Rick Hilmer, CAFM, Fleet Manager, Prince George’s County, Md., and His Carcass Truck

It is the middle of summer, in the midst of a heatwave, and in dead center of the road is a very dead deer. It’s a dilemma townships all over North America have to handle.

NAFA Regular Member Rick Hilmer, CAFM, Fleet Manager, Prince George’s County, Md., said, “Probably the most obscure truck that we have was recently replaced and it performs the dirty, unenviable – yet extremely necessary – task of removing dead animals (mostly deer) from public roadways and other areas.”

Although carcasses are retrieved from the main arteries by Public Works using frontloading dump trucks, the Department of the Environment is responsible for the rest of the County which is 500 square miles ranging from dense urban areas to farmland.

“In the past, the assigned crew used a ¾-ton, 4x4 pickup truck with a winch and lift tailgate, and physically manhandled the deer on and off the truck using those tools,” said Hilmer. “During certain seasons, they could retrieve over a dozen per day in this manner. Fleet Management decided there had to be a better way. A commercial-drivers-licensed (CDL) truck was not an option. We performed some research and found a custom truck built by J&J Truck Bodies in Somerset, Pa., that was originally designed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority. We ordered one for our county.”

The truck is a 14,000 lb. gross vehicle weight, non-CDL truck with a stainless-steel dump body, a one-ton crane with a polymer sling with a remote-control head, a dumpthrough lift tailgate, and storage space for a variety of tools and equipment. It allows loading either by the crane or with the tailgate but provides simple unloading through the dumping action. Additionally, it has ample amber safety lighting as well as a variety of work lights for nighttime or inclement weather operations. Hilmer said not only is the truck safe and easy to operate, it is easy to clean which, considering the cargo, is imperative.

“We are proud of the improvements to operator safety and working conditions that this vehicle provides and the Animal Management Division is thrilled to have this unit,” Hilmer concluded. (Pictured above: (L) Rodney Taylor, Animal Management Chief, and (R) Fred McLavin, Animal Control Officer, Prince George’s County, Md.)