With the escalating cost of operations, fuel prices rising, chassis becoming scarce, and the price of materials on the rise, demountable bodies are becoming a viable option for seasonal operations.

Municipalities in several countries across the world operate swap body or demountable multi-purpose municipal machines. In Germany, Poland, Scandinavia, and a number of Eastern European countries, compact road sweepers have been one of the products that are commonly used as a sweeper from April until September, and then as a spreader from October until March. They are operated as either a swap body or by installing a hook-on spreader to the hopper and plough or snow brush to the front.

There are big differences between Europe and the UK when it comes to winter. In eastern parts of Europe, winter generally starts in October and finishes in March, so having a dual-purpose unit is much easier. In the UK, we can be basking in 18 degrees in February and then -2 degrees in April, therefore a quick change over system is essential to make a multi-purpose product work in this climate.

Truck-mounted products such as spreaders, gully tankers, sweepers and tippers have all been adapted to be a swap body product and are also popular in many countries. The UK has a large number of spreaders that have swap body systems, with the most popular option for a swap being a tipper truck/spreader. This is followed by the gully tanker and spreader but after that the councils run out of vehicle types that can be swapped over effectively to offer a practical cost saving without compromising the productivity of the operation.

Historically a sweeper/spreader demount system has not been a popular choice in the UK. But, due to the latest technological developments, increases in fuel duty and inflationary increases in chassis prices, the sweeper spreader could be a consideration for councils to add to their growing list of multipurpose vehicles.

To allow for a swap body system you need a fixed hydraulic tank on the chassis. This means the chassis must be 300mm longer than standard. The downside being the sweeper has an extended wheelbase which makes manoeuvring around tight streets and tight corners more difficult. However, this issue is completely irrelevant with the Bucher Electra Spreader. As the spreader is 100% electric it does not require a hydraulic tank or wiring looms to connect it to the chassis; it is a completely independent unit that can be controlled by Bluetooth. The biggest advantage to this development is the sweeper wheelbase can remain the same. Therefore, the chassis maintains the standard wheelbase, and has the hydraulic tank contained in the sweeper body which can be demounted to use the spreader.

The steering wheel for a sweeper is on the left whereas a spreader is on the right. This is one of the biggest issues as it is difficult to sweep the curb line from a right-hand steering position and equally as difficult to plough a street from a left-hand driving position, making the combination sweeper/spreader not ideal. However, before the introduction of cameras on sweepers and trucks, Johnston Sweepers produced many dual steering wheeled sweepers. This allowed the driver to sweep the left kerb line as well as the right. The knowledge and know-how of dual steering still exists within Bucher to convert over to demount units.

Similarly, compact demounts are now available for cycle lanes and pedestrianised areas on the Bucher Municipal CityCat V20 series. The easy-to-use ‘Quick-Change’ system allows the vehicles to be converted from sweeping or washing operation to winter operation in less than 30 minutes. Quickly and easily accessible, a few hydraulic quick couplings, a power connection and four screws are used to disconnect the vehicle from the hopper. With the aid of the transport trolley provided for the hopper, it can be lifted and moved away quickly and easily. This then enables the spreader to be placed on the vehicle. After attaching the front lift, the front attachment can be mounted on the vehicle.

With all these combined enhancements, there is a distinct possibility that swap body sweeper spreaders will become more popular on our UK roads.

This article originally appeared in the autumn issue of LAPV. To subscribe for free click here.