The Butler County Engineer’s Office Operations Department is already preparing for the 2019-2020 Snow and Ice season. Operations Deputy Scott Bressler is leading the charge in their new venture to build trucks, instead of purchasing replacements for the deteriorated, broken-down trucks.
Previously, the BCEO purchased two new snow trucks and had two trucks refurbished from their fleet, but waiting for the manufacturer to build and deliver the trucks put them behind schedule. The delayed delivery of the trucks became the impetus to refurbish their own trucks in a more suitable timeframe. So, the Operations crew created a mechanics bay in the rear of the garage, added portable lifts, and began rebuilding trucks.
The rebuilding process starts with removing dump beds from older trucks that are no longer dependable to be front runner snow trucks. Next, they’re sandblasted, painted, and installed on new cab and chassis Western Star tandems. The old snow trucks are not discarded but converted into construction and dump trucks. Though recycling the equipment requires a great deal of planning and labor, it results in a savings of approximately $60,000 per snow truck.
The goal is to give trucks purchased with County funds a longer life, thereby saving time and money. Bressler noted, “We try to utilize our trucks as much as possible to bring savings to Butler County.” The BCEO is on track to keep their two Snow and Ice Control teams of 16 drivers plowing and treating our County roads safely and efficiently in time for winter.
