Chipbox build: aluminium, GRP, and/or plywood?

[LG trees]

Hello!

 

So I've got three quotes for a chipbox build on my 3.5t Ford transit tipper. All in the region of £4-5k plus VAT for the basic body, plus extras.

 

The headache, apart from the ££££££, is about which material to go for: aluminium plank, and/or GRP / fibreglass coated plywood. It's my first chipbox build, so would love to hear your views. The two main considerations I can think of are weight and durability.

 

One guy only works with aluminium boards, and says he's never had any justifiable complaints about durability. No mention of lining any of it with ply.

Another (Tipmaster) says aluminium planks are prone to tearing on impact or if caught with a saw (we do a lot of cutting down on the back). He recommends lining the aluminium sheet headboard with wisa deck (ply), and making the sides in GRP (fibreglass coated marine ply). He says GRP is much easier to repair and replace. He could also build it in ally plank for about the same price.

The third guy has quoted for both options, but won't make a recommendation as to which is best.

 

Any advice very gratefully received!

 

Luke

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by LG trees
Decided against the photo.

[essential]

Is that with tool boxes  ?

[essential]

Tipmaster are  quality and very expensive 

[LG trees]

On 11/06/2020 at 21:09, essential said:

Is that with tool boxes  ?

No.

[Shaunpaul]

Just build your own, we got this done by ourselves yesterday. Cheap n cheerful. £90 for the box section, £350 for the Ali checker plate, £30 on bits n bobs. Going to paint it up to match the cab and eventually make a fresh tailgate

[dig-dug-dan]

19 hours ago, Shaunpaul said:

Just build your own, we got this done by ourselves yesterday. Cheap n cheerful. £90 for the box section, £350 for the Ali checker plate, £30 on bits n bobs. Going to paint it up to match the cab and eventually make a fresh tailgate

Looks good, but cant help thinking with those uprights inside the chip box, when you tip its going to gather against them? And if you were to tip logs, they will smash against them, possibly bending them?

How did you attach the chequer plate?

[Dbikeguy]

The one above, put some either ally or composite on the inside. leave a log in and it slides about it will dent the heck out of the nice outer panels and make it look crap in a couple of weeks. could even use plastic to keep the weight down