City of Scottsdale Arizona, Solid Waste Management Division
Refuse Collection Vehicles
By Eric Voytko
GODZILLA
Scottsdale, Arizona adopted the train system of refuse collection in 1964, adopting the Lodal Daytona Flyer residential collection system. Several wheeled containers were hitched to a light truck and towed along the collection route and loaded by "Refuse Wranglers", as the city called its collection personnel. When filled, the containers were unhitched and emptied by a front loader, then returned to service. This system minimized lost time by collection crews traveling to and from the dumpsite, and had the added benefit of being compatible with existing commercial container routes. Savings of $125,000.00 over tradional collection methods were estimated over a three year period.
In a roundabout fashion, what would be the world's first automated residential refuse loader came from the Scottsdale Refuse Wranglers in the form of a well-worn 1964 International Harvester with a Lodal Load-a-Matic front load body. This truck, which was already retired from the Wranglers by 1969, was to undergo a radical transformation, enabling it to empty 80 and 300-gallon trash barrels without the driver leaving the cab. The arm was designed by Marc Stragier, and was built and fitted to the Lodal lifting frame by mechanic Chuck Kalinowski. The awesome looking result was nicknamed "Godzilla", after the famous monster of science fiction films.
Godzilla first went on the job in June 1969. As can be seen from the picture above, a sub-frame slides outward laterally about six feet to engage the can, allowing the claw to grasp it.
Next, with the can held in the place by the claw, the sub-frame is retracted to its starting point, aligned with the front of the truck.
Once the can was firmly in the grasp of Godzilla, the Lodal lift arms hoisted and dumped the can in the conventional manner of a commercial front loader. Total dump time was approximately 30 seconds. After an evaluation period of six months, Godzilla proved to be quite effective with 300 gallon bins collected from alleys, but was inefficient when servicing 80-gallon cans from residences, due to obstructions such as parked cars.
With Godzilla and subsequent experimental equipment developed by the Scottsdale, there was no repair manual, and no factory service department to call if trouble arose...and trouble there was. One of the most notable incidents involved a common hydraulic problem that was exacerbated by the design of the early front loaders, whose arms passed by the doors of the truck cab during their normal lift cycle. One of Godzilla's hydraulic hoses ruptured while the lift arms were raised, trapping driver Ray Guebara in the cab. The leaking oil, inginted by the vehicle exhaust system then set the cab on fire! Guebara escaped serious injury only by climbing out the window.
SON OF GODZILLA
Having proved the feasibility of automated collection with Godzilla, the City took delivery of a brand new, more efficient machine aptly named "The Son of Godzilla". Designed by George Morrison and built by Western Body & Hoist of Los Angeles to the city's specifications. The "Son" featured a telescopic lifting arm mounted to the front of a slightly modified Western Jet front loader. The Jet was a unique machine, consisting of a Full-Pak front loader body mated with a special short-wheelbase Diamond Reo CF-5542 one-man cab & chassis.
Truck #254 was delivered in August 1970, and is shown above grasping an 80 gallon can with its 12-foot arm. As with Godzilla, the new Barrel Snatcher proved to be more capable in the alleys than on the main roads. Despite being a factory-built vehicle, it was no less troublesome initially than the patchwork Godzilla had been. The latter had to be kept in service while some serious failures with Son of Godzilla were rectified. Additionally, a "barrel dumper" was grafted on to Scottsdale's lone Leach Packmaster rear loader to keep collection going when the experimental trucks were out of service.
To make matters worse for Scottsdale's experimental program, Western Body & Hoist was sold to Maxon Industries in 1970. Although they agreed to honor The City's contracts with Western, the new owners showed little interest in any future involvement with automated loaders. Serious design issues with the Barrel Snatcher would have to solved by the City mechanics who, among other modifications, adapted a helicopter-style "joystick" control to operate the arm which greatly simplified the operators job, and has become an industry standard today.
Handling this 300 gallon barrel was not as easy as it may seem. The original control handle, shown at right, was replaced with a helicopter-type joysick, custom-fabricated by city mechanics.
Scottsdale promoted the new automated service with "Son of Godzilla" banners affixed to the new truck
The Barrel Snatcher was featured in a 1971 Western/Maxon advertisement, but only the City of Scottsdale is known to have actually used them. Maxon continued to supply the Full-Pak body to Scottsdale, but never capitalized on the Barrel Snatcher system.
Further development of the lift arm was the work of City mechanics.
