Road and Bridge seeks permission to pursue purchase of five dump trucks amid transmission shortage

Public works staff told the Franklin County Commission on Feb. 12 that supply-chain issues for Allison transmissions have delayed delivery of two spec'd dump trucks and asked for authority to investigate buying five replacement trucks from an alternate supplier to keep county snow-removal and road operations running.

Jeff, the public works presenter, said the county had a prior contract with MHC for two trucks built to the county's specifications (Cummins engine, Allison transmission, air suspension). He said Allison has shifted capacity to a large federal contract, limiting supply in the open market. Master Tech, a Midwest supplier, has Allison transmissions on hand but offers trucks with a PACCAR engine rather than Cummins and a puck-style suspension instead of airbags. Jeff said Master Tech agreed to provide a seven-year warranty on non-wear parts (unlimited miles) if the county purchased all five trucks through them.

Staff laid out tradeoffs: the PACCAR motor is different and had reported earlier injector issues that vendors say have been mitigated; the puck suspension design means some replacement parts (pucks) cost more than the air system parts the county previously used. Public works told the commission that buying all five trucks together and obtaining the 7-year warranty would create substantial net savings and consistency across the fleet. The presenter said the all-5 purchase would cost roughly $347,000 per truck and that vendor-contributed warranty and Sourcewell pricing could save the county an estimated $564,230 overall. The presenter also said the county had budgeted previously for two trucks at about $330,000 each and had ARPA funds allocated ($660,000) that were intended for earlier purchases; staff proposed covering the additional cost partly from the equipment reserve fund and defer or reprioritize other equipment purchases.

Commissioners discussed repair history, expected mileage (public works said the 10-wheelers average 20,000'25,000 miles per year), typical replacement cycle (approximately seven years under current expectations) and trade-in possibilities for older units. Staff said Master Tech indicated it could deliver the first truck in assembly soon and then roughly one truck per month, allowing the county to have the full set within six to eight months if a contract is negotiated.

Staff requested permission to pursue negotiating a contract with Master Tech and to prepare a financial recommendation and a formal contract for the commission's later review. Commissioners did not take a final purchasing vote at the meeting; staff said they will return with a contract and a detailed financing plan.

Quotes "Allison Transmission has signed a contract with the federal government ... so Lisonbee has no longer providing transmissions," Jeff said, describing the supply disruption for the Allison transmission.

"If we buy all 5 trucks and they pay for the warranty, that cost savings... exceeds $91,000 on those trucks," Jeff said, describing vendor warranty savings; he later estimated combined savings of about $564,230 if the county buys all five using Sourcewell pricing and vendor warranty.

Staff noted trade-offs including engine differences (PACCAR v. Cummins), suspension differences (puck v. airbag) and higher replacement costs for some parts but said fleet consistency and vendor warranty argued in favor of pursuing the alternative procurement.

Next steps: staff will prepare a detailed financial analysis and bring a proposed contract back to the commission for formal approval.