Talking Trucks — Maintaining Your Manufacturer's Sanity

In this episode Chris McLoone and Ricky Riley lay out practical, frontline advice for fire departments to work smarter with apparatus manufacturers. They cover the true cost and operational impact of late change orders, when dealer vs OEM work makes sense, setting expectations early, building a contingency “bank” into your budget, and sticking to proven specs when speed matters. They also discuss the salesperson’s role as advocate and demo vs. custom builds.