135-K Coolant Truck

The Class 135-K "Lifesaver" Coolant Truck, built for the Draconis Combine by Buda Imperial Vehicles, is a standard example of the Coolant Trucks employed during the Succession Wars, differing only in the choice of its weaponry.

Originally developed in 2588 during the Reunification War, the now ubiqitous Coolant Truck doubled the effective range of SLDF BattleMechs on water-poor Periphery worlds, serving a similar purpose with the depleted heat sink technology of the Succession Wars era. Coolant trucks station themselves close to the battlefield, where they can be hooked up to overheated 'Mechs for the purpose of flushing away the excess heat with super-cold liquid nitrogen and/or liquid oxygen. Standard Great House combat doctrine is for a well-maintained regiment to have about six trucks, ensuring that an overheating 'Mech will almost always have access to a ready cooler.

The Lifesaver has five receptacles for the long rubber/plastic hoses used for attachment to overheating 'Mechs, the first four dispense liquid nitrogen while the fifth contains liquid oxygen. Light and Medium Mechs have hookup points for just one hose, but Heavy and Assault 'Mechs require two for cooling. 'Mechs are especially vulnerable when hooked up to a cooler. After the collapse of the Star League, a new battlefield etiquette evolved among both the Inner Sphere and Clans which extended a special 'courtesy ' to a cooler-hooked 'Mech. The enemy will usually ignore a 'Mech that is hooked to a cooler, as long as it does not shoot, becoming fair game after disconnecting and moving a few meters away.

Weapons and Equipment
The most notable difference between the Lifesaver and other models of coolant trucks are the two Dragon's Breath Flamers it carries in a cab mounted turret. Though rarely used offensively, the near limitless supply of liquid oxygen allows the gunner to fire at will without fear of heat build-up. The feature that earned the 135-K its Lifesaver nickname is the ability to quickly convert the flamers to fire liquid nitrogen, able to spray dangerously overheated 'Mechs and cool them extremely fast. Other manufacturers have noted this ingenious dual-purpose and have taken to refitting their coolant trucks in such a manner.

Variants
Many types of coolant trucks exist. Some are hovercraft and others are tracked vehicles. Most carry the two super-cold liquids, though some may carry only liquid nitrogen and leave it to other coolers to bring the liquid oxygen. Coolant trucks are usually armed, sometimes with a combination of weapons. Others have no weaponry. Every house is currently studying the installation of dual-purpose flamers that the Lifesaver uses so effectively.