winter frosts of several tens of degrees, and in the summer, marshy, sometimes even swampy off-road ducts are a daily occurrence, and in areas with a near-desert climate.
And in spite of such diverse climatic and terrain conditions, they have coped perfectly for decades.
Significant advantages of Kamaz cars are also factors of an efficiency and operational nature, to which an increasingly important role has been attached in recent times. In this respect, both versions – B1629 4×4/4180 – 43265 4×4 and 43118 6×6 (B2131) – are characterized by an extremely attractive price, projecting the possibility of achieving a cost/effect ratio at a competitively high level.
In structural layout, the two variants are closely related to each other due to the high modularity of the entire structure, both in terms of the vehicle carriers themselves and special cabs and bodies.
They were developed according to the same philosophy and have many of the same or similar key components and, among other things.
the same type of cab.
The differences, on the other hand, are due to the different number of axles, which translates into different permissible overall weights and thus different engine parameters and body dimensions, affecting combat capabilities.
In terms of chassis positioning, both types – B1629 4×4/4180 – 43265 4×4 and 43118 6×6 (B2131) – are means of transport with very high tactical mobility – very high off-road capability.
They have already been prepared from the factory to meet the toughest road conditions.
Their highly resistant to torsion and bending chassis frame with a traditional ladder system is formed by stringers and cross members.
The reinforced mechanical suspension with properly selected operating characteristics is based on leaf springs.
The individual tires on the wheels are sized: in B1629 4×4/43265 4×4 – 14.00R20, in B2131 6×6/3690 43118 6×6 – ballooned – 425/85R21.
At the same time, in the 2-axle version there is an option to put a twin tire of 11.00R22.5 at the rear.
In this case, however, at the price of a decrease in off-road ability, you get an increase in the car’s gross vehicle weight rating.
In addition, the very high off-road ability – with only a single tire – is influenced by the standard differential locks between the wheels and between the axles, as well as the central wheel pumping system.
The latter proves exceptionally useful when traversing muddy or sandy surfaces, since by reducing tire pressure it allows the tires to increase their contact area and thus decrease the value of unit pressure.
In general, when only a single tire is put on the rear, both variants can easily navigate sandy, muddy surfaces, including fields, forest tracks, hilly and mountainous areas.
Realistically judging, without much trouble they will cope with virtually any road obstacle that only a vehicle of this class is physically capable of overcoming.
All the more so, since the ability to overcome hills has been set at more than 50%, and the high wading depth means the ability to pass at a walk through any water obstacles that, in Polish conditions, a fire vehicle may actually encounter during an operation.
Both chassis are also from the latest generation of the Russian manufacturer’s own products, with more than 600 modifications and the installation of a number of key components from renowned Western European suppliers, including.
in the powertrain and braking systems.
For example, Cummins units from the smaller ISB 6.7 E6 series are used.
These engines are the strong point of these vehicles: they are economical, proven, durable, with limited maintenance requirements. They have a 6.7-liter displacement, 6-cylinder inline design, turbocharging, charge air cooling, advanced electronic control system and meet the latest Euro 6C clean exhaust gas standard.
The B1629 4×4/4180 – 43265 4×4 type gets them in the so-called.
medium setting, with maximum – power of 209 kW/200 hp and torque of 1020 Nm, the larger and heavier type 43118 6×6 (B2131) in the execution with maximum power of 228 kW/310 hp and maximum torque of 1100 Nm.
At the same time, only one type of transmission – the 9-speed ZF 9S1310TO mechanical transmission and transfer case – is used with both executions. Type B1629 4×4/4180– 43265 4×4 Kamaz wants to promote as a more versatile model.
It features – with a standard long cab and with a wheelbase of 4180 mm – an unladen weight of 6450 kg and a chassis load capacity of as much as 9250 kg for a permissible total weight of 15700 kg.
