WHAT is a work truck without a truck body? There were plenty of new ones at this year's Work Truck Show. Here are some of the latest:
RKI unveiled a series of changes to its line of service bodies and associated components. In the foreground is a toolbox designed for trucks powered by compressed natural gas. The toolbox, installed above the fuel tank, can be customized with a cut-out to access top-mounted fuel fill valves. Also new are the window grille and a redesigned bolt-on bumper for RKI service bodies. www.rki-us.com
TruckCraft launched its new TC-250 aluminum service body. At 640 pounds, the all-aluminum body is light enough to be mounted on single-rear-wheel box-delete pickups. It has a 6061 T6 extruded aluminum floor and compartments and tailgates fabricated from 5052 H32 sheet. Powder-coated doors, brushed aluminum tailgate and bulkhead, and diamond plat cabinet tops are standard — as are LED lights. Options include factory paint match, additional shelves, and extra GM mounting hardware. The body comes with a five-year warranty. www.truckcraft.com
Stahl is targeting the medium duty utility body market with its new MDST body. Available in 110-inch, 134-inch, and 158-inch lengths, the bodies are designed with an overall cleaner look, including concealed hinges and drip rails. Options include bar locks, compressors, compartment lights, crane reinforcements up to 6,000 pounds, drawer packages, high roofs, tank compartments, and tire carriers. www.stahltruckbodies.com
Warner Truck Bodies and Accessories featured service bodies with self-closing doors. Swinging on stainless steel hinges, the doors close once they reach a point near the body. Also included are slide-out shelves and a tailgate that supports 300 pounds without the help of chains, says Charles Brnardic. www.warnerbodies.com
Wilcox introduced an aluminum body for crane applications. A 108-inch Wilcox Model 4000 service body is designed to accommodate a Palfinger 1216 electric crane with a 4,000-pound capacity. Specs include aluminum crane tower, aluminum treadplate sidepack tops and cargo area walls, double-panel doors, and 14-inch aluminum tailgate. www.wilcoxbodies.com
Monroe Custom Utility Bodies, Greenfield IN, has made a series of revisions to its service bodies. Among them: 14-gauge double-edge doors with hidden hinge system. The design increases durability and carries a lifetime warranty on the cylinder assist, says Larry Patterson. www.monroebodies.com
MidBox by CASECO combines the secured storage of a service body with the styling of the OEM pickup box. The door shown here, made of thermoplastic elastomeric polyolefin, is patterned after the contour of the pickup box. It uses the Ford OEM door latch that can be locked with the same key as the ignition switch. www.midbox.com
Maintainer Corp has upgraded its service truck bodies in several areas, particularly at the rear where larger handles are now standard, the rear access step has been improved, and a second rear safety chain hook has been added. The company also displayed a new hydraulic crane that has a 34-ft reach. It has a maximum capacity of 75,000 ft-lb. www.maintainer.com
Knapheide Manufacturing displayed some of the results of its new partnership with Sortimo International. The Quincy, Illinois, service body manufacturer recently invested in Sortimo, a European van interior manufacturer that is now manufacturing product in a plant in Georgia. Sortimo storage can be integrated into Knapheide bodies or on cars, vans, and SUVs. These modular storage packages are part of the Simpleco block system shown here mounted on both the street and curbside walls. Knapheide also displayed a similar package for the Ram C/V van along with the CarMo boxes for organizing the cargo area of crossover utility vehicles. www.knapheide.com
Altec packs a punch inside the rear bumper of this utility truck. The bumper contains essentially an auxiliary power unit. Batteries, charged either by the truck engine or shore power, provide the energy needed to cool the truck cab, operate outriggers, or the aerial device. Altec also manufactures the aluminum service body, reducing the weight by 30% when compared with a similar steel body. www.altec.com
Palfinger's Badger body comes with adjustable bulkhead, 30,000-lb capacity ball hitches, and toolboxes mounted on both sides. Shown here is a 9' 4" body. Lengths ranging from 8 feet to 12 feet are in the works. www.palfinger.com
Morgan Olson now has a van body manufacturing facility near the Sprinter plant in North Charleston, South Carolina. The ship-through operation builds and installs a variety of bodies and then delivers them back to Sprinter plant where they reenter the Mercedes freight system. www.morganolson.com
Henderson Manufacturing is complementing its lineup of dump bodies and spreaders with the acquisition of a brine manufacturing company.
Henderson announced its acquisition of BrineXtreme earlier this year. Clay Hildreth, founder of BrineXtreme, is shown here with Henderson's Marty Ward and Brian Evans. Brine, Hildreth says, reduces salt consumption, but it traditionally is a labor intensive process that can be a challenge to get the proper concentration. The brine maker shown here uses computer controls to monitor the concentration of salt. It produces nine gallons of brine per hour before sending the result to a tank for storage. Multiple blends can be produced by introducing other chemicals such as calcium chloride. Hildreth says the automated system is also self-cleaning, a major source of labor expense. www.henderson-mfg.com
Buyers Products now offers an optional lane control spinner on its stainless steel spreader. Controlled from the cab, the spreader can place material for one, two, or three lanes, says Brian Smith. It is suitable for dry and pre-wet materials and fits all full size SaltDogg municipal spreaders. Shown here, the spreader is mounted on a new spreader stand also available from Buyers Products. The system is designed so the front legs fold under the spreader as the truck backs into it with the dump bed. When the bed is lowered, the telescoping rear legs fold for transport. The process is reversed to unload and store the spreader. Leg stands save labor and eliminate the need for overhead lifting devices. www.buyersproducts.com
Tenco promoted its U-Combo combination dump body and spreader. Available in lengths ranging from 10 to 16 feet, the U-Combo can haul up to 15 cubic yards. It can spread material from the rear or from either the left or right sides at the front. A stainless steel version of the U-Combo will be available this fall. It currently is made of either mild steel or Hardox 450. www.tenco.ca
ARE displayed its LS Work Pro tonneau cover for the Toyota Tacoma short-bed pickup. Longitudinally oriented doors on curb and street sides provide easy access without having to lift the entire tonneau cover. www.4are.com
M H Eby is celebrating its 75th anniversary in part by introducing this deck-over aluminum trailer. Available with GVW ratings of 10,000 and 14,000 pounds, it offers deck lengths of 18 and 20 feet. The 10,000-GVW model is built on a eight-inch channel sills, while the beams of the 14,000-pound model are 10 inches deep. Both models come with Dexter torsion ride suspension, LED lighting, and 8,000-pound top-wind with drop leg. www.mheby.com