Grabbing a 300-gallon alley container
Scottsdale's fleet of Barrel Snatchers circa 1975. Trucks 268 and 2405 (in foreground) are mid-engined versions
LITTER PIG, TRASH HOG and EXPERIMENTAL
Truck #258, known as The "Litter Pig" arrived in September 1971, combining a custom-made side loading "backhoe" style arm with a modified Western Shu-Pak side loader. It was designed to overcome some of the problems encountered around obstacles during street collection. Again fraught with control and breakage problems, the backhoe-type arm was eventually discarded in favor of a side-mounted version of the telescopic Barrel Snatcher arm. With this modification, the efficiency in collecting 80-gallon cans had finally been achieved. This particular truck is notable as having been equipped with an ejector panel, a feature not advertised as being available on the standard Shu-Pak. The ejection panel would be needed because Scottsdale initially planned to use a transfer trailer system, whereby the Litter Pigs would disgorge their contents, end-to-end, directly into a titanic 55-foot Western trailer dubbed the "Trash Hog". The transfer system was never satisfactory, and was abandoned, making the ejection-dumping Litter Pig likely a one-of-a-kind Shu-Pak body. However, more copies of the Barrel Snatcher setup were added to other tilt-dump Shu-Pak side loaders.
Litter Pig SL and Trash Hog transfer trailer. Roll-up type doors were used on truck and trailer, designed to be opened
after both pieces of equipment had been coupled. This transfer system proved unsatisfactory and was abandoned
Litter Pig with successful "Barrel Snatcher" type arm could grab 55-gallon drums or 300-gallon cans equally well. This was probably the only
Western Shu-Pak ever equipped with ejector discharge, which was ordered by the City to facilitate transfer to the ill-fated Trash Hog trailer
EXPERIMENTAL COMMERCIAL SIDE LOADERS
Truck 268, before the 1973 crash, in its original commercial ASL configuration
Truck #268 was a project begun in 1972 for the purpose of servicing commercial containers in alleways. Designer Marc Stragier had applied for another federal grant to develop a side loading commercial refuse truck, and this was the result of many long hours of design and construction. It featured a hand-built chassis and loader with a Maxon/Western packer body of the type used for a front loader. The original incarnation had a front hopper and a side-mounted fork lift for coupling to steel containers. Refuse loaded in the hopper was pushed by a small packer plate through an opening that was cut into the existing packer blade of the Maxon/Western body. Though a novel idea, the finished product was notoriously difficult to drive, due to the heavy weight hanging so far forward of the steering axle. Problems were encountered with the packing system as well. This experimental design never saw regular service. In late 1973, it was driven to Denver for exhibition at the annual American Public Works Association trade show, but suffered a blown front tire on the return trip and was damaged in the ensuing crash.
Truck 268, after the crash, with Stagier's revolutionary Rapid Rail lift for 80/300 gallon round cans
Following the 1973 crash, the side-container loader concept was abandoned and the truck was fitted with Stragier's latest creation, the "Rapid Rail" lift and grabber for use with the Scottsdale's existing 80 and 300 gallon plastic cans. This innovative device featured a set of parallel rails which supported the grabber carriage. Power was supplied by a hydro motor via roller chain. The top ends of the rails curved 180 degrees to invert the carriage and empty the contents of the container. Providing the bugs in the packer system could be straightened out, it was intended that 268 would go into service on City routes.
Commercially-built Western Jet FL (left) parked next to EXP truck 268
The problems with the packer on truck 268 were never resolved, and it was eventually reconfigured into a "Godzilla" loader, with the telescopic arm similar to those already in use by Scottsdale at the time. The Rapid Rail lift was tried on a more conventional Shu-Pak side loader, but despite modifications had difficulty with the 300-gallon cans and was also abandoned, albeit temporarily. In time, the Rapid Rail lift would go into regular production as a commercially-available accessory when automated technology began to gain wider acceptance in the United States during the mid-to-late 1970s.
By that time, after paving the way for an industry, Scottsdale was finally able to purchase automated loading equipment for their trucks, from manufacturers such as EMCO and Government Innovators (The latter being Marc Stragier's own firm, which would later be known simply as Rapid Rail). The experimentation of the city had at last spawned a fledgling industry in automated refuse equipment. The rest, of course, is history, as automated systems have spread throughout the United States and the world. The typical Automated Side Loader (ASL) commonly seen on the streets today is the direct result of a revolution in refuse collection technology. This revolution can be traced directly to Marc Stragier, who is widely acknowledged as the "Father of Automation", and the visionary men of Scottsdale's Refuse Division.
Marc Stragier and two Scottsdale mechanics with experimental truck 268
Classic Refuse Trucks sincerely thanks James Livingston and Rick Pence of the Solid Waste Management Division, City of Scottsdale, for sharing information and photos used in this article.For much more on this story, Rick has written a book Revolutionizing an Industry: The Story of Mechanized Residential Refuse Collection in the City of Scottsdale Arizona. Those interested may obtain a free single copy of this book upon request, while supplies last. To obtain a copy, send your name and address to Rick Pence or James Livingston. Postage may apply if shipped outside the U.S.
VIDEO: SCOTTSDALE SOLID WASTE HISTORY
See the trucks featured on this page in action in these video presentations:
REFERENCES
Revolutionizing an Industry: The Story of Mechanized Residential Refuse Collection in the City of Scottsdale Arizona
By Rick Pence
