CHATTANOOGA, TN – The City of Chattanooga recently purchased nine new Navistar International WorkStar 7500 dump trucks, each of which can tackle multiple applications, effectively replacing 18 existing vehicles in the fleet.

City employees can swap out one body and replace it with another in 10 minutes, according to Richard Beeland, media director for the City. Body types the City can swap out include that of a dump truck, a loose leaf truck, a salt/sand truck, a plow truck application, and a sway car application.

Each chassis comes with one dump body with dual gates (dumps and swings), and one sway car body with barn doors. According to Beeland, some of the vehicles the City is replacing are 1986 models, and the new trucks’ engines meet 2010 emissions standards.

“They represent a 2:1 reduction in our fleet size and are part of the fleet leasing program,” Beeland said. “The ROI will come from a combination of lowered capital investment and lower departmental operating cost over time.”

The new vehicles will arrive in late April, early May, with the old units leaving the City the same day. The trucks being replaced will be remarketed, save for units that need more than minor repairs, which could be cannibalized for parts.

Funding for the new vehicles will come from the Fleet Equipment Replacement Fund, which Beeland said is set up to be self-funding going forward.

By Greg Basich