Oshkosh "50/50" set-back axle truck from a 1959 advertisement The company grew as a respected manufacturer of specialist vehicles, including airport crash tenders, cement mixers, snow fighters and various off-road trucks. The United States Department of Defense was large buyer of Oshkosh trucks. In 1990, the company made its first foray into the refuse vehicle market with the A-Series co-collector. These futuristic-looking trucks arrived just at the dawn of the modern recycling area, and were designed as one-pass vehicles. A refuse packer formed the rear section, with a typical low side packer (similar to Lodal), with compartmented up-and-over sections in the middle. It was idea that was timely, yet the A-series failed to garner sufficient sales to justify further production, and was discontinued in late 1994. George Dennos recalled the experience of Durham, North Carolina, which was believed to have had the largest A-series fleet (22 trucks)in the country. "These vehicles were a great concept on paper, but could not withstand the daily routine in actual use. By 1996, Durham's fleet was a total breakdown, and the city negotiated a trade-in plus cash for 17 Oshkosh cab & chassis with Leach 2RII bodies, as well as some CCC rear loaders. Oshkosh wanted these trucks off the street." Despite the failure of this valiant engineering effort, Oshkosh soldiered on in their effort to expand into the refuse market. They purchased Ottawa Truck Corporation (Ottawa, Kansas) in 1994, maker of a popular low-entry truck called the Rogue, which found favor among many refuse haulers. However, the masterstroke came in 1998 when they purchased McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing of Dodge Center, Minnesota. McNeilus hag long produced cement mixers, and had only entered the refuse packer market in 1990 with the Pac-Star rear loader. Under Oshkosh, McNeilus became one of the best-selling refuse bodies in North America. From 2001-2009, Oshkosh also owned Norba (Sweden), making them one of the biggest producers of refuse bodies worldwide. 
Oshkosh A-Series co-collector, one of 22 owned by the City of Durham, North Carolina 
A-series layout, showing optional plastics compactor at front 
The forward-thinking concept failed to garner enough sales, and was cancelled in 1994 
Rare divisional patch worn by Oshkosh employees 
Leach Packmaster body mounted on an Oshkosh AWD chassis for winter snow removal 
Oshkosh took over Ottawa Truck in 1994, and marketed the Rogue series under their own name. This example has a Leach 2R-II body, which was also built at Oshkosh, Wisconsin at that time. SELECTED PATENTS
|
