Really Good Equipment — a company that engineers, manufactures, and services commercial leaf collection equipment — announced it developed an electric solution to failing valve bodies on commercial leaf vacuum trucks.

“These hydraulic valve bodies control the truck’s boom and dump bed functionality,” Really Good Equipment CEO Joey Woodfin said. “Over time, they tend to crack, leak and clog. When that happens, it can render the truck inoperable by shutting down that functionality. And if you can’t control your boom or your dump bed won’t come down – it’s a problem.”

The valve body controls the boom and dump bed functionalities. 

The Valve Body Replacement is a modular solution: each pump controls a separate hydraulic function which makes it extremely easy for municipal technicians to maintain and service.

The replacement can be retrofitted to any commercial leaf vacuum truck.

It’s also electric, eliminating the need to be powered by a diesel engine.

“It’s one step toward total electrification,” Woodfin added. “For municipalities looking to explore ways to meet their fleet electrification goals – this is a great first step and one that we believe will give them confidence in our fully electric solutions.”

The replacement is powered by three to five electric pumps, depending on the truck model.

Really Good Equipment has partnered with battery electric engineers, integrating its expertise with decades of mechanical experience in industrial leaf equipment to develop a solution that replaces internal combustion engines with 100% electric systems.

Last fall, the company launched a program to electrify existing leaf vacuum trailers, removing the diesel engine and replacing it with a 100% electric system. This solution can also be retrofitted to existing equipment.

Because retrofitting requires less capital expense, municipalities can potentially get 2 or 3 pieces of electric equipment in the field at the same cost as a single new unit – stretching their budgets and accelerating environmental compliance, Really Good Equipment noted.