--- title: "Supermassive 8×8 Articulating Off-Road Fire Truck Is a Surprising Marketplace Find" description: "I'm not quite sure who's looking to buy one of these but an 8x8 articulating off-road fire truck is for sale on Facebook Marketplace." date: "2023-08-13" modified: "2023-08-13" authors: - name: "Nico DeMattia" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/nico-demattia" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/supermassive-8x8-articulating-off-road-fire-truck-is-a-surprising-marketplace-find" categories: - "News" --- # Supermassive 8×8 Articulating Off-Road Fire Truck Is a Surprising Marketplace Find ![]() Facebook Marketplace never ceases to surprise me. You can shop for anything on Marketplace, from power tools, to furniture, to cars, and even massive 8x8 articulating off-road fire trucks. So in the same place that you can buy someone's sweat-stained VR headset, you can also buy this 1990 [Rosenbauer DA-1500 fire truck](). The Rosenbauer DA-1500 is actually based on the [Oshkosh ]()Mk.48 LVS, a transport vehicle originally designed for the United States Marine Corps. in the 1980s. The Mk.48 was immensely useful for the U.S. Marines, thanks to its eight-wheel drive capability, impressive turn radius, and versatility. Those same attributes made it perfect for firefighting duty where normal [fire trucks]() simply cannot go. So Rosenbauer, the Austrian firetruck builder, took a handful of Mk.48 chassis in the '80s and turned them into DA-1500 off-road firetrucks. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As you can see, the DA-1500 has eight massive wheels, with two selectable drive modes (4x8 or 8x8) and a two-speed transfer case. To give it even more off-road prowess, the DA-1500 has a 46-degree front approach angle, a 50-degree rear departure angle, and a 60-inch wading depth. Its articulating body and center yaw steering also make it much more maneuverable than you'd expect a 36-foot-long truck to be. There isn't much terrain that can stand in the way of a DA-1500. What's under the hood that can move a nearly 25,000-pound vehicle? A Detroit Diesel V8 that makes 540 horsepower, which pairs with a four-speed Alison automatic transmission. Its total load capacity, curb weight included, is 63,800 lbs. While it isn't quite [Land Train-big](), the DA-1500 is absolutely enormous and takes 40 seconds to reach 50 mph. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Being an off-road firetruck, the DA-1500 needs to be able to put out fires in the wilderness, without a fire hydrant (though it has a fire hydrant hook up), so it's capable of holding 1,500 gallons of water on board. All of that water-holding capacity means there's only enough room aboard the DA-1500 to carry two crew members. According to the seller, this specific 1990 DA-1500 has only had two previous owners and originally cost $1.2 million. The current asking price is $120,000, which actually seems pretty cheap, all things considered. I'm not sure who's spending Porsche 911 money to buy an off-road fire truck on Facebook Marketplace but whoever does will be unstoppable. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Nico is a writer and reviewer from New Jersey who probably thinks he’s a lot funnier than he actually is. His love of cars began when he was just a kid playing Gran Turismo 3, grinding out enough race wins with a Mazda Miata to save up for an in-game RUF 911. That passion for small, lightweight sports cars drove his desire to learn more about the industry, get his hands on as many cars as he could, and bring those experiences to life on the page. He cut his teeth writing about BMWs, Volkswagens, and Audis, mostly, and has owned far too many of each. He’s on his fourth 3 Series sedan, but all of his old, cheap German cars have forced him to learn more about car maintenance than his mechanical capability can handle. Too many late nights have been spent scrambling to get a car running by morning so he could get to work. For some reason, he never seems to learn that old Bimmers probably aren’t the best daily drivers. But he loves more than just old German cars. He’ll gladly drive and discuss anything with four (or even three) wheels. Cars aren’t his only passions, though. Nico is also a big nerd and loves movies, video games, comic books, and cares far too much about the New York Giants. So don’t be surprised if you see football references or dumb, obscure movie quotes in any of his car reviews. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()