Page 21 - Sept-Oct 2019 Vol37 No3

KNOXVILLE
New Customized Truck Chassis to
Tackle Leaves, Icy Roads & Potholes
City of Knoxville personnel who work
in neighborhoods each fall and winter
scooping up leaves and brush, putting
down salt on icy days and filling potholes zip-off ” system for service delivery that
on dry days, will get a “big assist” this
year as the weather turns colder.
Over the last year, the City made
its most significant neighborhood
services equipment purchases in a
decade: it added to its fleet 22 new
medium-duty trucks with custom built
work platforms, 16 snow plows and 19
knuckleboom loaders, replacing their
older counterparts.
The Freightliner SD-108 truck chassis
all were delivered to equipment vendor
Stringfellow, who worked closely with
City of Knoxville personnel to design
and build the work platforms and the
Pac Mac knuckleboom loaders, as well as
installing the SaltDogg snow plows.
Customized Platforms Maximize
Operations, Reduce Maintenance
While the new units directly will
impact the City’s brush collection and
snow removal operations, they’ll also
be used as platforms for the City’s
leaf collection and pothole patching
operations in each of the Public Service
By Nicholas Bradfield
Department’s six service areas. as extensive research and consultation
The City of Knoxville utilizes a “zip-on, with equipment design engineers,
manufacturers and vendors.
allows the same trucks/work platforms to Following the conclusion of the bid
be used year-round. Leaf machines, salt process, Fleet personnel continued to
spreaders, knuckleboom loaders, snow devote many hours providing direction
plows, and pothole patchers all can be and feedback to design engineers
operated from the work platform installed and equipment manufacturers. The
directly onto the truck chassis. The result? final outcome is a customized fleet of
Maximized operational effectiveness and equipment unlike any other... uniquely
reduced maintenance costs. suited to meet Knoxville’s needs.
This new equipment
represents the
culmination of two years
of intense research,
study and work by
City of Knoxville Fleet
Services, as well as an
unprecedented level
of cooperation and
collaboration between
Fleet Services and Public
Service departments
in the equipment
specification writing
process. The process
involved meetings with
public works leaders
from other cities, as well
View online at tnpublicworks.com 21