Truck Service Bodies Carry Out Multiple Public Works Field Tasks
Reading Body Works, of Reading, PA has been manufacturing service bodies, pickup caps, stake bodies, and a complete line of pickup truck and van accessories for 43 years. These have been sold to numerous businesses and many municipal public works departments and water/wastewater authorities. Here are three very typical examples of how the company can customize vehicles for some specialized duties.
The Pennsylvania town of Altoona's Electrical Department chose a Reading Classic Series service body for its fleet of vehicles. This type of body incorporates all-steel construction with a number of weather tight storage compartments and an open cargo area, features that were important to include in the purchase specification according to one of the department's members, David Diedrich.
Workers can safely store their tools and small materials in the lockable compartments, leaving the cargo area free for larger items. Adjustable shelves allow for organization and full compartment utilization.
Mounted on a Ford chassis, the Reading vehicles are used by the Electrical Department to maintain and service traffic lights, street lights and city buildings. Altoona has a population of 55,000 people and covers seven square miles.
Because there was a need for a truck body that keeps tools and equipment mobile and easily accessible, the Town of Wrentham's water department purchased a Reading Deluxe Ready Van for use by the Water Department. Covering 22 square miles and providing service to 10,000 people, the department uses this special vehicle to respond to service calls, in particular, water main breaks.
The Ready Van combines the storage space of a service body and the stand-up room of a full-size van to give crews a work ready vehicle. It has weather tight exterior storage compartments, some of which are accessible from the truck's interior, and walk-through accessibility from cab to body, with an expanded metal screen to protect driver and passengers. With rear opening doors as well, the van is really a workshop on wheels.
Reading's Ready Van line is constructed of two-sided zinc coated A60 "galvannealed" steel and during manufacture each body is immersed in the company's Lectro-Life primer for rust and corrosion protection. Another important feature is the use of flange-mounted automotive rubber door seals to provide weather tight protection for tools and equipment stored in the vehicle's compartments.
Pacific Utility Equipment Co recently put in service its newest enclosed Reading custom body as its eleventh field service truck. This fleet of vehicles is used by field service crews to carry out annual inspections of aerial devices, conduct mandatory Department of Transport inspections, and perform general field service maintenance work. The company has locations in Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Ontario, California, and covers eleven Western states including Hawaii, as well as Guam.
This service body style incorporates exterior storage compartments and an enclosed cargo area. But Pacific Utility added options such as 13 special drawers with ergonomically correct handles, a special 18-in. tail shelf for easy access to the cargo area, and heavy-duty crane reinforcement on the curbside to allow the body to support a crane. Unique to this vehicle is the 73-in. inside clear panel assembly that covers the cargo area for storage of a welding machine.
For more information on these and other service body styles contact Reading at 800-458-2226.