Eganville – The clutch on the brand new Bonnechere Valley 2024 plow truck went after 6,200 kilometres, with the township having put on only 3,000 of those kilometres, much to the chagrin of the works crew and mayor.

“A bit disconcerting,” Mayor Jennifer Murphy said during a committee meeting of council last Tuesday. “And I don’t want to slag on the manufacturer, but you know, we call certain vehicles lemons for a reason and that is very worrisome.”

Works Superintendent Jason Zohr said there were rumours going around about the truck and he wanted to address them. He said the clutch did go out and it was in the shop for a time to get replaced.

“It was a manufacturer defect, so it was all under warranty,” he said. “So, when we got the truck, there was a little over 3,200 kilometres on it.”

Councillor John Epps asked how long the vehicle was out of service. He was told it was four days.

Mayor Murphy asked how long the warranty was for. Mr. Zohr said he would supply her with the warranty details.

“That is very concerning,” she said.

With driving a standard and many different drivers, the clutch will not last as long as if there was one driver, she pointed out.

“But not after 6,000 kilometres – sorry, not after 3,000 kilometres – that is not driver error,” she said.

Mr. Zohr said when he went to see the repair, the entire clutch was torn apart, and the clutch was in pieces.

“It could be a defective clutch,” Councillor Merv Buckwald said.

Mr. Zohr said they replaced the clutch, flywheel and put in new bearings.

Councillor Brent Patrick asked if the previous plow truck had been sold as surplus already and if they had been down a truck for this time. Mr. Zohr said it was kept as a spare, so it was used when the other truck was not available.

“So, you were not even down a truck,” the councillor pointed out.

Mr. Zohr said it had worked out well having the spare truck.

“The truck that does the town has had some issues so it has been working pretty much,” he said.

Mayor Murphy applauded him for the foresight in having the equipment available as a spare when needed.
“That we don’t surplus it because of something like this, that should never have happened,” she said.