The Aerocell SRW from Unicell

This is the Aerocell SRW from Unicell Body Company. This baby was quite a sight as we cruised the NTEA Work Truck Show. The hatchback rear opening was a real eye-catcher. Of course, Ryan and I had to try opening it and closing it a few times. It is really quite easy and smooth. But, look at the opening!! Yeah man! 435 cubic feet of storage! It is also available with swing-out 180 degree doors for you traditionalists.

It is cool to look at the outside of the super smooth, glossy body which is absolutely perfect for graphics with no seams, rivets, caulking, etc. The integral roof fairing and flowing body contours offer fuel-saving aerodynamics and visual appeal. (You could tell that last line came from their literature, right? Who talks that way? I know, I know, brochures do.)

This is a product I would put on my lot. It is new and different and interesting. It has a host of features that can benefit a large number of customers. It is great looking and fully functional. It is a great improvement on the single rear wheel cargo van or cutaway van body.

Unicell Body Company is located in Buffalo, New York. They are an approved bailment pool company for Ford, GM and Isuzu. You will find their website at www.unicell.com very informative and helpful. You can reach them at 800-628-8914.

A Beauty of a Combo Body!

Kimberly Bellamy from Harbor Truck Bodies just sent me these wonderful shots of a screaming Combo body on a decked out Chevy 4500 Crew Cab they built for Lake Chevrolet in Lake Elsinore CA. Compartments are 56" high to store just about anything you might want with lots of shelves, space for drawers. Notice the vertical compartments over the rear wheel rather than horizontal compartment.

The top photo shows the cargo bed enclosure with barn doors. It is rare enough to see a cargo bed enclosure on a Combo body, but it seems to look perfect. Great storage away from prying eyes and certainly excellent access with the 3-piece top opening sliding on Teflon slides.

Then there is the great work area on the back with that 36" platform making this body a 12' unit. This has the fold-down 10" gates to make the work area more useful and not forget the gates at the job site. To round it up, there is the HD Forklift Rack with 3 over body removable supports along with the swing-away rear and headboard support to carry the heavy loads. Expanded metal in the front section of the rack helps protect the cab.

Sweet truck. Thanks Kimberly! Keep them coming!

Western Mule Cranes - A Great Many Solutions!

We stopped by the Western Mule Crane display early in the first day of the show and talked for some time with the President, Vernon Dettman. He had two great displays and one of them was a new truck he just picked up from Scelzi just in time for the show. It is a sweet red short box, low pro body. Great job Scelzi!

What a great display truck. This truck has 5 cranes including their long-famous bumper crane and their newest addition on the right rear: The P2250. So new, it's not even on their website yet. Notice the last photo and how nicely the outriggers can be used when needed and completely invisible once the door is shut.

Western Mule Crane is well known for their wide variety of very effective small, lightweight cranes. Give them a call at 800-288-6853 and do check out their website at www.westernmule.com.

One Sweet Ford Transit Connect

At the NTEA Work Truck Show, we saw a number of Ford Transit Connect vehicles. None compared to this sweet piece. I can hardly think of a more perfect use for a Transit Connect that this job, although, we know there are hundreds of ways to use it, we love how this one shows the great features and compactness of the Transit Connect's value.

Look at the shot of the back open. What a great cargo area this has been made into with a nice drawer (looks like it might be from Adrian Steel), nice storage for vacuums, etc. Then there is the bulkhead separating the seating area. This unit will carry the crew to get the job done quickly.

Some features worthy of note:

• 22 City/25 Highway mpg based on Ford preliminary data
• Standard 180 degree rear barn door hinge
• dual side sliding doors
• Tilt/Telescopic steering column
• Driver and passenger airbags
• Side-impact air bags
• ABS brakes
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• Up to 1,600 payload with rear seats removed
• Load width between wheel arches: 48.1"
• Load floor to roof height: 59.1"

There's much more information available at the Transit Connect website:

www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/

Aluminum Dump Body from Rugby Mfg

What a lovely addition to the great Rugby lineup this body is. Incredible weight savings finally has it making sense to put a dump on a 1-ton truck. Back when I started selling upfitted trucks, the maximum GVWR before going to the medium duty was 10,000 lbs. It was always a concern selling a 2-3 yd steel dump on a 10k GVWR truck, considering that one yard of plain old dirt would pretty much overload the truck. Three yards would be craziness. So, when Ford came out with the Super Duty at 14k and others eventually followed suit, we hardly ever sold a metal dump on a 1 ton. It was a good thing.

