Because RL Miller is the area’s leading provider of hydraulic parts, hoses, tubing and other essential components, we have the distinct opportunity to serve a wide range of customers. You never know who is going to walk through the door at our onsite hose center. Fortunately, our technicians are fully equipped to help solve any problem and even create customer solutions. Recently, we worked with a local municipality to get their new snow plow up and running just in time for winter weather.

Although the truck was new, it wasn’t functioning properly. The drivers were having trouble operating the salt spreading system. They brought the truck to our facility and we were quickly able to observe that the problem occurred when multiple functions were engaged. For instance, when both the plow and the dump bed were being used, the salt spreader would stop. This was especially true when the truck was running at low speeds or sitting in idle.

After running a few more tests and looking at the engine speed and PTO ratio, we determined that the pump flow was not adequate enough to support all the functions at once. From there, the solution was an easy fix. We simply changed the PTO ratio in order to increase pump flow. We also installed a load sensing system to help provide balance during situations where all the main functions are being used simultaneously.

With our experience it did not take long to troubleshoot the problem and design an intelligent solution. After investing in a new snow plow truck, the municipality was finally able to take advantage of its full capabilities in order to better serve the community. While this may have been a relatively small project, our work helped to save time and money and provide better roads this winter.