11-01-04 | News

Truck Bed Conversions

By Jodie Carter, interim managing editor

Switch-N-Go is made to fit light to medium-duty truck chassis that are rated up to 26,000 GVW (gross vehicle weight). A Switch-N-Go system for a 15,000 GVW truck chassis with a “CA” (cab to axle) measurement of 84 inches runs about $9,336. That price includes installation, stainless steel fenders, factory mudflaps and a reese hitch bumper.

Purchase the: A. 12-foot platform body for $1,865, B. the 11-foot dump body for $2,895, C. the 11-foot drop box body (with 39-inch high sides) for $1,930 and D. the 12-foot storage box body (with 72-inch high sides) for $4,395.

Equipment costs often make up a huge portion of a landscape contractor’s operating costs, and it’s no secret that the price of construction equipment is rising.

For months the news media have been reporting on the rising cost of steel, which directly affects the cost of equipment. While researching this article we interviewed several manufacturers of steel-laden vehicle equipment, like trailers and heavy-duty truck beds. At least one of those manufacturers currently has a note on their website explaining that spring 2004 prices reflect a 30 percent increase because of the rising cost of steel.

Once a manufacturer’s “roll-off” subframe is installed, the contractor can easily and quickly load the truck chassis with their choice of bed frames including:

A. a dump bed that could be used to deliver mulch
B. an equipment body for hauling heavy equipment or materials
C. a salt spreader.


Photos courtesy of Bucks Fabricating

 

A.

So, how can busy landscape contractors execute more projects without driving their equipment budget through the roof? According to Bill Brian, independent factory representative for Southern Truck Equipment Sales, maximizing the use of a single truck chassis by adapting it with several different truck beds is much cheaper than buying separate dump, flat bed and box van trucks. “Just think of it,” says Bryan, “with one chassis you only have one vehicle property tax, one vehicle license, one insurance policy premium and one chassis/engine to maintain. For small, medium and even some large contractors, diversifying one piece of equipment to do more than one job is just a great cost-cutting measure,” says Bryan.

Roll-Off Systems

Bucks Fabricating manufactures the “Switch-N-Go,”(SNG) which is a mini “roll-off” truck bed conversion system that allows contractors to easily switch between many different truck bodies, depending on the type of work they perform. To turn a regular truck like a Ford F350 into a multifunctional workhorse, you’ll need to install a manufacturers’ common sub-frame on each truck body which mates with the switch-n-go hoist. The sub-frame will allow you to load your truck chasses with a variety of bed options including: dump body, van box (for hauling freight), flat bed (for hauling equipment), a water tank, hydro-seeder, or lawn maintenance landscaper body.

B.

When considering which truck body you can adapt to your chassis, “Your imagination is your limitation,” enthuses Bryan. “As long as you have the correct subframe, we can fit you with a truck body that fits your needs.”

Load a “Lawn-Maintenance” Body

A good example of getting more work out of a single truck, says Bryan, is the landscape contractors who load their truck chassis with a “lawn-maintenance body” equipped with a dovetail and equipment loading ramps. Using the ramps, they load several lawnmowers onto the lawn-maintenance body, which also comes equipped with toolboxes for small power tools and separate racks for equipment. The contractor can lift and transport that body (completely loaded) to the job site and can off-load it there. While the crew works from the offloaded body, the driver/chassis can go do another job, like hauling a transport of mulch in a dump body.

C.

Bryan says the idea to make a power unit multi-functional is not new?EUR??,,????'??+farmers have been doing it for years. “You can take a three-point-hitch on a farm tractor, and load it with a sprayer, cultivator or scrape blade, and do almost anything with it,” says Bryan. “The idea of truck conversions works on the same principal–to get more work out of the same piece of equipment.”

Safer Than Flatbeds?

According to Bryan, one of the safety concerns about hauling tractors, skid-steers and other power equipment on flatbed trailers or trucks is that when loading them on a trailer or truck you have to climb ramps and go up hill (going up the ramps). In freezing or rainy weather, this can be a significant safety factor. “With our ‘roll-off’ system, you put the flat-bed flat on the ground, secure it, lift, load and go,” states Bryan. Because the equipment is being drive-loaded onto a flat bed that’s at ground level, there’s no running up steep ramps– “which is a tremendous safety factor,” indicates Bryan. To increase safety even more, the Switch-N-Go flatbed includes a little dove-tail that tapers down to the ground itself, making the ground to bed transition even smoother.

Installation and Service

Installing a Switch-N-Go subframe onto a truck chassis (including installation of fenders and bumper) is typically an eight-hour job by a qualified mechanic with proper tools. The kit includes an electric winch, electric driven hydraulic hoist cylinder and structural framework that allows quick, secure body changes, full 50 degree dumping capability of payloads, over-the-road transport, and winch loading of up to 15,000 pounds of cargo onto the truck chassis. The system is operated with a simple two-button pendant that is portable and attaches in the truck cab or outside by the side of the truck. Since this is an electric over hydraulic system, the mess of leaking fittings at the transmission are gone. This is a neat package. It is portable by undoing 12 bolts and the electric line when the truck is sold. Service on the system is easy, indicates Brian. “In any city in the U.S., you can find parts and a qualified person to service these products. If you do have one break down, getting it repaired is no problem–you’ll have it fixed within a matter of hours.”