Now, that has changed. The 11' Rugby for the 84" CA truck (GM would use the 10') weighs only 975 lbs compared to the steel dump at 1,695 lbs, a savings of 720 lbs. That's a tad over 40% savings. Now take an average chassis at 6,000 lbs empty weight, plus the dump at 975 and hoist at 550 and the package weighs in around 7,525. Most 1 tons now have 11k to 13k GVWR, so that gives a typical payload of up to 5,475 lbs! Three yards of dirt will still overload it; however, this is a serious improvement and now it makes sense for many uses to put this body on the one ton--at least I would feel more comfortable about it.

Some Rugby Aluminum Specs:

• Floor, front, sides and tailgate constructed of 3/16" 5052 Aluminum
• Double wall side design with 6" vertical side braces
• Sides include 22" high front board pockets and 6" rear pockets
• Side design incorporates fully boxed dirt shedding top rails and sloped bottom rails
• Seamless one-piece front design with window and 3/4 cab shield
• Cross members constructed of 3" I-beam 6061 aluminum interlaced on 16" centers
• Long members constructed of 8" formed 1/4" 5052 aluminum channel
• Full height 11.5" wide rear corner posts contain concealed lower latch hardware
• Stainless steel EZ-LATCH (TM) upper tailgate mechanism
• Dirt shedding fully boxed perimeter tailgate with 6" vertical braces
• Auxiliary stop/turn lights in upper rear corner posts

It's all a very nice package. The only issue I have is that this is stated in their literature as a 3-4 yd body and I am absolutely certain I would be telling my customers it's a 2-3 yd if it were going on a 1-ton. But, that's just me. I've had first hand experience at overloaded trucks. The good news for me is that it's not a service body, so it isn't loaded all the time with whatever load it is carrying. Put it on a 4500/5500 and it's no problem.

I have long loved Rugby products. I have sold so many I cannot count them and never had a problem one. You gotta love that. Great company and great products. Check out their website at www.rugbymfg.com. They even have a Stainless Steel dump! We'll talk about that another time. Thanks Rugby for building great products and keeping our customers happily working!

Duraplate and Amercian Cargo by Midway

You know, many people think a van body is a van body is a van body. Boring. . . It is true that some of them are boring, but this unit has some excitement in the detail that a passing glance may never see. The biggest innovation is what the side panels are made out of. These are made out of Duraplate which the rep from Midway is holding in his hand in the first photo. It is incredibly thin and unbelievably strong. No longer do we need the heavy and bulky FRP material to have durability. Check the specifications: Duraplate has it. What was also impressive as a result of using Duraplate is how wide the opening can now be in the rear and how cargo can go wall to wall and get very close to 90" of width.

The unit shown is the Sprinter "Liberty" Box Truck from American Cargo by Midway. It includes an aerodynamic wind fairing added to improve fuel economy, stand-up, walk through cab access door for easy mobility between cab and cargo area, Duraplate wall construction for long-lasting durability, graphic friendly finish, 15' interior length and side slider door with stepwell for easy entrance and exiting. I love the slider side door. The pocket required (as shown in photo) takes up a little wall space, but is worth the trade-off from having a roll-up door. The operation of this door is extremely convenient and easy.

American Cargo by Midway are located in Elkhart, Indiana and can be reached at 800-505-2530. Check out their website at www.mymidway.com. As you go to their site, you will also see the Midway Specialty Vehicles, LLC link to see the Sprinter conversions and buses and other products that they manufacture and retrofit.

Where the Rumber Meets the Load

Having long sold flatbeds with various wood floors, then seeing all the rage for the wood composites, I didn't really get excited until I saw this product at the NTEA Work Truck Show this month. I have been waiting to see a product that made perfect sense for a flatbed over the common problem-ridden wood floors--and here it is!

This product is called Rumber. That's lumber with an "r" instead of an "l". It is made of 100% recycled material products. It is made out of tire rubber and plastics. I'm so glad that innovative uses for old tires are being made since it has always been a serious landfill problem. This product helps keep those old tires out of the landfill I'm sure.

