The “Big Ugly” RAM 5500 Brush Truck: Innovation Meets Off-Road Capability

At Columbia CDJR FIAT Commercial, we are redefining what a municipal fire apparatus can be. Meet the "Big Ugly"—a completely custom, first-of-its-kind brush fire truck upfit designed to bring modern innovation, extreme capability, and a little bit of disruptive levity to the firefighting industry.

Built on the legendary Ram 5500 Heavy Duty chassis, this rapid-response vehicle is engineered specifically to conquer wildland terrain and get your crew to the front lines faster.

Why Wait Years for Legacy Fire Apparatus?

Traditional municipal fire engines often come with bloated price tags and multi-year waitlists. The "Big Ugly" flips the script, delivering maximum utility to your fire brigade without the wait. Everybody wins.

• Rapid Turnaround: Say goodbye to 3-to-4-year waitlists. Our streamlined custom build process gets vital, modern equipment to your station in a fraction of the time.
• Unmatched Value: Engineered with the budgets of smaller municipalities and volunteer fire departments in mind. While most comparable apparatus builds sit closer to $370,000, this exact spec comes in at under $300,000. You get premium, functional firefighting power while saving your municipality tens of thousands of dollars.

Unstoppable Power & Custom Capability

This isn't your standard commercial upfit. Every inch of the "Big Ugly" is purpose-built for extreme off-road terrain, crew comfort, and uncompromising utility.

• The Ram 5500 Heavy Duty Chassis: Delivering massive payload capacities and legendary towing power to handle the heaviest water tanks and suppression gear.
• Off-Road "Super Single" Conversion: We bypassed the traditional dual rear wheel (DRW) setup, converting this beast to an aggressive "super single" wheel configuration for unmatched traction, clearance, and stability in wilderness environments.
• Tactical-Grade Crew Interior: Fighting brush fires is grueling work, so we helped develop an interior that can withstand the abuse. We partnered with industry-leader Katzkin to outfit the cab with custom-embroidered, ultra-high durability Cordura™ fabric backed by tactical, knife-proof Kevlar™. Co-developed specifically for police and fire applications, these seats provide a Carhartt-like ruggedness designed to outlast the harshest conditions imaginable.

See The "Big Ugly" In Action
Want to see exactly what this custom apparatus looks like on the lot?
Browse our current availability, view high-resolution photos, and dive into the exact chassis and upfit specs for the models we currently have in stock or in transit.