LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen on Thursday voted to purchase two new plow trucks, after voters Tuesday authorized financing them for three years for up to $229,000.

By a 3-1 vote, with Ron Chadwick opposing, the board voted to buy a 2016 Western Star wheeler and plow gear for $152,490. The wheeler from O’Connor GMC in Augusta is $88,039; the plow gear from Viking-Cives of Lewiston is $64,451.

Road foreman Bill Nichols recommended the Western Star, even though the town has had good luck with Freightliner trucks in the past.

“The only thing is, they’ve got different manufacturing plants,” he said. “The Western Star is getting out a lot quicker than the Freightliner.”

Chadwick asked about the differences in parts between the two trucks. Nichols said that 90 percent of them are the same.

The truck comes with a one-year basic warranty and a three-year warranty on the motor. The engine is a Detroit Diesel 12.8-liter.

The town’s 2002 F550 one-ton truck has a major rust problem, said Nichols, which is why the department desperately needs a new one. Even though it only has 98,000 miles on it, this is equivalent to 175,000 miles on a car because the plowing puts so much wear and tear on the truck, he said.

Nichols suggested putting the 2002 apparatus out to bid this fall. Selectmen voted to purchase a 2016 Ford F550 with plow gear at a total cost of $60,074.

Time is of the essence, emphasized Nichols, if the town is to receive its trucks before winter. Hence, the special selectmen’s meeting that was held on Thursday.

“My whole idea of ordering it is a lot of towns are voting this week,” he said. “Everything is first come, first served.”

The F550’s plow gear comes from H.P. Fairfield in Skowhegan for $16,244, while the truck is from Rowe Ford in Farmington for $43,830. Nichols said the town road crew would put on the plow gear, except for welding the hinges on the plow frame, which will be done at Howie’s Welding.

“The biggest reason why we’re thinking about doing it in-house is time,” Nichols said. “You take it to these manufacturers and that 550, when it gets delivered, it’s going to be sitting up there for two to three months before we see it.”

He said it would take three to four weeks once the truck was received to set up the plow gear and have the truck in service. It will also save the town up to $7,000, Nichols said.

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