Hi-Ranger Snorkel

The Hi-Ranger Snorkel was an articulating boom aerial platform built by the Mobile Aerial Towers Inc.

The Chicago Fire Department placed the first Pitman Snorkel in service in 1958. With the success of this unit they were looking to buy more. While Pitman Manufacturing was the first to build an articulating aerial platform for a fire department, it was not the only company building such platforms. Chicago purchased two Hi-Ranger Snorkels in 1959, followed by two more in 1960.

Unlike most other aerial platforms which used enclosed tubular booms, the Hi-Ranger used a distinctive open lattice work for its booms.

The Hi-Ranger Snorkel was available in 50, 65, 75 and 85 foot lengths. Approximately 80 Hi-Rangers would be sold between 1959 and 1987 when the last unit entered service.

Hi-Rangers were mounted on both commercial and custom chassis. Several manufacturers built apparatus using a Hi-Ranger aerial platform, but Ward LaFrance and Van Pelt account for the largest number.