A number of truck tray bodies were delivered to our clients across Victoria in April. But if we had to choose some favourites, then without a doubt, one of our highlights for the month was a brand-new Mercedes-Benz Actros 2535, fitted with a custom long beavertail tray and removable racks. The crew loved working on this truck and the custom specs made it a fun, enjoyable and unique project.
DESIGNING THE BEAVERTAIL TRAY
The truck tray was built for A&A Worm Farms, a local eco-friendly business, which has been operating in Victoria since 1996. The business was looking to upgrade to a new Mercedes-Benz Actros from its preferred dealer, Daimler Trucks. When it came to fitting a new tray onto the Actros, we were recommended by the dealership as the preferred truck body builders.
Before building this custom beavertail tray, we took plenty of time to consult with Daimler Trucks and AAA Worm Farms, ensuring that we understood their specific needs and the daily workload that the truck body would be used for. We then created the designs for the client to review and approve. Once everything was signed off, the crew was ready to jump in and get started on this project.
BUILDING THE BEAVERTAIL TRAY
In this case, A&A Worm Farms were looking for an extra-long beavertail tray that would be used for transporting equipment, machinery, and other materials at the same time. With some clever design, we were able to achieve a massive 8.8 metres of clear deck with an 800mm beaver section. We reinforced the tray above the drive axles in order to deal with the extra weight that would be applied to the area.
In addition, we also fitted some inserts into the deck to house removable racks and a mesh section on the headboard RHS for hanging ropes and chains. Other features included a heavy duty chequer plate floor, hydraulic pumps for the beavertail, and tie down rails.
As standard, all of our truck trays, including this beavertail tray, feature a heavy duty 125mm RHS sub-frame, cross bearers spaced 350mm apart to avoid bowing and 100mm PFC coaming rail. All of our trays are pre-cambered to avoid any potential sagging in future and are built using high quality materials made in-house using our specialised machinery.
On completion, the truck was delivered back to Daimler Trucks, who then delivered it to a very satisfied AAA Worm Farms!