Truck Service Bodies

Here is one I spied, in January, as I was traveling through Arizona. I had never seen a stainless steel one before.





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A couple more. I will keep looking for some more, in my files;

Sheriffdoug wrote:
Thank You All, Enjoying your posts.

How does a Truck Service Body lower your centre of gravity?

Hi Doug!

Think of Aircraft Carriers and or Battleships. When the weight above is a fraction of what is on the bottom portion, it lowers the center of gravity. Many truck campers strategically load heavy items in the lower part of their Truck Camper, not on the roof or upper cabinets.

A typical Lance 1191 comes in over 4,500lbs. It also has all the heavy tanks (Potable/Gray/Black/Batteries) in the basement. Framing and construction of actual Truck Camper. These heavy items rest in the bed of my service body. Say this combined weight would be about 2,000lbs.


Let’s do the math;

11,132 lbs Certified Tare wt# submitted to DMV for lic of a truck that is considered a commercial truck, Truck and Service Body combined without any loading of personal items, spare tire, propane, aux diesel fuel, passengers.

2,000 lbsCombined weight of Tanks/supplies/portion of Truck Camper nestled into bed of service body.

1,950 lbsCombined weight of Aux Propane/Tank (100g) and Aux Potable Water/Tanks (140g)(1,462#), & Enclosed Trailer (210# 3 tires/wheels), Tongue weight of trailer (650#), Tools and supplies (1,000#).

15,082 lbs Total Weight

vs.

2,500 lbsCombined portion of upper portion of Truck Camper (above line of Service Body)

Conclusion?
Math wins.


While the visible portion of the Truck Camper is higher, the weight is down low. War Ships, Boats, Semi Trucks and the like have taken advantage of this for years. Oh, yeah. Truck Camper Manufacturers have been doing the same, by putting the heavy tanks down low too. That is why putting Storage Pods, Solar and A/C on the roof of very lite Truck Campers create issues of being top heavy.

b

he deck raises the COG a bit but the stability of a heavier truck fixes that no question! This deck was custom built at Alum Line, did a nice job reasonably priced. Makes for lots of storage space.

Nice looking deck...

What is the measurement from the top of the rear tires to the bottom of the deck when loaded and ready to go???

Have the rear tires ever scrapped on the bottom of the deck??

Thanks

The deck raises the COG a bit but the stability of a heavier truck fixes that no question! This deck was custom built at Alum Line, did a nice job reasonably priced. Makes for lots of storage space.

Thank You All, Enjoying your posts.

How does a Truck Service Body lower your centre of gravity?

wanderingbob wrote:
How much does it raise the center of gravity ?

It lowers it, as all the weight is lower.

Those will point out the extra weight of a service body, but this is one of the plusses provided. When driving my combination, you will notice very quickly how limited the sway is, as well as when camping and the wind is buffeting your camper.

b

How much does it raise the center of gravity ?

Thanks, Bryan. I've still gotta figure out the photo posting routine, too. I'm learning! Appreciate the warm welcome.

Welcome to the Forum, Palomar!

Lots of help here, don't hesitate to seek any assistance here. Lots of knowledgeable people, here too.

Also, don't forget to post the details on your upcoming project, as well.

bryan

Hello,

Just found and joined the forum and saw this subject so I thought I'd introduce us and do my first post.

We have a used C-Tec low profile utility bed on our Chevy and have been very pleased with the results.

Now that we've had a chance to get used to it we'd definitely do it again. Probably go for broke and do a custom built verses finding a used one that fit our camper. Previous posters are right - it can be expensive getting a custom made utility bed, but depending on how important it is to organize your stuff it makes sense to us to justify the expense. The better half was skeptical at first but now she loves the organization, not having to load stuff in and out to set up camp, and she likes the look, too.

Look forward to participating in the forum.