Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

As the song goes ‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow’, but when it does will we be ready?

Most conventional gritters are either permanently fixed to a rigid chassis or sit in the back of a tipper, but those solutions are not always ideal if you cannot afford to dedicate a very expensive chassis to an application where it could spend most of its life standing in the corner of the yard deteriorating or you don’t happen to operate a suitable tipper.  For the operator requiring a vehicle capable of operating with diverse body types the solution could well be that of a demountable body system which can cater for just about any type of body style, so whether you normally operate with a curtainside, box van or any other conventional body, there is always the opportunity to swop it for a gritter when the need arises.  This could just as easily be a local authority or a private company contracted for snow clearance and gritting services as and when required.

Operation of the system required to swop body styles is extremely simple, being a one man process that can normally be achieved in a matter of minutes. The body is located on spigot guides and retained with four twistlocks, so after securing the support legs, it is just a matter of connecting any auxiliary electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic systems required by the style of gritter being used.

For most users in this situation once the initial idea has been researched and the advantages established it is not difficult to justify the cost of the additional equipment purely due to the savings made from better utilisation of the chassis, particularly when compared with a fixed body gritter.

So if your gritter is the one in the corner of the yard that has been costing you a fortune to maintain over the six months prior to the first frosts, let’s hope that when you turn the key everything comes to life!

So ‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow’.