The Smooth and Beautiful Caseco Body

This is a side angle shot of a very smooth looking body that looks like it belongs in a showroom to look at but doesn't have to do any real work. . .


And here it is. . . the Caseco MM360/MM370 Crane Body built for medium duty trucks and 10,000 lb cranes like this Stellar 10620 with a 21' reach. It takes a seriously heavy duty body to handle the stresses of a crane this size and to have one as smooth as this is a feat of perfection!

Caseco has internal hinges that allow them to have flush mounted doors and the quality should be obvious.

And here is that same truck just a couple feet further away in the same position. Who would have guessed?

Even when you get right up close, it is still a seriously heavy duty work rig. . . but in a tuxedo!

Rock on Caseco!

Contact Caseco in Claremore, Oklahoma at 918-283-2999 and visit their website to see a huge selection of crane truck bodies at www.caseco.us.

9' Superstructure On F450 Super Cab by Scelzi

Here's another job that Scelzi Enterprises did for Suburban Propane. This is a 9' Superstructure and is great to be able to stand up inside and keep things out of the weather. It is mounted on a Ford E450 Super Cab chassis with 16,000 GVWR, giving it great cargo capacity.

To learn more about what Scelzi has to offer, give Scelzi a call at 800-858-2883 and visit their website at www.seinc.com.

F550 Propane Body by Scelzi Enterprises

This is a Propane Body built for Suburban Propane by Scelzi Enterprises of Fresno, CA. It is equipped with an HIAB 055 D3 CLX Loader Crane (knuckle boom style behind the cab) with a capacity of approximately 10,500 lbs. (36,180 ft lbs) The body is mounted on a Ford F550 with 19,000 GVWR. This is a perfect combination for lifting and transporting large propane tanks.

For more information on this body and the wide range of products Scelzi supplies, contact Scelzi at 800-858-2883 and visit their new website at www.seinc.com

Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Could Cause Seriousness!

Danger! Danger! Could Cause Serious Injury or Death! Read these instructions prior to assembly.

Please check the box, "I have read and understand the implications of my ignoring of the hazardous situation that I am involved in when I operate machinery, especially machinery that I have not had any experience with and that in the event of probably misfortune of serious injury or death, no one who made this equipment or the signs or the distributor or the installer or the lot boy or anyone else that was not you. Heretofore I accept all responsibility for my own actions and inaction's and thought of actions or inaction's of any attempts to operate this machinery that nameless parties manufactured without my knowledge or expertise. I agree to hold the parties who are purported to be the manufacturers and all their associated parties such as distributors and dealers and upfitters and mechanics and all other personnel that may have been involved in this production blameless and faultless of anything and everything that ever was or ever will be as a result of my use of this thing."

Really. This is an entirely too serious world. Like someone would actually read all these signs. Like it makes a difference. Very funny stuff.

Aluminum Drawer Sets From Pro-Tech Industries

Here is a custom drawer module available from Pro-Tech Industries of Vancouver, WA and LaVergne, TN. This unit can be installed in your tool box, service body or anywhwer else you would like and has heavy duty aluminum construction for years of trouble free use.

Some of the features of these great drawers:

• 300 lb lock in/out slides
• Tray dividers on 3" centers
• Full width drawer release bar
• Open from anyplace on drawer
• One hand easy operation: Just lift up.
• Aluminum construction = no rust
• Lighter than steel
• Customer built to fit your needs
• Easy six bolt installation
• 1-year limited warranty

All this an with the quality of Pro-Tech Industries. Contact Pro-Tech at 866-454-5800 and visit their website at www.protech.net

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for reading!

Taller Tailgate Is An Inexpesive Option

Many manufacturers offer taller tailgates than the standard. You don't see them very often, but I think if more prospects knew of it as an option, there would be more to see.

This is an example of a 19" optional tailgate on a body built by Harbor Truck Bodies in Brea, CA. There are some shots here of it closed and laying down. This particular body happens to have a raised cargo bed enclosure as well as a horizontal series on the curbside. Of course, Harbor is famous for their standard Stainless Steel lids.

Contact Harbor Truck Bodies at 800-433-9452 and visit their website at www.htbi.net.

What Do People Carry In Service Bodies?

I'm sure there are some who want to know, 'what do people carry in service bodies?'

