Quote:
Originally Posted by aspqrz
I do know, however, that Armoured Cars (the sort used to collect/carry Cash from/to Banks etc.), even with beefed up suspension, have a drastically reduced service life compared to the base model truck or van they are based on - nothing about their chassis (heck, do they even have a chassis these days?), engine, diff/gear box etc. is designed to carry that extra weight and it evidently shows.
For Dump Trucks, sure, no probs ... they're build to haul extra weight anyway. For Humvees, well, it would depend on whether any additional armour or weapons overload the frame etc.
For Technicals and other converted, but basically civilian, vehicles - same problems as the commercial 'Armoured Cars', I would guess.
Phil
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In America, this depends on the type of Armored Car. There are three general types of Armored Car in production... The Light, GP (for general purpose) and Heavy. All the major players in the US Commercial Armored Car market (Lenco in Canada, Texas Armoring, MCT, and Supreme when I worked them) offer all three levels.
The Light Armored Car: These are built on a Dodge, Chevy or Ford 1-Ton van or truck chassis and are in fact too light (and too small) to endure a long service. These are often armored with Kevlar panels to reduce weight and are either NIJ Level 2A, 2 (AV 1/2 in my game) or Level 3A (AV 1). These are designed to carry only 1 Ton of cargo and are OFTEN OVERLOADED (because coin boxes & bags weigh a lot). They average a life of about 7 years and 300,000 miles. The current "darling" of the "Light Weights" is the Sprinter Van in both single and double axle varieties. I
HATE Sprinters! The low deck height is nice but they have a NARROW wheelbase (and width) coupled with a HIGH center of gravity (due to the stand-up interior). They EAT tires and brakes (and its no wonder with 13" tires and 10" brakes on a 1-Ton cargo van) and the 4 cylinder diesel sounds like it will blow up at any minute at highway speeds. Electrical issues also plague them (just like Dodge).
The General Purpose Truck: This truck is often referred to as The A-Body because that's what Brinks calls them (and therefore so does everyone else). The Dunbar Truck that rescued the wounded during the LA "44 Minute Shootout" was a second generation A-Body (5-speed auto, open layout). For those who would question the protection provided by Armored Cars... that truck "shrugged off" EVERY 7.62mm X 39 mm round fired at it (including the windows AND the run-flat tires). The truck in The Book of Eli was a gen 1 A-Body (5 or 6-speed manual).
The A-Body is Aluminum armored to NIJ Level 3 Rifle (AV 2 in my game) two axle truck (front and rear) built on THE EXACT SAME FRAME AS A US ARMY FIVE TON TRUCK (school buses use this frame as well). The truck uses hydraulic brakes with dual coil suspension and can carry 5000lbs (2.5 Tons) on a 26,000lb gross curb weight. Early models were 5-speed manuals but 5-speed automatics have prevailed since the 1990's. This truck comprises 95% of the US armored car fleet and is the largest truck in service that you DO NOT need a CDL to drive (you DO need a medical card though). The service life of these trucks (90%+ are diesel) is 500,000 miles or 6 years to "in frame overhaul" (a top engine rebuild) and 1,000,000 miles to complete rebuild.
The B-Body: These were just a CDL-B upgrade of the A-Body adding Air Ride Suspension and Brakes, increasing cargo load to 5 tons (10,000lbs) and, on occasion, stretching the body for increased volume of cargo. A fully loaded B-Body averages 52,000lbs Curb Weight. Several variants of this model are often "uparmored" to NIJ Level 4 (AV 4 in my game) and used as "Fed Trucks." Fed trucks haul money from the Fed to the Armored Car Company's Depot...this can amount to 10's of millions of dollars and requires added security to satisfy Lloyd's of London's (the only insurance company that insures armored cars) insurance requirements for the cargo's value. This was what we drove for a fed truck while I worked at Fidelity Armored.
Heavy Trucks: There is no pattern to these trucks except that they usually have 2 or 3 REAR AXLES and can go as heavy as 80,000lbs Curb weight. These trucks are built on AM General, Oshkosh, or MAC frames and can go for 1,000,000 miles just like an ordinary Semi Truck. This is what I drove at Great Lakes Armored in the 90's (complete with 10-speed manual).
As you can see, American armored cars are very "overbuilt." The issue is that the fleet nationwide was almost 7 years old when I retired in 2012.