Test and Evaluation of Rear-Wheel Steering for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Vehicles

The objective was to evaluate the performance of the FAA 6x6 ARFF research vehicle with and without the RWS system. The performance was measured in terms of changes in turning diameter, tire deflection, tread wear, and actual tire life data from U.S. airports operating 6x6 ARFF vehicles. The results show RWS improved the turning diameter in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Tire deflection analysis did not show any significant differences with or without RWS. Tread wear
results showed that the front and rear tires on both sides had significantly less tread wear over an equivalent 40-mile test distance compared to the wear measured without RWS. Responses to the airport fire department customer survey indicated that vehicles equipped with RWS showed less tire wear, resulting in extended tire life and increased stability/handling of the vehicle

DOT/FAA/AR-TN08/43
Author: Keith Bagot, Jennifer Kalberer, and Michael McDonald