PENNDOT Plow Trucks

[Lazer Man]

Since everyone seemed to enjoy my thread on the Pa Turnpike trucks I thought you would enjoy these.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic2.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

Another shot of the tandem Mack

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic7.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

Here is an older Mack R, not too many of these left in the Penndot fleet.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic12a.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A rear shot of the same Mack R.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic12.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

The only other older Mack R I've seen.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic20c.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A newer Sterling tandem dump.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPicSterlingTandem.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A Mack RD with a side wing set up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic18.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A rear shot with wing set up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic22.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A close up of the wing set up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPicPlowwingrearb.jpg

Also note the wing is only just in the lowered position, it's not even extended out. Man I bet this set up really can move some snow.

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A standard spreader with pre wet setup. Notice all these tandems don't use v box inserts. I talked to the guys and by a large margin most can't stand a insert type setup as its a pain to unload any unused salt. I've seen many of these trucks spreading down the hiway with beds raised, my thought is you better know the road your on with the bed up as to not hit any rough spots or edges in the road that would jar the truck with the bed up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic20b.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A Tyler Zero Velocity spreader set up. Alot of guys like this setup as they can direct the flow from the chute from inside the cab. One of the probs with this set up is if useing a wet salt it tends to freeze up in the one tube and has to be cleaned out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic13.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

a closer shot of the blower set up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPic11.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

[Lazer Man]

A closer shot of the chute. This chute can be rotated from side to side from inside the cab. The operators like this setup when a tractor trailer or larger truck gets stuck on a hill or mountain road all they have to do is pull next to and in front of the drive wheels and turn the chute and shoot across both sides at one time usually gets the stuck truck unstuck.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/Plowman58/PENNDOT%20Plows/PennDotPicSaltBlowerChute.jpg

Bob :D :D :D :burnout

PS I have more pics to post but its getting late I'll try to post more on Mon. Hope all enjoy these pics.

[jt5019]

Great pics.. I have never seen that Tyler Zero Velocity spreader set up before..very interesting..

[ULM2004]

That tyler velocity thing looks like it would be a pain to set up. Why do they use that over the spinner? Looks interesting!

[GeoffD]

That set up allows for spreading of material at speeds of up to 50 mph. However the system also has a very expensive price tag.

Geoff

[snowplowjay]

WOW THOSE ARE SWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEET RIGS!!!

I like the 1-800-FIX-ROAD printed on all the trucks........


In CT it would be followed by www . MAYBE-TOMMORROW .com :D

GREAT SHOTS!!!


Jay

[Mark Oomkes]

That spreader is unique.

They can put the salt where they want to and not lose it to scatter\bounce off the road. Monroe Truck Equipment has a spinner that spins vertically, I guess that's the best way to describe it, but the salt is basically at a stand still when it hits the pavement instead of 35 MPH or 50 MPH.

[Heron Cove PM]

...Notice all these tandems don't use v box inserts. I talked to the guys and by a large margin most can't stand a insert type setup as its a pain to unload any unused salt. I've seen many of these trucks spreading down the hiway with beds raised, my thought is you better know the road your on with the bed up as to not hit any rough spots or edges in the road that would jar the truck with the bed up.


You know, a few years ago, when I decided to take on snow removal more so as a business aspect than as supplemental income; I never really knew that V box spreaders larger than what you put on a 1 ton truck existed. With the exception of the State of Virginia, everyone close by, all use under the tailgate spreaders. In my travels and research to the upper states and Midwest, where you treat snow removal truly as a business, did I start seeing the technology like low velocity spreaders, etc.. Hell, we were one of the first companies to bring pusher boxes in the area and we were STILL 5-10 years behind you guys (give or take). A dedicated salt truck? Are you for real? Speaking for the state of Maryland, under the tailgate spreaders were the norm. There was an occasional truck, tore up on the Capital Beltway, that didn't get their body down in time; but very few. I remember tagalong, DROP spreaders! They were little cart buckets that hooked to the back of the 10-wheelers with pinnel <sp> hooks and literally just drop the salt straight down.

