5F 052 On trial - Moorland Madness

Following on from successful speed trials at Elvington Airfield and impressive firefighting exercises at the Serco fire proving grounds (Teesside International Airport), 5F 052 `Big Red' graduated to off-road trials on Sunday 11th June. The track over Kirkby Malzeard Moor was the carefully chosen location - a picturesque seven mile "green lane" leading to Lofthouse in Nidderdale. Although it could hardly be described as severe, the terrain and road surface (mainly loose rock) was deemed to be a perfect introduction to the noble art of off-roading. The titanic tender rose to the challenge with aplomb.

First on the agenda was a little axle articulation test, over some protruding bedrock and craggy steps. As the Discoverys plotted and picked a safe route across the rocks, 5F 052 simply drove a straight line through the middle of everything. It was like watching a supertanker in a dinghy race. Big Red clearly had a different rulebook to the rest of us.

The next surprise came at the opposite end of the lane. There are some big corrugations in the roadway here - a real washboard effect - and in a 100-inch wheelbase things can get very unpleasant unless you slow down to walking pace. The bumps and dips are perfectly spaced to throw you up and down with increasing ferocity. But the giant Ibex is not 100 inches; it is 145 inches plus a further 40 inches to the rear axle. As the video cameras started rolling Mike asked the $64,000 question - how fast do you want me to take it? As fast as you feel comfortable with, came the reply. Firebex then proceeded to come through with absolute minimal yomping - at about four times the expected speed.

The final scene for the video cameras was a downhill dash, viewed against a panorama. Let's call it a medium speed thing. Mike claims it was 40mph, hmmm. Both my daughters were gleefully riding inside the truck at the time; Nicola (9) says it was "very fast Dad" and Bethan (2) simply proclaimed it to be "fun". Whatever it was the films were "in the can" so now it was my turn to have some "fun". I packed the cameras away and climbed into the front passenger seat.

First, we dumped a tonne or more of water onto the moor - which took all of about 60 seconds. I should have realised the significance of this tank emptying, but I didn't and what happened next took me slightly by surprise. Mike engaged "D" on the auto 'box. After that it's all a bit of a blur. I was strapped in OK and hung on bravely for dear life but, Jesus, this bloke had lost his cargo of children, (my children), and now he was in serious demo mode. I'll swear we hit 60mph - it felt more like 80 - was it a mile and a half or two? I dunno. Thank God the back end didn't break away, though the thought never seemed to bother Mike.

Suddenly he pulled up and said, "Do you wanna drive?" Err, does the Pope wear a funny hat? You guessed it - now I had the keys. Power from the engine is pretty awesome, and slow running on the flat and level requires only the merest hint of input from the right foot. Torque seemed to be there in plenty, though I have no idea what the official figure is. As a Tdi man, I found it difficult to relate audibly to the engine note, which was near silent and turbine-like smooth. With Interschutz 2000 only a few days away I resisted the temptation to floor the loud pedal.

What I did miss was engine braking. In this department Big Red is a long way short of a 200/300Tdi through a manual 'box. Does it really matter? Well, probably not because Firebex is (we must keep reminding ourselves) a crash tender, not a trials or event machine, so it probably won't be going down any slippery 45° slopes. The ability to stop is amply provided for by six meaty disc brakes. In order to save human life it first has to get there in time, and then extinguish any fires. Where and how to pull up is something you can easily work out on the way.

I drove 5F 052 back down through the bedrock / boulder combination and I must confess to being totally thrown with regard to planning a route. At twenty plus feet long you can't "feel" the rear end and it seems to take an age before those back wheels follow you over the bumps and humps. The turning circle is, to quote Mike Eastman, "about the same as the QE2" so it only gets one star for manoeuvrability. In practice this is not a problem because the Ibex has such a huge mass, good ground clearance and gigabytes of traction. Just point it in the general direction of where you want to be and the vehicle somehow does the rest.

John (Foers) was keen to check the amount of body twist exhibited in a cross-axleing situation, so Mike naturally did his best to cross-axle the beast. Not as easy as you might think with six wheels and lots of suspension travel. Eventually he got the truck into a bit of a twister and several heads peered down the sides with one eye closed. The result was fairly predictable; the amount of body twist was zero.

Ibex 5F 052 is currently on display at Interschutz 2000 in Augsburg, Germany. Interschutz, staged only once every six years, is the world's largest exhibition of fire and rescue vehicles.

Pete Bradley [6/2000]

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