TORONTO, Ont. – The age-old problem of how to clear trailer roofs of snow and ice without risking life and limb appears to have spawned another creative solution.

The Yeti Trailer Snow Removal System was showcased for the first time at Truck World in April. Michael Cyr, director of marketing with Yeti, demonstrated the system to Truck News. It consists of an overhead, triple-auger device with an integrated snow blower. A driver pulls up to the system and then gets out of the cab to ensure the system is lined up with the roof of the trailer. He then drives through slowly, allowing the Yeti to direct snow and ice to the snow blower, which then throws it as much as 30 feet away from the vehicle.

The Yeti features three augers: the first breaks up snow and ice; the second directs the snow to the snow blower; and the third sweeps up any leftover snow and directs it back towards the snow blower.

Cyr explained the addition of the snow blower is what makes the Yeti system unique, and advantageous over existing systems that simply scrape the snow off the trailer roof, dumping it alongside the vehicle.

“It gets the snow out of the way and it gets your trucks on the road,” said Cyr, noting it takes about a minute and a half to run a truck through the system.

So far, about a half dozen units have been placed in service – some with fleets, and others at distribution centres.

They don’t come cheap. But Cyr said the price tag (the MSRP is less than $80,000) is worth the investment when you calculate the cost of snow removal by other methods.

According to Yeti’s calculations, a 60-truck fleet will spend $65,000 per year on snow removal based on 20 snowfalls per winter averaging 10 cm per snowfall.

The system also reduces the chance of incurring fines and injuries to drivers.

When choosing a snow removal system, Cyr said customers should calculate value based on how many tractor-trailers can be run through the system per hour, rather than per minute. Since the Yeti system gets the snow well out of the way, this is where the system demonstrates value, Cyr explained.

If the price tag still seems too steep, Cyr pointed out the company is planning to integrate credit card swiping technology so owners can offer a user-pay system.

For more information on the Yeti, call 877-347-5521.