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Evaluation of Slurry Spreaders and Plows (Underbody, Wing and Two-Way Reversible)

Status:  Complete
Report Date:  09/14/2023

Summary:

MnDOT evaluated five pieces of new winter maintenance equipment: two slurry spreaders, an underbody scraper, a true-float wing plow and a two-way reversible plow. For Winter 1 of the evaluation program, all equipment was acquired, installed and field-tested in MnDOT District 2. For Winter 2, a data collection program was developed to capture quantitative data on how well the equipment worked in District 2, compared side by side against comparable routes with traditional spreaders. Winter 1 and 2 field testing of the three types of plow equipment allowed operators to fix operational problems and led participants to agree that MnDOT should continue to use such equipment and acquire more. MnDOT participants did not reach consensus on whether to continue to use or buy more of the two slurry spreaders. Data analysis showed that they performed comparably to traditional slurry spreaders in terms of road regain time and salt use when they were operational. Issues included equipment height, causing loading and maintenance worker safety concerns; equipment weight, reducing how much material could be loaded in the truck; difficulty in setup; equipment not operating as expected; and difficulty obtaining vendor parts and getting vendor support. These issues led to the cancellation of a third winter of testing in a different district. It was suggested that the equipment might better suit MnDOT’s needs mounted on a boxless truck.

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