Truck bodies
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from Merriworth TRUCK bodies built using similar methods of construction to steel trailers are now being offered by Merriworth (Engineering) Ltd. A 7.3m (24ft) platform with 1.4m (4.5ft) headboard and boarded with hardwood costs £320. A similar body with close-pitched crossmembers and twist locks to match 20ft containers costs £385.
A complete body of 7.3m (24ft) length weighs 1.52 tonnes (1.5 tons) but, weight cutting has not been the aim of the designers, says Merriworth; the object has been to offer a body of "outstanding sturdiness".
The longitudinal main runners are I-beams which have their top flanges flush with the floor and therefore able to relieve theboarding of impact loads. The main runners effectively increase the bending strength of the whole vehicle's chassis.
At the front the headboard is framed and ribbed with 100mm x 50mm (4in x 2in) hollow box seamless steel sections. The top corners of the headboard are chamfered to improve rearward-vision and the headboard ribs are welded direct to the I-beam main runners.
An underrun bumper at the back is a standard fitment. The steel-framed body can be made in any length. Apart from the twist-lock option the body can also be supplied as a dropside or TIR tilt, using steel-framed dropsides and taper socket pillars.