Here we have a couple of excellent examples caught in the middle of working a job. The bottom photo of the back of the bed area shows that many people put stuff in there. All kinds of stuff. Looks like there is an excellent variety of stuff in this shot--buckets, parts, wires, boxes--you know--stuff.

The top photo shows an excellent example of what goes inside the 'closets' on the side. That would be tool boxes, power tools, extension cords, covers, more tools and parts, plus all the small parts that go in the open top lid compartments. Up top, we have ladders, and in the back, vises and much more.

My thanks to Karuza Plumbing of the Santa Rosa, CA area for letting me take some shots of their secret stuff. Karuza buys their GMC service bodies from Silveira GMC in Healdsburg, CA. They say that they are very well cared for there.

Need some plumbing work, residential or commercial in Northern California? Call Karuza Plumbing at 707-524-2400.

Thanks again, guys.

Sweet Custom Body by The Fab Shop in Edgewood, WA

This is an interesting Harbor service body by The Fab Shop in Edgewood, Washington. It was a custom order for their customer who does house remodels and a lot of custom cabinets.

The body is described by Eric Bakke of the Fab Shop: The truck body was designed around hauling lumber and carpentry tools, such as a table saw, chop saw, ladder and lots of bins for nails and various items. The overhead ladder rack was designed around lumber sizes. The huge front transverse compartment has a slide out tray that will accept 8' sheets of plywood for dry storage, or cabinets. The rear was left open for appliance or scrap hauling to and from the job. An electric cover was added to utilize this space in the winter months.

I have to say that this is one of the most interesting bodies I've seen. What a huge front transverse compartment! Looks like you could stand up and walk right through there. Notice also the E-track in the back. Of course it is mounted on a Mitsubishi Fuso. I didn't get the length of this, but it looks like a 14' body on a 120" CA. Those tall huge volume cabinets are awesome. Then, Eric says it has an electric cover for the bed area. That is interesting.

Thanks, Eric of The Fab Shop and Kimberly of Harbor for the photos and information. This is a great piece to show off.

Contact The Fab Shop at 253-568-9124 and visit their website at www.thefabshop.com.

Sleek Chipper Body On Isuzu Chassis by UTB

This is probably the sleekest looking chipper body I've seen and I love the fact that it is mounted on an Isuzu chassis. What a great combination of capacity and maneuverability. This unit is produced by United Truck Bodies of Phoenix, Arizona.

This unit is part of a lineup of what UTB calls their Proscaper Dump. Here are some standard features:

• 10 guage steel construction
• 48" solid sides
• Continuous welds from the floor to sides
• 6" Structural channel longsills
• 3" Structural channel crossmembers
• Rear skirt with recessed lights
• Full depth front and rear corner posts
• No rear cross bar to hinder loading and unloading
• Unmatched 5-year warranty

They also offer a wide range of options such as manual and electric tarp systems, special lighting, underbed boxes, and much more.

Contact United Truck Bodies at 602-258-4223 or 800-367-8821 and visit their website at www.unitedtruckbodies.com.

Nice SuperStructure From United Truck Bodies

Here is a swift workhorse from United Truck Bodies in Phoenix, Arizona. This beauty is loaded!

This is an 11' Superstructure service body with closed top lids and a master locking system. It has some unique cabinets above the service body at the front of the body on both sides. The streetside also has a long box mounted to the top of the service body for long items and a small box mounted to the bumper. There is also a conduit box on top of the body and a drop down ladder rack of the other side. Also on the streetside, the front compartment has a complete set of HD drawers. They look like American Eagle drawers. Then there is a vise bracket, exterior lighting, and much, much more.

Contact United Truck Bodies at 800-367-8821 or 602-258-4223. You can visit their website at www.unitedtruckbodies.com.

Masterack Drop Down Ladder Rack

The Masterack Slide-Down (TM) Ladder Rack easily lowers ladders "within arms reach (TM)"

• Easy-to-use actuator handle pivots the ladder to the side of the van for safe, efficient operation.
• Zinc plated and powder coated for maximum outdor protection.
• All ladder contact areas are protected with vinyl covered stops and anti-skid strips.
• Includes padlock feature for security.
• Adjustable to fit different extension ladders up to 32 ft.

The original Masterack Ladder Rack has been the industry standard for over 30 years. Fits all full size vans, cargo minivans and steel pickup caps. Masterack is also the maker of the Powerrack (TM) which is exclusive to Masterack and uses a motor to lover ladders from the roof at the touch of a button.

