Charlie Horton, vice-president of sales and marketing for Eby Truck Bodies, promotes the company’s new aluminum service body at the 2019 Work Truck Show
Pennsylvania-based Eby Truck Bodies has introduced an all-aluminum service body.
The eight-foot body, dubbed the Renegade, was unveiled at the 2019 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.
The company has been building bespoke aluminum service bodies for the railroad industry for years. One such truck was even on display at Eby’s stand during the 2017 International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition in Louisville, Ky.
“So we have a lot of experience in service bodies and we took that experience in designing the new mainstream service body,” said Charlie Horton, Eby’s vice-president of sales and marketing, during an interview at the most recent Work Truck Show.
The Renegade body features 44-inch high cabinets, a little taller than standard, Horton said. The cabinets also have baffles that enable air to escape when the doors are closed.
“It’s just kind of an indicator of the quality of the seal,” Horton said. “We had to install that baffle or else there would be back pressure if you tried to close the door.”
The sides and cabinetry are formed from pre-painted aluminum. The interior of the compartments, however, are unfinished because that’s an area that takes abuse,” Horton said.
Similarly the tailgate, has a rounded top, which also protects against that area of abuse. A recessed tailgate gives the body “a nice clean finish,” Horton said.
“A lot of times that tailgate, if it’s sticking out past the back of the truck, can become a source of irritation for the operator,” he said.
For the load compartment floor, made of 3/16th inch aluminum, Eby uses a special tool to raise a football-like pattern 1/16th of an inch. “The idea there is that if it was flat aluminum it would be slick,” Horton said. “This gives a nice friction surface for if it gets wet. But it’s also has little enough resistance that you can move package around the inside.”
Other features include “hidden stainless adjustable hinges and side doors that are flush with fender panels,” as well as LED lights and a trademarked TouchTronics keyless entry system, noted John Howley, Eby’s chief engineer, in a recent news release
The body is aimed at heating and air-conditioning contractors and the like, as well those engaged in the light-duty mobile repair of equipment. “Any service work — the guy that’s out there getting the work done,” Horton said.
The Renegade body isn’t suitable though for mounting larger equipment like a crane.
“This particular spec set or this particular body is not set up for a crane but we do build crane bodies for the railroads,” Horton said.
The company eventually plans to enter the broader crane-body market, he said.
“We’ve got a really refined design in the 6,000 pound crane market, which is kind of a niche,” Horton said. “It handles a lot of mechanics, a lot of service guys.”
Eby’s tooling is set up to build unique pieces, he said.
“We can do 1,000 different things in one day with the same tooling. So customization is easy.”
The new service body is the seventh product in M.H. Eby Inc.’s repertoire, which also includes a “Big Country” flatbed towing body, and three landscaping bodies. Founded in 1938, the third-generation family-owned business has four manufacturing plants — in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa. It is headquartered in Blue Ball, Pa., in Lancaster County. President Travis Eby and engineering vice-president Nick Eby now lead the company while the father, Menno. H. Eby Jr., serves a chairman
“The company got its start building wood and steel cattle bodies,” Horton said. “And then in the 80s made the switch over to all-aluminum construction.”
For more information, visit www.mheby.com.
