Spec'ng The Truck For The Job
ED THOMAS
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Common wisdom says the most efficient truck is one that's spec'd exactly to do the intended job. Yet a chassis and body set up in too specialized a fashion becomes an oddball that nobody but its original owner wants. That cripples prospects for resale. Which route -- specialized or generalized -- is better for you?
The longer you plan to keep a truck and body, the more sense it makes to design it just for yourself. Then again, if plans go awry and you have to "dump" the truck, you'd better have something that a second owner can use, and with features and componentry that he'll appreciate.
This is true even for dry van-type truck bodies, which constitute the majority of bodies built for medium-duty trucks, according to builders. Vans may seem a plain-vanilla structure to those who use something else, but in fact can vary greatly for their intended applications. They are often customized, but are also assembled with components that a lot of second users could appreciate.
Marion Body Co., a regional builder in Marion, Wis., tends to make a lot of specialized bodies for niche markets, according to sales representative Jeff Suehring. "We don't build many cookie-cutter bodies," he says. "We tailor the body for the customer's needs." He listed details and features that many customers ask for because they are useful for load securement and delivery.
Furniture stores, for instance, buy vans with rear doors but usually no side doors, because trucks are loaded at docks and unloaded only out of the back. Buyers will want restraints -- either hardwood slats to nail to or E-tracks to which hooks and other devices can be attached. Household goods movers may also want the restraining devices. However, they'd probably also want side doors so they can load and unload off of and onto a curb. If you've ever moved yourself and have rented a truck from Ryder or U-Haul, you also know how important walk-in ramps and lift gates can be.
Neither the mover nor the furniture store would use a forklift, so Marion's standard floor with 1-3/8-inch laminated hardwood and crossmembers on 12-inch centers would be sufficient, Suehring says. If the body will see forklift traffic, then crossmembers will be closer at the rear and the floor would be 1 <+>1/<->2-inch laminated hardwood with scuff plates in certain areas.
Morgan Corp., which operates six plants around the U.S., has a "forklift package" that includes crossmembers on 6-inch centers for the last 4 feet of the body, says Jim Quaglia, manager/sales support at the Morgantown, Pa., headquarters. There'd also be a 24-inch-deep "crush plate" on the floor at the rear, to absorb shock from the hard wheels of lifts as they bang aboard.
Forklift drivers tend to ram the first pallets into the front wall, so Morgan installs a scuff plate made of 24-inch high galvanized steel plate; it's bolted to the front wall and extends in L-fashion onto the floor, where it is screwed down. Side scuff plates can be plywood, apitong hardwood or steel. Many buyers choose translucent plastic roofs, which let in light but also heat up the interior somewhat.
Sides can be aluminum sheet-and-post type or fiberglass-reinforced plastic over plywood, commonly called FRP plywood or just FRP. Aluminum saves weight and is strong enough for most applications, as long as interior scuff plates protect the thin sheeting. Heavier "050" sheeting can be substituted for standard "040" sheeting, though it's usually not necessary Suehring says. But if aluminum is joined with steel, be sure the two are insulated to avoid electrolysis damage.
Pickup & delivery vans can have any number of features, based on what's going to be hauled and how it's handled for example, in carts, individual boxes, or in trays. The various products and methods of packaging may require shelves of various types and ways to get the payload aboard.
If drivers will climb aboard, steps and handles are a good idea; one purveyor of snack foods ordered its Marion vans with a step-down area at the rear of the body, Suehring relates. Those bodies also got a less costly <+>3/<->4- inch pressure-treated plywood floor covered with aluminum diamond-plate sheeting. It looks good and wears well for this application.
Marion is selling more curtainside vans, an innovation from Europe that can be loaded from side or rear, and of course can be unloaded in the same fashion. The metal-framed fabric sides slide fore or aft so the load can be accessed easily, but still cover and protect the cargo. One-side curtainsides are the latest iteration; building supply haulers like this because it combines accessibility with a means of restraining loads. The solid side of the van can have E tracks and other devices to handle ties and braces.
Heavier duty roll-up doors are often chosen by buyers seeking to avoid maintenance expenses. Better doors and stainless steel rear frames, which don't rust and need no painting, are both good investments because second buyers are willing to pay extra for them, says Quaglia at Morgan.
Delivery vans sometimes get both lift gates and walk-in ramps anything to make the driver's job safer, more convenient and less tiring. "The driver uses the truck day in and day out," Suehring says. "I think buyers are coming around to realize that, This is my commodity. 'How is it being delivered, and what can I do to make it easier'" on the driver?
A heavy lift gate affects the truck's cab-to-axle, or CA, dimension and therefore its wheelbase, he points out. To support the gate, the drive axle should be slightly more to the rear than on a chassis without a lift gate. Without the gate, a general rule of thumb is that 65% of the body should be ahead of the rear axle's centerline. For a 24-foot body, the resulting CA would be 186 to 187 inches.
CA dimension is among the many things to consider when ordering the chassis, say Suehring and Quaglia. Another is a frame "clean" of tanks, boxes and other equipment so the body can be quickly and easily joined to the chassis. Some truck builders make it a point to package all such equipment alongside the cab so the frame is clear from the cab's rear all the way back.
Suehring says he's noticed that more imported chassis are going to the North American standard of 34 inches between rails. For the body builder this simplifies design and assembly, and of course installation.
And most chassis makers now include plug-in connectors for body wiring, which avoids any cutting into the chassis harness with resulting bugaboos to any number of electronic functions of the truck. However, there is no standard connector, so body people sometimes have to scramble to acquire special connectors for a job.
Lighting packages from Morgan often include sealed wiring harnesses and light-emitting diode lamps. Sealed wiring reduces failures over the body's life while LEDs use less current and last far longer than traditional incandescent lamps. About 30% of its bodies now have LEDs and the percentage is growing, says Quaglia. LEDs are desirable enough to be stolen, so buyers sometimes spec incandescent tail lights and LED clearance lamps, which are high up and harder to reach.
LED tail lights can also be secured inside sills and other metal housings. Leasing companies seeking to avoid repair expenses now spec tail lamps inside the corner posts. This takes them out from under the body, where lamps and wiring are subject to impacts and snagging. Electrical problems constitute the largest single maintenance expense for leasing companies, so such measures are considered good investments.
Most upgraded components add value without overly specializing the body, Quaglia says. Forklift and lighting packages are examples of specs chosen by leasing companies. Agrees Suehring at Marion, "a leasing company will never sell you a truck that doesn't have good resale, because they have to be concerned with residual value."
Horsepower has little to do with the body, but affects the driver's morale, so Suehring brought it up. "One of my pet peeves is underpowered engines," he says. "I've got a CDL and I've delivered trucks, and sometimes it's just not pleasant to drive one because it barely has enough power to keep up a cruising speed on an upgrade, even while it's empty."
Even an empty van truck encounters considerable wind resistance. "Sure, you have radiused corners, but you still have that big wall up there," he says. "A Nose Cone helps significantly," and so do some other aerodynamic improvers. A truck that drives better makes the driver happier, and he's more likely to take better care of the truck's body.