The above for rescue and firefighting versions means the possibility:
- With a short day cab of installation of a water tank with a capacity of 4500-5000 liters;
- With a long cabin, the installation of a water tank with a capacity of 4000-4500 liters;
- At the crew cab, with the crew module integrated into the base serial cab or with the body, the installation of a water tank with a capacity of up to 3,500 liters.
At the same time, Director Traczuk points out that of the two, certainly the Type 43118 6×6 (B2131) is a unique proposition on our market today, virtually devoid of any close competitors – counterparts.
Most chassis of the 3-axle class in 6×6 drivetrain in combat configuration are on average 6000-8000 kg heavier than it and – with single tires on all wheels – have a permissible total weight of 24000-28000 kg.
This means inferior traction in difficult road conditions, on sandy, muddy, gravelly, swampy surfaces.
This is where the Kamaz 43118 6×6 will show its incredible advantages, thanks to, among other things.
single balloon pressure-controlled tires and relatively low pressures on all axles.
The latter are a derivative of the fact that the vehicle’s permissible gross vehicle weight is only 22500 kg, resulting in an average pressure on each axle of 7500 kg.
Nonetheless, Director Traczuk stresses that these lower values of permissible total weight and maximum unit axle pressures do not mean that, compared to reputable Western rivals with higher permissible total weight, the Type 43118 6×6 (B2131) will be distinguished by significantly lower combat capabilities, including mainly the lower capacity of both tanks.
On the contrary, the chassis’ relatively low unladen weight, with a long cabin and a wheelbase of 3690 mm, equal to just 8325 kg, results in a carrying capacity of as much as 14175 kg.
This is fully sufficient to provide the high combat capability that would be available, by conversion, to Western counterparts with a permissible gross vehicle weight as much as 2000-2500 kg higher.
As a result, thanks to just three axles, the Type 43118 6×6 (B2131) will without major problems be able to reach places where, due to higher unit pressures, competing vehicles simply won’t reach or will reach with greater problems and in a longer time.
Once a certain equivalent of this car was the Star 1466 6×6, now it is the much more expensive, demilitarized Tatra T810 6×6.
Above it, however, this Kamaz definitely towers over with its more attractive price and greater combat capabilities.
In addition, an extremely interesting feature of both Kamazes is the cab, which is one of their most significant advantages when used in firefighting.
This special cab was created by combining the front short daytime factory Kamaz cab and the rear crew cab, made specifically for these cars.
The factory cab belongs to a new generation of Kamaz’s own cabs, after the so-called.
restyling.
It is made of corrosion-resistant materials, is entered by three steps and has a plastic front dummy, panoramic windshield, exterior sun visor and available as standard air conditioning, independent Webasto engine and cabin parking heating, radio, adjustable steering column, sunroof and a driving comfort-enhancing air-suspended driver’s seat.
It also has a more ergonomically and carefully arranged interior, more in line with current European standards in this area.
The rear-crew section has been manufactured domestically and is unusually aesthetically combined with the front section and – thanks to the cab deflectors – visually with the body. The result is an almost visual unity of three parts: the front part of the cabin flows smoothly into its rear crew section, which merges just as smoothly into the body.
This crew section was made of plastic (laminate), and is distinguished by its greater width and height than the front section.
As a result, in the rear, firstly, as many as four firefighters can be accommodated in one row.
Secondly, these firefighters have gained more living space and can feel more at ease when donning protective clothing and oxygen apparatuses – they can move more freely and comfortably inside, dress, undress, put on and take off their apparatuses, etc.
In addition, they can move more freely to the other side.
This rear section is accessed by a large door with a relatively substantial glass window and three wide entrance steps, including a lower tilting one, and getting in and out is greatly facilitated by a long vertical handle behind the door.
Such a solution, which involves adding a crew section to a standard cab, sometimes proves to be somewhat cheaper than ordering a factory-built, crew cab.
It also gives some flexibility as to the final configuration of the crew module – its width, length and height.
