Our next truck is going to be an Isuzu cabover with an enclosed body. We're planning on doing away with trailers for our mowing crews. Different body companies have different terms for the body style we are interested in, such as vanscape, proscape, etc. We plan on using it primarily for doing mowing work. Anyhow, some body companies have a dovetail in the back and some do not. For the truck bodies that do not have the dovetail, do you guys have issues with the mower decks bottoming out when moving a mower in and out of the truck? Do you prefer one style, dovetail or non-dovetail, if so why? Last thing, are there any body options that you regret not taking or ones that you consider must haves? Thank you
I don't have experience with a box truck but I've worked out of the bed of my pickup using a 48" walk behind and have loaded small ZTRs in it using aluminum ramps. The decks hang up at normal cutting heights, I have to raise the deck every time I load the WB to 5". The ZTR can load and unload just fine with the deck in transport position.
We have one of each style from super lawn trucks. Both are hydraulic. The dovetail truck has the big single ramp and it is by far the fastest set up if you’re doing lotta stops it would be the way to go. The other truckers nicer if you’re hauling a lot of stuff and not making many stops.
I have owned/used 3 different box trucks for mowing and am working on designing a box truck for fertilization and weed control. My first was a 20’ box with a 4 ft external dovetail and a 5’ fold down metal ramp. It worked well as we needed the full 20’ flat for all the equipment, but it did have some “tail swing” We also were able to go with a slightly used body that saved us quite a bit but still looked good. The second was a 16’ SLT with a hydraulic ramp. It was the 2 part ramp system and seemed to take forever to open and close it. It also added a fair amount of weight at the back end. The one we are currently using was built by conyers truck bodies in Georgia it has a 3’ debris bin and a 17’ box (15 flat and 2 internal dovetail and 7’ ramp) gives us the chance to haul yardwaste. The ramp is a little steep but don’t have many issues with the mowers. For the fert truck we will be going with the bi-fold ramps to lessen the loading angle. One thing I prefer on the inside is solid 3/4” plywood all the way up walls. That way you can attach anything you want anywhere.
I’ve been using Isuzu mow truck beds since before there was a super lawn truck. The majority open not enclosed Dovetail is the way to go and yes the mower decks can hang up at the hinge points even in transport mode if the angle is wrong. Most if not all professionally made bodies have this angle figured out by now.