Here's some of the features of this material:

• Will not rot, crack, or split
• Stronger and more durable than wood or other composites.
• Impervious to water, fuel, fluids and oil spills.
• Insect and termite proof.
• Easy to clean.
• UV and water resistant.
• Cushions animals and equipment.
• Available in any length up to 24' in 6" increments.
• Most cost effective option over time.

This is a product I can get excited about and I think it should be a piece of cake to sell it. I have long liked black flatbeds best and with this product color matching the bed makes it a great combination. Having a product that doesn't crack, split and bow is a huge advantage. I would be ordering this on all the flatbeds that I could.

Rumber Materials also makes a wide variety of products for truck beds, trailers, chock blocks, deck, docks and marina products, oil field applications, custom products. They operate out of Muenster, Texas and they can be reached at 877-786-2371. We talked with Chuck Hickey and Ron Rust at the show. Rumber Materials website is informative and helpful and you can find it at www.rumber.com.

Link Ramps - Great Selection of Products

We were kind of in a hurry when we came to the Link Ramps display, so I got some shots and some literature, but I was impressed with the selection of various ramps they have. I loved the one in the rear shown that folds up and as it was being demonstrated, it looked like it was so easy to pull it out and put it back.

The company is Link Manufacturing, Ltd out of Sioux Center, Iowa. Their phone number is 800-248-3057. They also manufacture mortuary equipment, cab air suspension, chassis air suspension, liftable suspensions, tire pressure maintenance system, and deer shield along with their cargo management products. Website for the ramp products is www.linkcmp.com/. They have a nice 4 page brochure that I recommend you request which has better photos than their website. Call them and request it at 800-248-3057. They also have a list of distributors around the country coast to coast on their website so you can find someone close to your operation.

Road Gear Open Top Lid Upper Bed Box

We ran across this sweet tool box cruising through the NTEA Work Truck Show. There was no one at the booth as we were in there early to look around before the crowds. I've seen a lot of boxes, but just love the design and usefulness of this one. I especially love how deep the top compartment is and how wide the opening is. In addition, I see the raised metal ridge to help keep it dry. Then below there are two drop down doors with plenty of space inside.

I can see this on top of a flatbed, or used as contractor boxes on a contractor body. I didn't measure, but this appears to be a 48" long box. Put two of these end to end on both sides of the flatbed and you've got a really sweet setup. Then put a nice 24" transverse compartment with a slider in in at the headboard and you've got a knock-out 10' mighty useful flatbed. Add a rack and hitch and call it a day! Very nice.

This was our first introduction to Road Gear Boxes from Road Gear Truck Equipment, LLC out of Russellville, Alabama. You can reach them at 800-292-2906 or check out their website at www.road-gear.com.

A Glimpse of the Future by Nissan Commercial Vehicles

Introducing Nissan Commercial Vehicles. Is this the future of the tired, old, out-dated van body that has been around since the 1970's? We sure hope so! What a breath of fresh air this Concept Van is. Did we mention stylish? That's a sissy word. What we meant was flat out gorgeous! Suave! Sophisticated! Ground-Breaking! Rule-Breaking! Concept-Making! Customer-Creating! If it were available at the NTEA Work Truck Show where we saw it, I'm sure it would have sold out.

But it is not cool enough to have all those words without the work side of it. So, we'll throw in Open-Minded! (and we mean open as in opening. . .) Work-Related! (I could see me working out of this unit. . .) Convenient! Computerized! Everything-In-Its-Place Clean! Useful Storage! Well-Lighted!

Take a nice little tour and check out all the specs: NV2500 Tour. Sign up for the free updates and let's watch how Nissan handles this. . . I'm interested. How about you?

A Bit of Fun and Lots of Bold Color! Ford F150 DeWalt

My favorite car has long been the yellow Corvette and naturally, that love of the yellow sports car converts easily to a sweet looking yellow truck. I just loved this truck when I saw it and Ryan and I were checking it out in depth.

This is the 2009 Ford F150 Heavy Duty DeWalt Contractor Concept Pickup. Look at the side step with the boot brush all in one that tucks up under the body out of the way. A boot brush. Now that's thinking of details. The winch is very nicely packed under the front bumper.

This unit is equipped with the Ford Work Solutions Package, with the Tool-Link and on board computer. Check out the sweet looking rack with the lights! This truck is just begging for attention and it will surely get it. It was getting plenty at the NTEA Work Truck Show.

For more photos of this truck and some additional information, check out the Motor Trend article here: Motor Trend.