It's far from the smoothest drive, the dash is pretty outdated, and there’s even an old leather bench-style seat for passengers.

But for nearly four decades, the 1977 Mack R600 Tanker fire truck has done the job at the Kentville Volunteer Fire Department.

“She's one of the last remaining trucks that we have in our fleet that basically you can fix with a flat-headed screwdriver and a pair of vice grips,” volunteer firefighter Bob Cook says.

“It's the old workhorse of the department. She's never failed to go to a fire and she's never failed at a fire. This is kind of sad to see this thing go, but you got to move on.”

The fire department has put the tanker up for sale for $17,000, posting an advertisement on Kijiji.

The vehicle, which can carry 1,800 gallons of water, still runs well and has been maintained.

“I can think of many times that this truck has brought a lot of pride,” Fire Chief Ryan MacEachern says.

But the tanker is getting old for a busy fire department, MacEachern says. Another problem is the manual transmission, which many younger firefighters don’t know how to drive.

MacEachern says he suspects the ultimate buyer will be a small-budget fire department that can’t afford the $320,000 price tag for a new tanker.

But there has been interest outside of firefighting, including one person who is eyeing the tanker to fill up swimming pools in the summer.