Contact Masterack at 800-334-4183, and visit their website at www.masterack.com.

Very Nice Set Of Closets On This Truck From Harbor

Think of a service body like a bunch of closets. If that is the case, this is a huge walk-in closet the size of a large master suite. Just think of all the stuff we can put into this set of closets. Good thing we have a heavy duty chassis to set it on!

This is a Harbor 11' x 56" high service body with an optional 18" rear platform, and a 3-pc cargo bed enclosure with barn style rear doors. It is also equipped with the master lock system. Is this nice, or what? I love the rear 18" work platform. Just enough room to help make this rig more useful. Notice also the verticle doors over the rear wheels where there is normally a horizontal style door. The vertical compartment is huge in comparison to the standard horizontal compartment.

You can contact Harbor Truck Bodies at 800-433-9452. They also have a distributor network throughout the Western United States. Get more information at their website including a list of dealers and distributors. Go to www.htbi.net.

Lovely Green Service Body At Wittmeier Ford

Isn't this just the lovliest color of green you ever saw? Must be forestry service green. . .

This is the Knapheide 8' closed top series 700R service body with a horizontal series on the streetside and a vertical series of compartments on the curbside. This is a no charge option and it can be done in reverse if you like. The great thing about this is how useful that long horizontal compartment can be for certain tools and those other things that are just too long for the regular compartment. The closed top allows various items to be mounted on top of the boxes permanently or temporarily--or not.

This body is mounted on a super cab 4x4 Ford chassis. These shots were taken at Wittmeier Ford in Chico, CA. You can contact Gary Mitchell, Fleet/Commercial Manager on his direct line at 530-624-8641 and visit their website at www.wittmeier.com/fleet.html.

Knapheide KUVcc at Newberg Ford Revisited

I am revisiting this great body because I like it a lot and was just looking at it again. These photos were taken October 2008 at Newberg Ford in Newberg. I just had to take them.

This is a Knapheide KUV body, but it is more unique in the options and the fact the commercial manager Dale Sykes was bold enough to have it on his lot. Bravo! Love this truck!

This is a KUVcc designed to be mounted on conventional cab chassis rather than cutaway chassis which this kind of unit is far more common on. What else makes is unique is that it is the taller model so you can stand up in it, there is a rack on top with a conduit tube, and work lighting. If you look in the back, you see the spare tire which is bolted to the transverse compartment so the curbside front compartment goes all the way through to the other side of the body and offers long drawers. Another unique feature is the dual compartment doors above the service body section which access an inside shelf and can be compartmentalized for many uses.

Talk about access. Look at all the doors and access points on this beauty. The two little doors in the back access one of the two interior body length shelves allowing longer pipes to be carried or to access items on that shelf for removal. This is a 9' unit mounted on a Ford F350 with 60" CA and single rear wheels and it also has a low entry height.

All of this adds up to one sweet combination of features. For more information, contact Dale Sykes at Newberg Ford at 800-683-1616 and visit their website at www.newbergford.com. You can also visit Knapheide's website at www.knapheide.com.

Sweet Combo Of Tilt Cab and Knapheide KUV

This is just about as sweet a combination of truck chassis and body as one might find. This is a tilt cab chassis (this one happens to be a Ford LCF, but Isuzu, UD, Mitsubishi will do just as well), and a Knapheide KUVcc plumber style body. This one is a 12' unit, but I think the 14' is awfully special on this chassis. The 14' unit would be going on the wheelbase of approximately 132" which is slightly shorter than a typical 8' pickup truck and will have a better turning radius than an 8' pickup truck, AND will have a 14' body to carry pretty much whatever you want! How cool is that?

The 12' model is typically on a wheelbase of about 110" and it is so short in comparison that it will turn a circle INSIDE the turning circle of an 8' pickup truck. Now that is maneuverability! And, again, the best part is that you have a 12' body to stand up inside and to carry whatever you want.

Add the Knapheide double sided drop down roof ladder rack and your dreams are complete. Call Knapheide at 217-223-1848 or contact your local Knapheide distributor. You can visit Knapheide's website at www.knapheide.com.

This photo is courtesy of the authorized Knapheide distributor, H & H Sales Company in Huntertown, Indiana. Contact them at 260-637-3177 and visit their website at www.hhsalescompany.com.