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300,000 Miles

Kurt Haakinson, MRWA Technical Advisor

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Happy Holidays to all the operations specialists in Minnesota. I hope you are all healthy and making it
though 2020 in good spirits.

This fall my MRWA truck turned over 300,000 miles while I was driving home from Barnum. It got me
thinking of what this truck has been through since it was purchased on October 20, 2011. The truck
was originally used as a Wastewater truck, drove by Tim Hagemeier until 2017. Tim took very good
care of it. (Honestly, it was like brand new!) He racked up 173,072 miles during its first adventure in
southern Minnesota. I started in September of 2017 and drove the truck home on my first day. Since
then it has seen almost every corner of Minnesota and is still going strong.

This truck has been exceptionally reliable. Besides regular maintenance, the usual oil change every
3,000 – 5,000 miles (there have been more than 60 of them), there has not been any major malfunction
mechanically. There have been some minor coolant leaks and throttle body issues, but nothing out of
the ordinary. This workhorse is on its fourth set of tires. I recommend Hankook for a great highway
tire; this last set had over 70,000 miles on them. Tires also get rotated at every oil change. I can’t
even imagine how much gas has been put into the tank. Minor chips and cracks in the windshield
are a common occurrence when traveling and since 2011 there have been four new ones installed.
There have also been three sets of brakes put on, and a suspension upgrade for the rear end was also
installed to handle all of the weight from the tools we carry and to aid pulling the emergency response
trailer. Fortunately, the only animal that has been hit is a pheasant in March of 2018. I cannot tell you
how many close calls I have had with deer or other animals that would probably do more damage
than just wreck the grill. I’m sure it is only a matter of time until I hit a deer. The coldest my truck
thermometer has registered is -42°, and on those mornings the driver’s seat is as hard as a rock. The
warmest was 100°, and yes the heat and air conditioner work.

Day in and day out there are up to 17 MRWA vehicles on the road. In 2019, these vehicles totaled
388,338 miles. These vehicles get put through all that Minnesota weather has to offer. It amazes me
that they keep going, rain or shine or snow, in temperatures that vary 150 degrees. Every day we hop
into our work vehicles and expect them to operate like they are supposed to. With as many miles as we
put on every year, it is proof that regular maintenance goes a long way. To many of us these vehicles
are more than just our work trucks; this is my mobile office, my second home. I carry everything that
I can possibly fit into my truck from my computer, leak detection equipment, hydrant repair tools,
locating equipment, miscellaneous tools, clothes (good ones for meetings and not so good ones for
hydrants), and just about everything else all of you have in your work trucks. I get a lot of so-called
“windshield time”, but thankfully most of that time is taken up with phone calls to many of you!
I am still driving this pickup and so far it has never left me stranded. I plan to keep driving it until
something major happens. My boss joked about making it to 400,000 miles and I hope it does!

16 MRWA TODAY S WINTER 2021