David Benton wrote:In Europe they have the swap body , which i believe is longer than 40 ft . its similiar to a container but cannot be stacked . i'm not sure if it can be lifted when fill , i presume so .
Swap Bodies are used to allow one chassis do different jobs. They have a lift/winch system like a roll on container except the different bodies do different things. Many are lifted for unloading same way roll on container are lifted to be dumped out if needed.
A company can operate one power unit with multiple vocational 'bodies' Fuel tanker today, dry bulk transporter tomorrow, sludge vacuum the day after, dump truck next week, instead of having each mounted on it's own chassis as is common in the US. Still need the same number of parking spaces but only have to pay for one license plate, only need to maintain one set of tires, etc.
Having the lift and winch system adds extra weight to the chassis & each component and cuts down on the ultimate payload. This works in European cities w/ limited space and weight restrictions but runs against common US thinking seeking maximum capacity and production though fuel cost has driven contractors to adopt the mini excavators, etc. leaving the larger equipment for larger sites and using smaller fuel efficient units on smaller jobsites and saving fuel on the load in and out too...
Grandson of a LV Conductor & I remember the EL running behind the Univ. of Scranton [class of 76]