A county highway department in Indiana recently purchased a SlideZilla elevated and a lower sliding tray combination for a 6 ½ ft. bed Chevy Pickup truck to be used for traffic data collection. The Transportation department manager was most excited about upgrading from the minivan that has been used in prior years. The rear seats of the minivan were removed and all of the supplies and materials were stored in plastic totes and bins. This required multiple trips back and forth to the garage throughout the day to load or unload. Climbing in and out of the van digging through totes wasn’t very efficient for the installers. After seeing SlideZilla at the ntea Work Truck show in Indianapolis, IN, team members decided to move out of the van and into a full size pick up with SlideZilla installed.

Traffic data collection includes installation of 2 rubber strips across a road connecting to an Automatic Traffic Data Recorder (ATR). The “puff” of air from each vehicle pass captures the speed of the vehicle, the total quantity of passes and additional data.

Each installation takes about 8 minutes to lay the strips, secure the ATR box with chain and pad lock, and tether the strips to the ground with metal stakes.

The removal process takes about 3 minutes to uninstall and store the equipment in the truck. SlideZilla elevated tray is used to store the rubber hoses and the lower sliding tray is for the ATR units, chains, hand tools, metal stakes, and miscellaneous supplies.

SlideZilla has improved the job function and efficiency of this particular county for the installation of traffic counters. Not only has the time required to complete the tasks been reduced, but the County has also gained improved access, greater storage capacity and ease of hauling tools and equipment. The pickup truck bed has been doubled allowing for more time “on the road” and less time “at the garage”.

The sliding mechanism offers ease of loading and unloading for both the rubber hoses and the collection boxes. The lower tray also provides immediate access to hand tools and required supplies to complete the job in a timely manner. According to supervisors and management, installation and removal using the prior vehicle required at least twice the time to access the equipment and supplies. The use of SlideZilla is a considerable time saver for this team, especially with 50 installs scheduled each day.

SlideZilla is rated for a 1,000 lb capacity for both the elevated and the lower sliding trays. With at least a 66% extension, the sliding mechanism allows greater access to items stored in the truck bed. SlideZilla can be used in conjunction with a truck cap and fits most full size pick-up trucks.
Other municipal departments have found SlideZilla to be an ideal storage solution to provide work site efficiency and greater storage capacity. Buildings and Grounds departments have utilized SlideZilla to haul flowers, trees, and plants on the elevated slide along with shovels, rakes and other tools on the lower slide. This allows for a better organized truck bed and offers greater access to the bed area. A lower sliding tray with turn out gear, hydraulic tools and rescue equipment will help a fire department quickly prepare to respond in emergency situations. SlideZilla mounted above the wheel well is ideal for an ATV or quad used by a Parks Department. The optional ramps allow an ATV to be driven onto SlideZilla and will provide at least 14″ of storage space below for other equipment and gear.

Municipalities will find greater efficiency and increased capacity with the monstrous storage of SlideZilla.