On top of that, not all manufacturers offer factory elongated crew cabs, and the mere possibility of making the rear crew lot in-house makes it more suitable to the specifics and requirements of a particular buyer.
The resulting integral – integrated into the factory front module – tilting crew – brigade four-door cabin is characterized by a very large spaciousness – living space.
Its equipment has been adapted to the specific requirements of the fire department.
It is a 6-seater, with seats in the following arrangement: front 1+1, rear – 4 seats in a row.
The front seats are therefore individual, including the driver’s comfort seat with air suspension and a wide range of adjustment, and a control panel and holders for radios or flashlights have been introduced between them.
The radio used is a Hetera type MD785: 225-channel, operating in the VHF frequency range 136-174MHz, with 1÷25W power and 12.5 kHz channel spacing, with an additional device that allows correspondence from the fire truck compartment.
In addition, the seats inside the passenger compartment are approved, with three-point safety belts, integrated with a system for carrying four breathing apparatuses of different cylinder types.
Seats for crew members are also equipped with a lift seat, under which firefighting equipment such as shovels, pitchforks, a crowbar or an axe, for example, can be accommodated.
On such completed carriers Zamet Głowno planted rescue and firefighting bodies.
In terms of the choice of materials and assembly techniques, they retain the features typical of this type of modern bodies.
Their skeleton and plating were made of corrosion-resistant materials.
The roof is in the form of a working platform, covered with aluminum corrugated sheet metal with anti-slip properties.
Its design has been adapted to the load of two firefighters (180 kg) and the weight of the equipment carried.
Among other things.
It was placed on it intended for tools, an illuminated container made of corrosion-resistant material, as well as mountings for transporting suction hoses, long objects and a ladder. A lightweight, folding ladder, with rungs in a non-slip design, mounted on the rear wall of the body, on the right side, is used to access this roof.
Additional handrails at the top of the ladder make climbing easier.
On the sides of the body are lockers for equipment and accessories, and at the rear is the fire truck compartment.
All of them are closed with corrosion-resistant, water- and dust-tight, lightweight aluminum louvers, supported by a spring system.
These louvers are equipped with lockable locks, with a set of keys, each of which fits all the locks, as well as an indication in the cabin of the fact that they have been opened and the platforms are extended.
The lighting of the lockers of the LED type turns on automatically when their doors are opened.
In addition, the design of these lockers provides for drainage of water from their interior, while lockers dedicated to carrying rescue equipment powered by an internal combustion engine or fuel canisters for such equipment have been given ventilation.
Inside the caches, a modular system of shelves was used, allowing the end user to change the height without interfering with the structure.
All handles and handles were designed to allow gloved operation of all the car’s equipment, shutter doors, drawers and trays.
In addition, drawers and pull-out trays have protection against complete withdrawal (falling out of the guides), are automatically locked in the closed and fully open positions, and those of them that in the open position protrude more than 250 mm beyond the vehicle’s outline are provided with warning markings.
The middle part of the body is occupied by tanks.
The water tank, with a capacity of 3,500 liters in the 2-axle variety and 5,500 liters in the 3-axle variety, was made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel.
It got instrumentation for its safe operation with a system to prevent water from flowing out while driving, and can withstand a test overpressure of 20 kPa.
It also has: an inspection hatch, safety bulkheads, a gravity and hydrant filling system, an emptying system, an overflow system, two 75 caps for filling from a hydrant, and an automatic inlet shut-off valve for filling the tank with the possibility of switching to manual operation.
The second tank – for foaming agent – is distinguished by its capacity, which is 10% of the water tank, or 350 liters in the 4×4 type and 550 liters in the 6×6.
Its test overpressure is 20 kPa, and it is filled with foam agent from ground level and from the roof of the vehicle.
It is equipped with: instrumentation to ensure its safe operation, and a system for filling and emptying.
