ford transit

saw this photo in another thread - Chris P (owner) or anyone else...who does this kind of chipbox conversion for Transits and how much does it cost to get it made up tool boxes an all?

Chris P, how do you like the Transit for treewrok and re there any downsides?

looks like a smaller version of an American tree truck like Asplundh uses. Is that what got you the idea?

saw this photo in another thread - Chris P (owner) or anyone else...who does this kind of chipbox conversion for Transits and how much does it cost to get it made up tool boxes an all?

 

Chris P, how do you like the Transit for treewrok and re there any downsides?

 

looks like a smaller version of an American tree truck like Asplundh uses. Is that what got you the idea?

 

cool :001_tt1:

heres mine. can build you one if you want.

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2636

were you get that done and how much

All our own work apart from the spraying. Built at our workshop in Measham.

That big merc you need an hgv licence for that? I like the roof over the top of the tiper back, means you dont have to rake up the chips that have blown over the top. also means you dont hit passing pedestrians by accident with high velocity chips. thats why i like that chris p transit, we just use ply boards propped up.

this isfrom an american website, looks just about right size and shape, shame we dont have stuff like that here.

I looked at those truck bodies in the TCI mags for years. I sent off to schodorf and arbortech for their brochoures and just sort of copied them.

Yes my merc is a 7.5 toner, but its footprint is barely larger than a transit. I can get 11 m3 of chip in, carry 4 tonnes, pull a 3.6 tonne trailer and do 70mph fully loaded.

The problem you wil have with doing the same with a transit is overloading.

I would build the body entirely from 3mm folded alloy, have no toolbox, and give it a maximum capacity of 6 m3.

Hey Whats up Mani

The transit is great but in hind sight i would have made it a lot smaller. The chip box does what it was designed to do and that is catch chip without it blowing all over the cab, pedestrians,clients,staff, road etc

You are right in that the inspiration came from the american trucks but the problem with building the chipbox in that way is that it is so easily overloaded. The chip used to fill the section over the tool box but now it is sectioned off and used for a storage area for rakes. The idea with the low tool boxes is good for storing fuel, oil, chemicals etc because obviousley it keeps it away from your ropes and kit.

The american trucks like the asplundh rig are so much bigger in the flesh they look like they are 12 tonners and im not sure what the carying capacity is.

As a rig for tree work i have absoultley no complaints as to the way our transit works but just bear in mind if you are looking to build one watch your weight.

The box and tool boxes were fabricated by a company near cambridge called BL Searles. I cant think of there website at the moment but i,ll dig it up. Incidentley the Chipbox is ply lined with a hard shell on the outside called vetrolite i belive it is amazingly tough and still looks great after four years.

got to go if you got any more questions pm or i'll look on here later.

Work safe

chris

Our original transit we knocked together as a temporary thing with angle iron and ply and it's still going strong 4 years later. When we got a new truck we looked into ali and steel bodies but they were very expensive and I don't know for sure but I bet they’re not much lighter than ply. I don't know what our transits weigh probably better not to. The advantage of doing it in ply was we could do it ourselves, get it just as we want and still use the truck during the build.

We cut the original drop sides to fit a tool box which we made with angle iron and sheet steel. The chip box is angle iron and ply attached to the top of the drop sides. The tool box is big, in an attempt to stop us from massively overloading it (I doubt it works)! It is too small a lot of the time but we still have the old transit. Its great having space for all your tools and I like to be able to keep logs and chip separate.

Most of the companies I sub for have custom made boxes. I can get the details of the manufacturers if you want? - there was a couple of pics of my mates in the classifieds but it seems to have gone.

The boxes look similar the the one on Keven Watts - Quality tree care truck... but on a 3.5 ton