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 other 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; a fact that many European manufacturers fail to understand. 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 Feb and then Minus 2 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.

Here at Bucher Municipal, we have been offering a swap body sweeper to spreader to the world market for many years. We have several sales of these units in Eastern Europe where is seen as having a well defined winter season and summer season.

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 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.

Similarly, to accommodate a 6 cubic spreader the chassis must be 18 tonnes, which again means a larger chassis and wheelbase, affecting the manoeuvrability. But with the new demount options from Bucher Municipal, mounting can be a 5 cubic metre spreader on the 3260mm sweeper chassis wheelbase. As the Bucher spreader has an accurate spreading system, salt usage can be up to 20% lower in comparison to traditional basic spreading systems. Therefore, a 5m3 spreader provides towns and cities the same salt capacity that a 6m3 spreader would have historically provided. 

The 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 a large number of dual steering wheeled sweepers. This allowed the driver to sweep the left kerb line as well as the right. It also offered the driver a right-hand seated position whilst in transit. The knowledge and know-how of dual steering still exists within Bucher. We offer an IVECO dual steered sweeper conversion in house as a standard option. For the DAF chassis we send them away to be converted which adds to the cost but still allows the truck to be operated on the left-hand side for sweeping and on the right-hand side for spreading and ploughing providing a perfect solution.

Although a dual steer, swap body sweeper/electric spreader may be more expensive than the standard sweeper, it will provide significant costs savings in comparison to owning two vehicles. In 2021 a typical price for a truck mounted sweeper was between £140,000- £150,000 and the truck mounted spreader with a plough would be £90,000-£100,000. In 2023 these figures could be increased significantly to £180,000 for the sweeper and up to £111,000 for the spreader. The Electra spreader does not require an engine PTO, saving around 17% on fuel over a hydraulic unit. Additionally, the PMI costs, MOT costs, servicing costs, tax, insurance, and ongoing maintenance of two chassis is reduced almost by half.

For more information, please contact your Regional Sales Manager.