A (manual) dispenser is used to dispense the foaming agent, with the entire range of operation of the auto-pump allowing concentrations in the range of 3-6%.
In the rear compartment with LED lighting is located a dual-range autopump from the national company Eljot Miękinia, with 4×75 discharge ports (two on each side of the car) and 2×110 suction ports (at the rear of the car).
In the lighter GBA, it is an AW 24/8-4/40 type autopump with a capacity: a minimum of 2,400 l/min at a minimum pressure of 8 bar and a minimum of 400 l/min at 40 bar.
On the other hand, in the heavier GCBA, the AW 32/8-4/40 type autopump has a capacity: a minimum of 3200 l/min at a minimum pressure of 8 bar and a minimum of 400 l/min at 40 bar. The equipment of the fire pump compartment includes: pressure gauge, low pressure gauge, tank water level indicator, foam agent level indicator in the tank, vehicle engine speed regulator, vehicle engine stop switch, oil pressure and engine coolant temperature indicator light, high pressure gauge, pump shaft speed indicator, fire pump operating hours counter, engine emergency operation indicator light, external lighting (work area) on/off switch with selectable side – left/right.
In addition, the heating of the pump compartment effectively protects the water and foam system from freezing at temperatures down to -25°C, operates independently of engine operation in accordance with para.
3.1.1 “General requirements for rescue and firefighting vehicles of the KG PSP – CNBOP – June 2002”.
On the roof of the body, in its rear part, a water-foam cannon with an adjustable capacity of at least 3200 l/min was installed.
It meets the requirements of PN-91/M-51270 and is characterized by: a range of rotation in the horizontal plane of 360°, in the vertical plane from the negative angle limited by the outline of the vehicle to at least 70°, and a maximum throwing range of not less than 60 m.
A folding cannon can also be used for both types of vehicles, so that its height is below the upper railings.
The roof-mounted cannon is supplemented or replaced by a single rapid fire line with a hose length of 60 m on a reel, located on the left or right side, in the upper part of the rear lockers.
It comes from the Pamet company and was terminated with a Tipsa BlueDevil 550 water-foam nozzle with adjustable capacity with both short-circuit and dispersed current, with the possibility of supplying water or foam regardless of the degree of hose deployment.
The unit got an adjustable reel brake, an electric drive for the hose reel and a crank for emergency hose reeling.
Added to this are chassis sprinklers, 6 in number, powered by an autopump, controlled from the driver’s cab, dedicated to limiting contamination zones.
Two sprinklers are mounted at the front, two between the axles, and two at the rear between the wheels.
Due to their purpose, the trucks also received a light beam, signal lamps and an acoustic device.
The Haztec Corner SL light bar – with a height of 57 mm without base and a length in the range of 1760 mm – has received R65 approval and is mounted on the roof of the cab.
It has 4 corner (2 on each side) and 4 front LED modules, 8 light modes, 2 brightness levels (day/night), an illuminated white panel with the word STRAFF, and full protection from external damage in the form of mesh or piping.
The PowerLight 12 LED signal lights are blue, four in number: two at the rear and two at the front at the height of a passenger car’s rearview mirror.
The acoustic device, on the other hand, is a Eurosmart PL signal amplifier, mounted in the engine compartment or on the front belt of the car. Its most important determinants are: full range of operation from the control panel on the flexible cable, 200 W output power, 4 types of modulation + air horn, modulation change via the vehicle horn, microphone for making announcements, 3 built-in light control outputs, built-in fuse, built-in light interlock – activation of sound signals entails automatic activation of privilege lamps, day/night modes, fan cooling, Re-Broadcast radio (RRB) with the ability to transmit messages from the radio to an external speaker, 200W speaker, 2 neodymium drivers and impedance compatible with the impedance of the signal amplifier.
Due to the possibility of carrying out actions after dark or in conditions of low visibility, the equipment still includes illumination of the working field.
They are formed by 7 lamps, 3 on one side (left, right) and 1 at the rear (LED type).
