• Australian converter Razorback has updated its unique hydraulically lowering loadbay design for the Volkswagen Transporter.
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The tailgate door is replaced with double doors, while the loadbay can now be lowered to the ground from the cab on the Phase 4 Razorback.
Loadbay floor area has increased from 3.3m2 to 3.57m2, while volume has been increased to a claimed 7.88m.
The one-tonne payload benchmark has not been sacrificed to achieve the increase in usable space, and the van also retains its 3.3-tonne GVW of its predecessor.
Internal height is now 1,765mm with the floor raised and 2,110mm when on the ground (an increase of around 260mm). Width increases from 1,280mm to 1,350mm and length is up to 2,645mm.
Razorback sales director Austin Blair says feedback from customers prompted the increase in size.
We found it was just that little bit too small for a number of applications—now it should be far more productive," he says.
Some of the new volume comes from extra space above the floor mechanism which Blair says is ideal for racking. The split rear doors are not full height but they should be more practical than the heavy tailgate that they replace.
Spare wheels and hydraulics for the floor are still housed between the loadbay and side panels, but are now reached via lift-up hatches rather than the removable, and slightly unwieldy, sections used before.
Blair says sales for the Razorback should receive a real boost this year (2001) with fleet orders starting to filter through from the 100 or so spot orders received last year.