To give you an idea of how behind the times we are, MDDOT just went to stainless steel bodies three years ago! They JUST went to pretreating systems last season and I have seen wings for the first time THIS season. There were a few scattered giant V's and OshKosh's (graters w/giant V's) but mostly in local jurisdictions, such as County roads - I remember back as a kid in the 70's, but that's it.

Personally, in my opinion (and we know how that goes), why would I go through all that extra work, cost, maintenance, etc... of a v-box to haul less yardage of an under the tailgate spreader on a standard dump body? Ya can't put another grain of salt on it if it physically won't hold it! But, I can certainly train a guy to lower a body when he needs to! Just my 6 1/2 cents.

Marshall

[jt5019]

my local dot uses a mix of Big V boxes and the tenco sander/dump body that has the spinner built in infront of the left rear wheels. Ive seen both used on my road and the v box always seems to do a much better job covering the road in one pass.The truck with the tenco body usually has to come up then back down to cover the road.The driver told me he likes the Vbox better but tenco type is a lot faster to get on the road and easier to clean up. Conn Dot uses mostly the tenco syle dump bodies only by another manufacture i believe. I dont see many if at all under the tailgate style spreaders maybe on a few private contractor rigs.

[2004F550]

My town has 3 older trucks w/ V boxes, 3 with the tenco style, and another one is a Heil with the spinner in the rear and a chain carrys the sand thru the center of the body where it drops out the back onto the spreader. Seems like it may be the best of both worlds......the tenco style is great for traction tho, no arguing that

[jt5019]

I agree the tenco style is great for traction spreads right infront of the tires.

[Pickering Snow]

Great pics iam glad you posted them was curious has to what a pendott truck even looked like i have been to Erie two times know with snow covered highways and never knew what they looked like cause i never seen one

[Mark Oomkes]

Great pics iam glad you posted them was curious has to what a pendott truck even looked like i have been to Erie two times know with snow covered highways and never knew what they looked like cause i never seen one

LMAO, Fred.

[bud16415]

Great pics iam glad you posted them was curious has to what a pendott truck even looked like i have been to Erie two times know with snow covered highways and never knew what they looked like cause i never seen one


Don’t feel bad Fred. Those of us that live here have the same reaction sometimes.

Once they get the plows off and go into pothole mode you might see a bunch this time when you come up. Local TV station is having a name your favorite pothole contest.

Old Pa joke “What’s yellow and sleeps six?”


Bud

[Alan]

Ive seen both used on my road and the v box always seems to do a much better job covering the road in one pass.

While on the surface it may appear that there is a benefit of covering an entire with de-icer it's not the best way to do it. The best utilization of material and fastest results come from laying material in the middle of the road (on a 2 lane) or right on the line between lanes (4 lane or more).

In that situation the concentrated deicer produces a bare stripe as fast as possible. Traffic can then run with two wheels in a surface giving much better traction. As the precipitation melts it runs across the travel lanes, widening the bare strip. Traffic splashes the material as well, further moving the brine onto areas not directly applied to.

In areas where traffic is not confined to lanes, or you need to treat the entire surface, broadcasting is necessary. I've seen New Hampshire DOT trucks with a very simple low velocity drop arrangement. I happened to be caught in freezing rain in the White Mountains, on US 302. Somewhere east of Twin Mountain we met a DOT truck with what was nothing more than a funnel where a spinner would normally be. The lower end of the drop tube pointed out and back laying an almost solid band of salt on the center line. I would guess they were traveling at 30-35 mph but the salt stayed in a nice solid strip. Within not much over a 14 mile of meeting the truck we had a melted track to run our center wheels on and it got wider very rapidly. I'm sure they would have had to apply twice the material to get decent travel conditions had they been broadcasting.

Most undertailgate spreaders also have a provision to adjust the location of the spinner relative to where material falls onto it. That determines where the stuff will come off the spinner. It is possible, by varying spinner position and speed to drop a heavy spiral of material to the left of the truck or spread evenly across a full lane behind the truck.