Acela Introduces Wildland Urban Interface Fire Truck Chassis

Acela Truck Company is introducing its new Acela Straya four-wheel drive, high mobility, cab-over, 19,500-lb. GVWR truck chassis in North America.

The Straya is a purpose-built wildland/urban interface fire truck chassis. According to the company, its cab-over design and military-grade performance offers best-in-class maneuverability and visibility and off-highway capabilities for use in the most demanding work environments.

Based on the Isuzu NRR base cab and chassis, and inspired by Isuzu Australia's 4x4 fire truck fleets, Acela Truck Company has leveraged its defense vehicle experience to incorporate military vehicle components and capabilities with Isuzu's chassis to create the Acela Straya for on- and extreme off-highway firefighting applications.

The 4x4 high-mobility Class 5 cab-over truck chassis was on display at Work Truck Week 2022. 

The new Acela Straya is equipped with Meritor 3000 Series axles, featuring many of the same field-proven U.S. Army axle components currently in production on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), as well as Driver-Controlled Differential Lockers (DCDL) and 41-inch military tires.

Available onboard Central Tire Inflation System (CTIS) is a driver-controlled push-button capability that adjusts tire pressures on demand from 95 to 17 psi. This tire-related feature is almost exclusively reserved for military tactical vehicles, according to Acela, allowing the Straya to be driven on-highway and off-highway through sandy, swampy, snowy, steep, washboard, and other challenging terrain. The lower tire pressure selection allows the Straya to mimic tracked vehicle performance, providing otherwise unachievable access through the most extreme terrain.

 "The Straya is by far the most capable wildland truck chassis available in North America, building out our portfolio and complementing the high-performance offering of our existing extreme duty 4x4 and 6x6, Class 6 through 8 Acela Monterra models," stated David Ronsen, president of Acela Truck Company, "The Straya was designed primarily to provide high-mobility performance for operations in the wildland/urban interface, high water/flood rescue, as well as utility, oil & gas, pipeline, mining and border patrol operations, providing access that fleet operators have only been able to dream of until now."

The Straya will be available in single- and crew-cab configurations in multiple wheelbases and provides 19.6 inches of ground clearance and up to 41 inches of water fording capability, making it well suited for high water/flood rescue applications as well. The cab-over design offers a turning radius of 49.9 feet (on 150-inch wheelbase with a 12 to 13-foot body) and seats up to seven people with multiple seating options available to suit almost any application.

Acela is a high-mobility chassis supplier and distributes through a nationwide network of dealers and manufacturing partners.

You may recognize Acela from previous Work Truck coverage, when we checked out its extreme-duty chassis back in 2017. The Monterra 4x4 and 6x6 truck offerings are specifically built for use in extreme environments, such as oil fields, mining operations, pipeline, forestry, and utility fleets. With the addition of the Straya, Acela is growing its offering of tough, vocational trucks for fleet use. 

Originally posted on Work Truck Online