Minnesota County To Debut New Prototype Snowplow Truck Unlike Any Other In The Country

To borrow a phrase, winter is coming. While Minnesota got off easy last winter, it sounds like the upcoming winter season could bring considerably more snow than we did last year.

As the near inevitability of snowy and icy roads looms in the Northland, Minnesota's largest county announced they will be rolling out a whole new type of snowplow truck - a prototype they are looking forward to putting to work this winter.

This new prototype truck is unlike any other plow truck anywhere, according to St. Louis County's Fleet and Property Manager Chad Skelton.

Skelton told the Mesabi Tribune "There's no other truck like this in the country", explaining that the county is proud of their ongoing efforts of "being on the cutting edge" as they get ready to test this new equipment.

How is this new plow truck different?

As the Mesabi Tribune explains, the goal with this new prototype truck is to conduct research that could ultimately save taxpayers money and make plowing and clearing the county's roads in the winter more efficient.

This new truck, made by a Minnesota company called Towmaster Truck Equipment in Litchfield, has the main goal of rolling in new technology and extending the life of the county's truck fleet.

This new prototype features things like an aluminum box and better hydraulic system to increase durability and longevity along with features like a two-way plow, multiple onboard cameras, heated headlights, windshield, and wipers, a different style of paint on the hood to cut down on glare for the driver, new flashing lights to improve visibility, and new automatic differentials to allow the truck to handle wheel slippage better.

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Skelton told the Mesabi Tribune the new truck costs around $15,000 to $20,000 more than the normal truck in their fleet, but the hope is that the additional upfront cost will cut down on the amount of new truck buying they'd need to do each year.

Each year, the county buys 10 new plow trucks at a price of over $300,000 per truck. Extending the life expectancy of their trucks could save money as these new trucks offer new features to keep them on the road longer.

What else is the county doing this winter that is new?

Skelton said he is proud of how St. Louis County likes to be on the cutting edge of various road things, which is great for finding new solutions in the difficult climate of Northern Minnesota.

Besides this new, one-of-a-kind plow truck, Skelton tells the Tribune they will be rolling out a new "dynamic spreading technology" and trying out some new snowplow blades.

The new spreading technology is designed to more efficiently disperse road treatment to de-ice roads during the winter months.

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The new system will not only save the county taxpayer dollars by using less salt/sand/etc., but it is also more environmentally friendly because of the lower amount of used materials.

The new system automatically changes spreading rates without driver intervention, allowing the driver to focus more on driving the truck and less on the road treatment.