As Shakespeare once wrote, to remount, or not to remount, that is the question. Actually his version was far more existential, but the question still stands for many EMS and Fire services. The answer, as it is for so many other questions is, it depends.
Which One Are You?!
Generally speaking, people fall into one of three camps regarding remounts.
- No. No. No. No. No. No. Heck no.
- Maybe. Seems like it could work out, but it’s a little scary.
- Yes. Absolutely! Adding remounts to fleet management has made a real difference.
Why So Negative?
We know why so many departments shy away from remounting. Decision makers have been burned over the years by shoddy workmanship, ridiculous delivery times, questionable sales tactics, and more.
Experiences like that would make it difficult for anyone to get super excited about the possibility of adding remounts to an overall fleet strategy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let’s look at some of the arguments FOR remounting.
Moneyball
First and foremost among the elements to consider is budget. Many Frazer customers have saved meaningful dollars over the year as a result of a consistent remount program. Dollars spent on the chassis will be identical for a new or remounted module.
Depending on the age and condition of your existing module, a remounted module can run as little as half the cost of a new module. Plus, at Frazer, our remounts travel down the same production line as our new units, so you get craftsmanship from experienced installers who know the module construction inside and out.
We have been remounting our own Frazer modules for over 30 years, so we definitely know what we’re doing. Our design approach makes this particularly easy as the separate source of power means we don’t have to disentangle the module from the chassis and then redo that process. And unless there’s been some sort of serious damage to the module, our tough, durable materials last for years.
It’s Green!
That durability also means you get to reuse the vast majority of the components on your module. There’s nothing greener than reusing something that’s perfectly good!
And when we’re done it’s virtually impossible to tell a remount from a new unit. There are always some tell-tale signs, but you really have to know what you’re looking for. In fact, we’ve had potential customers find themselves shocked upon finding out a vehicle they thought was brand new was actually a remounted module built 5 to 10 years ago or more.
While many departments have found themselves dissatisfied with a remount that just perpetuates the problems they were already experiencing, Frazer customers get the same reliability and performance they were already enjoying. And for less money.
We also see numerous municipalites take the old chassis and repurpose it for use in a department that may have a specific need for a solid chassis that may simply be high mileage.
But What About All The New Stuff?
From time to time improved components become available and lots of our customers will invest in upgrading those during the remount process (think strobes to LEDs, or new cot systems). However, if the rest of your rig just needs a little cosmetic TLC, there’s absolutely no reason to not continue using a perfectly good, well constructed module through another purchase cycle. We’ve worked out the engineering to incorporate all the cool new stuff. It’s just a matter of pricing.
So Yeah, It Depends
Maybe your department operates in a community with sufficient resources that allow for buying new through every purchase cycle. We have plenty of customers where that’s the case. If so, it’s quite likely that trading in or selling your used vehicle is the best course of action.
If, however, your budgets are a little tighter and you’re trying to maximize every dollar, we can confidently recommend the remount process as an excellent tool at your disposal.
If you’re sort of on the fence about the whole process and want to get some more information, please call one of our Sales Team at 888-372-9371. They can walk you through the steps and get you in contact with many of our existing customers who have taken advantage of remounts over the years. Or you can click here to read more.
