BY MATT NOBLITT
I discovered the miniature tiller truck as I searched on the Internet for new fire prevention education ideas for preschoolers. It was used in northern California for parades, and creating a similar vehicle for my own department seemed like a great idea. Most preschoolers would love to ride on a “real” fire truck.
As public information officer for the Columbus (IN) Fire Department, in addition to interacting with the local media regarding the fire department’s activities, I’m responsible for giving fire safety presentations at local schools and organizations and for scheduling the use of our Fire Safety House. A miniature tiller truck seemed an excellent way to augment our public education program.
To create our own version of the miniature tiller truck, I first needed to find something to pull a tiller trailer and located a small utility vehicle that belonged to a local hospital. It ran great but needed some work. I could not carry out this project alone, since I had no clue of how to build “Tilly.”
 Local school children ride in Tilly. (Photos by author.) |
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I worked with our department’s assistant mechanic, Mark Williams, to rebuild the utility vehicle. The shocks and springs were completely rusted out, and the brakes were inadequate. We had to remove the dump bed and fabricate a replacement that would accommodate the fifth-wheel hitch a fellow firefighter and his wife donated. We obtained a light bar from a police department mechanic and trimmed nine inches off each end to customize it to fit the 30-inch cab width.
Next, we planned the tiller trailer. My father, Robert, a retired draftsman, moldmaker, and business owner, couldn’t wait to get involved. For the next four months, we spent a lot of time at the maintenance garage. We measured the utility vehicle from top to bottom and then measured a full-size ladder truck for dimensions. My father drew up a complete set of drawings for the miniature tiller truck. From a local golf club, I acquired a second utility vehicle so we could remove the steering mechanism for use in the rear tiller.
With drawings in hand, we visited a welding instructor at a local technical school. He accepted our challenge to construct the miniature tiller trailer as a project for his welding class A local company donated the 1/8-inch-thick 2 2 4 square tubing for the trailer’s construction.
At this point, we delivered the utility vehicle cab to an auto body shop, where the fiberglass and steel cab body received a great paint job. A local metal fabricator donated time and equipment to cut the body and bend the diamond plate used for the bumper and trim.
When the welding class finished constructing the tiller trailer, we welded in the rear steering mechanism and installed treated plywood on the floors and sides. A test drive of the vehicle demonstrated that the original 22-hp gasoline engine would be more than adequate, and additional testing revealed that we could pull the rig in high range and third gear with a top speed of about 25 mph.
We now needed a trailer with at least a 27-foot bed to haul Tilly. A local company had purchased a local trailer park and was demolishing the trailers. The company kept a 28-foot-long and 55-inch-wide frame for us, which allowed 21/2 inches on each side to get Tilly on board.
Tilly was not as large as the miniature tiller truck in California, but my father was able to design it to accommodate nine feet of bench seats on each side for the children who would ride. A local millwork company donated 15 oak 1 2 4s, and we started sanding, staining, routing, sealing, and installing them.
When it came time to bend more sheet metal and diamond plate for the tiller trailer, the fabricator that had worked on the cab was unavailable. A department firefighter who worked for a heating, air, and metal- working company obtained permission for us to use his employer’s equipment and shop. The trimming was finished in a couple of days.
After the body, diamond plate, and electrical components were installed, a local graphics company donated and installed the graphic designs on the vehicle. What a difference graphics made—it was really beginning to look like a real fire truck. Except for the axes and ladders, the outside was complete.
Two polished brass ax heads had been donated but were polished on only one side. My father polished the back of one head to a mirror finish, and we were then able to mount them both facing the same way.
 Mark Williams, who helped build Tilly, drives the front as Firefighter Jim Miller steers the back at a Fourth of July parade. |
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We obtained an old telephone company ladder with aluminum rungs. The wood beams were too long and too badly deteriorated, so the local millwork company donated four poplar 2 X 4s, and we fabricated an appropriate scaled-down ladder for Tilly.
I installed a CD player and a set of outdoor boat speakers in the cab so the children could listen to M.C. Axe and the Fire Crew sing fire safety songs as they rode.
Finally, we just had to install a headliner and door covers, but otherwise Tilly was ready to go. As we were unloading Tilly back at the garage, the trailer used to haul it bent in the middle all the way to the ground in the rear. But after we reinforced it, it was back on the road in no time.
This project took six months to complete and was accomplished entirely with no taxpayer money—only donated materials and labor. The department is grateful for the many volunteers and donations that allowed us to create a great teaching tool for the children of this community. The extra time spent working side by side with my father was a great learning experience for me. This project proves that people will do what they can to keep our most valuable resource—our children—safe and help provide the department with a tremendous teaching tool for fire safety.
MATT NOBLITT is an 18-year veteran of the Columbus (IN) Fire Department, serving 16 years as a private and the past two years as the public information officer.
