In My work, utility construction we use a mix of pick ups and dump trucks. The way things work is the pick ups carry's the tools and some parts to be installed, while the dump trucks carrys larger parts and or rock or gravel. Anyways i have been using jobsite boxes, so that the pick up doesn't become filled with side mount toolboxes and or front mount, cutting the bed size to almost nothing. Job site boxes are just too big, and tool deep. I have looked into utility bodys, and have one mounted on a 2wd truck. The problem is they are expensive, and take away the pickup look appearance. My pick ups are all issued as company trucks to my senior and better employees. Anyways Next year 2 or 3 of my pick ups will be do for replacement. Also note pick ups are used for residental plowing, because many are outfitted with pull plows. Pull plows work best on pick ups i would think, with the best visablity. Anyways i have found my solution. The Royal truck body, it looks like a pick up body with built in tool boxes. It looks just like a regular ford pick up body. This royal truck body will be my solution to pick up truck replacement next year. This way i can have a pick up with tool storage, mount a pull plow on it, and have a good company truck. I don't think a pull plow would even work on a utlity body. Check out this body at: http://www.royaltruckbody.com/index.html Geoff
hello, see a lot of those bodys around my area, and yes, they are very nice. I don't think the body cause any loss, or nearly any loss, of payload at all. They really do look almost like a pickup at first glance, until you get up close. Can't even see the handles/doors on the side untill you get closer to take a look. my only problem is that they are a little smaller. basic tools, like hammers, wrenches, and some supplies fit fine, but any thing larger, like larger power tools, gas powered saws, etc. is a tight fit. Definintly better than a job box though. Will work good as a mechanics truck, in fact, a friend I did work for bought his mechanic one for driving around in and fixing equip on sites with. He had everything he need almost and still had the whole truck empty in the bed. Also, if you are into lettering your truck, it works out great because you can letter/decal the entire side and the tailgate just as you would a pickup. By, the way, have you seen the new stahl body's yet. I believe they have a dump body now with the same kind of set up, smooth sides with storage in them (not sure how well that would be when dumping though) and a smooth 'pickup' like tailgate. think it will work good for you. steveair. [Edited by steveair on 08-11-2000 at 03:31 AM]
Body Boxes Around here, I have been seeing many "mason dumps" like Dino's, with the tool box between the dump body and the cab. It seems like a good set up. Like Steve says, not sure what happens to your tools when you raise the body with other designs. Dino's is not attached to the dump body. Seems like an even better deal. I have see the "pick up" style utility bodies around here for about a year now, but only on Fords... I wonder why? ~Chuck
Util Bodies Have any of you guys ever used or seen those bodies that unload right off the truck and you can have several different types for 1 truck. A friend of mine who is in roofing and small construction has this setup on a superduty and he swears by it. He bought the one initail setup with a flatbad body and built the sides up on it like a dumpster. He then showed it to a welder and had 5 more fabricated. He also kept one with lower sides to use for rock gravel, and hauling his bobcat. I think this year he was building one dedicated for a leaf vacuum and wood chipper box. Its pretty neat in the fact that it dumps and that you can drop it flat on the ground too. So you just drop it on the ground, drive your bobcat on top of it, and sling it back up. It looks great to me! I know this is not what your looking for, but I figured while we were on the subject I'd throw it in here. STEVE AND CHUCK - The dumps with utility side bodies I've seen, the dump bed itself is actually in between the utility body where the floor would be. Its like 2 seperate units. You loose a lot of space inside the bed, but if thats not important, it looks okay. CHUCK - You've seen work bodies on Fords more, because FORD is the only name in work trucks!!
guido, Swaploader is one manufacturer. The city I work in had bought a Ford 8000 with this setup, they have a dumpster roll off, a dump body, a garbage packer among others. Seems like a nice setup if you dont have use for a dedicated truck for just one body, though I can see it getting expensive. Also, they only use the garbage packer for fall leaf pickup since it has such a high center of gravity, and the other attachments are only used for the 1/4 mile trip from the landfill to the transfer station.
