New rosenbauer RT (2020) emergency vehicle faster than the fire department has ever been
With the RT, the emergency vehicle specialist rosenbauer has not further developed the fire engine, but has, according to its own statement, completely rethought it. It already starts with the drive.
At first, it may sound strange when a fire engine is optimized in terms of its driving dynamics. After all, emergency vehicles are supposed to save lives, not race them. But of course also the fast arrival at the place of operation is of crucial importance. In urban areas in particular, things can sometimes get very tight. That’s why the specialists at rosenbauer have developed a nimble and maneuverable fire truck that bears the name RT (revolutionary technology).
490 electric hp from two motors
Unlike the current models, the RT is not based on a truck. The low-floor chassis with a tubular core frame accommodates a 550-kilo battery and thus lowers the vehicle’s center of gravity dramatically by comparison. You already guessed it: the RT is electric, with a total output of 490 hp from two electric motors (one for each axle). Now, however, it is not the case that the RT has to make a quick stop at the charging station en route. On board is a range extender consisting of a diesel six-cylinder with 272 hp and a power generator for charging the two 50 kwh batteries. But of course, the RT can still be recharged externally from a standard power outlet or from a DC charging station with up to 150 kW. With this, the batteries succeed in jumping from 50 to 80 percent within 15 minutes.
With so many energy sources, it is no question that the rolling power plant also independently feeds the on-board equipment such as fans, submersible or fire-fighting water pumps. Depending on availability, this can be done using either the generator or the diesel. The RT is a fully-fledged firefighting tanker that can be equipped with various built-in pumps, including a foam premixing system. Between 1.000 and 4.000 liters of water can be transported depending on the tank installed.
Independent suspension instead of rigid axle
The RT owes its maneuverability not only to the low-positioned batteries, but also to the fact that it does not have a rigid axle design. The hybrid emergency vehicle has independent wheel suspension, which can also be combined with rear-axle steering. This means that the turning circle for the version with the smallest wheelbase (3.800 millimeters) at a compact 12.5 meters. Added to this is the manageable width of 2.35 meters. Alternatively, the RT is also available with wheelbases of 4.100 and 4.400 millimeters in the portfolio. The shortest version of the RT is 7.30 meters long; the height without superstructure is 2.90 meters.
The height can be varied, however, because the hybrid has an air-suspended chassis with different selectable levels. 250 millimeters leave the vehicle free above the ground during normal road travel; if, for example, it goes into flooded areas, the wat mode raises the ground clearance to 470 millimeters. Once the RT has arrived on site and is parked, the ground clearance is reduced again to 175 millimeters, so that the emergency services can get in and out comfortably, but also so that the equipment can be removed without the need for access hatches. If this should happen in the dark, an all-round LED strip provides illumination around the vehicle.
A centrally located 17-inch touchscreen serves as the command center in the cockpit, whose functions can also be mirrored on an external rosenbauer tablet. With room for up to nine people, but thanks to the rotating driver and passenger seats, meetings can be held inside the vehicle. the central display shows building plans, camera images or position maps. For a bird’s eye view, the RT is also equipped with a drone.
Conclusion
The first pre-production vehicles are already ready and rosenbauer is taking the emergency vehicle into a new era. Electric drive makes perfect sense for firefighting operations, and even if the mission lasts longer, the range extender and generator will not run out of juice.