They illuminate the work field around the vehicle, providing illumination in low visibility conditions of at least 5 lux at a distance of 1 m from the vehicle at ground level.
This illumination and the rear light wave are activated in the driver’s cabin and from the fire truck compartment, with a choice of lighting sides.
In addition, there is a afterburning headlight – the so-called.
searchlight on the front right or left side – and a Svep Polska lighting mast.
This mast, with a height when extended of about 5 m, is pneumatically extended and controlled from a control panel.
It is equipped with 2×180 W LED 30,000 lm lamps and over-discharge protection for the batteries.
In addition, the equipment includes a battery charging socket with a charger – the so-called.
Combo fast exit system (current + air).
It includes an input socket 230V AC/30A, 9.65 bar, automatically unplugging the plug (1+N+E) when the starter is activated, with a 5m cable included.
When the plug is disconnected, the socket is protected by a sealed flap.
Spark protection is also used (current flow at the contacts is cut off before the socket is ejected), complying with the European IEC 60309 standard, with an IP64 rating, a maximum pressure of 150 PSI (9.65 bar) and an input/output voltage of ~230VAC.
The CTEK XT.14000 24V battery, meanwhile, is distinguished by its compact size, which means easy installation on the vehicle, short charging time and no possibility of overcharging.
The electrical equipment is completed by an Endress generator set with AVR and voltage stabilization: type ESE 6000 BS – 5 kW 230V or type ESE 6000 DBS – 5 kW 400V/230V. Other items in stock include a reversing camera, winch and front pipe guard.
The reversing camera, with a cover to minimize the possibility of mechanical damage, activates automatically when reverse gear is put in.
It has been positioned at the rear above the louvre and is designed for operation in all weather conditions.
The image from it is transmitted to a 7-inch monitor in the cabin, which also serves as the car’s navigation system.
The winch – the PowerWinch PW20000 type – is mounted at the front, on a base – a special plate made of galvanized steel, allowing the use of the main towing hitch.
It is controlled from a remote control on a cable or by radio, and is characterized by a pulling force of 9,000 kg, a rope length of at least 25 m and a pulley that doubles the pulling force. The list of base option items closes with a front piping made of thick-walled galvanized pipe, with the additional option of installing long-range lighting in the form of four halogens.
Both Kamaz – 43265 4×4 (B1629) and 43118 6×6 (B2131) – with firefighting and rescue bodies from Zamet Głowno have received CNBOP Certification.
This is because the vehicles themselves, their construction and body equipment meet the “Detailed requirements for a medium-sized firefighting and rescue vehicle (GBA) of the KG PSP”. – CNBOP – June 2002.
Their color scheme is as follows: chassis elements – black or dark gray, front and rear fenders and bumpers – white, cab, body – RAL 3000, box louvers in natural aluminum color.
In terms of utility, on the other hand, they are primarily a proposal for volunteer units, usually operating in rural, forest, mountainous and mountainous areas.
They will prove especially useful where a combination of off-road traction, relatively high independent fighting capacity and the ability to transport depots of firefighters is required.
They are therefore ideally suited for, among other things.
to extinguish fires in forests, pastures, bogs, fields and homesteads.
They can also successfully participate in extinguishing urban dwellings and industrial facilities, due to their relatively significant combat capabilities.
As a result, they are extremely versatile and flexible tools for a variety of rescue and firefighting applications.
It is worth mentioning that compared to its predecessor a year ago, the GCBA 6×6 has practically not changed.
Apart from the Euro 6C compliant engine, only its length has changed.
The truck without a winch has been shortened to 8800 mm to fit in old garages instead of the Star 266, to which it is being promoted as a successor.
GBA 43502/43265 4×4, Water tank 2500 l, Cummins ISB 6.7 EURO 6 engine 
GCBA 43118 6X6, Water tank 5500 l, Cummins ISB 6.7 EURO 6 engine 
