The intitial and crucial questions that we ask when quoting a customer on a body are "what will the customer be carrying and what payload are they expecting"? These questions are important for us as it defines the customer's expectations for payload and insures that the truck and body are matched correctly.
There are truck specifications that will determine whether a truck and body package will be correct, and probably the most important specification is the GVWR of the truck. GVWR is the (gross vehicle weight rating) and is measured in lbs or kilos. For example a GVWR of 25,000 lb or 11,350 kilos is the total weight of the truck with a body and load (payload) that a truck can legally carry. This is determined by the front and rear axle ratings of the truck and is set at the factory when the truck is built, so a front axle rating of 8000 lbs with a rear axle rating of 17,000 lbs will give you a GVWR of 25,000 lbs.
To calculate payload you subtract the weight of the truck and weight of the body including the driver and his lunch (which can be significant if you have ever seen some of their coolers) from the GVWR of the truck. For example you take the weight of the truck 10,000 lbs and the weight of the body driver and fuel 3000 lbs and subtract it from 25,000 lbs your resulting payload will be 12,000.
Wheelbase and CA (cab to axle) measurements are also very important to know as we are often asked to build a body to fit on a truck and make that work with a wheel base and CA that will not be changed. Conversely we can be asked to build a body of a certain length that is not suitable for an existing truck and so the wheelbase and CA may have to be lengthened or shortened to suit a particular body length.
This may sound confusing but we can accurately calculate the correct CA to match the body length.There are rules of thumb that we have learned over our many years of experience in building bodies on certain wheelbases and CA's that will work in most situations, however when we are working with trucks with multiple axles and particular loads we can calculate load distribution (how much weight will be carried by each axle) and determine the wheel base and CA. DEL engineers can calculate the correct wheelbase, CA and body length so that the truck and body will be matched correctly for best performance and payload.
Another important detail to consider is the size of the body and its cubic yard carrying capacity which is determined by the body length, width and height of the sides. This is important as we are often asked to build a body that may have too much carrying capacity for a particular truck and it could result in unknowingly overloading the truck. One or two extra cubic yards of gravel or sand can quickly overload a truck's maximum payload and result in early truck breakdowns and fines from the MTO.
Our role is to use our expertise to advise our customers and educate them so they can make best decisions in putting together truck and body packages that work.
