I recently purchased a '97 Dodge Ram w/ Cummins Turbo Diesel. I've been working out of the regular pick up box. I've spent a lot of time moving materials and tools from the back of my truck to our garage. I'm getting ready to buy a utility body.

Where I live, I see a lot of Royal brand bodies. An EC that I used to work for currently has a Royal, but told me he'd never buy another one again. He and I have always driven trucks with Knapheide bodies. I like them and feel they are well built. My dad is a plumbing contractor, and he had a Reading body on his truck. I wasn't impressed with the Reading, but now there is the Reading Classic II body. It looks pretty sharp, and a distributor in AZ who sells both Knapheide and Reading, prefers the Reading. They feel Reading offers a better service body than what Knapheide offers.

Has anybody done a comparison of the Reading Classic II and the Knapheide Service Body? From what I can see on the websites, the Reading does look nice. Unfortunately, I'd really like to check out the seals. I like the flip top boxes and it is VERY important that these are weatherproof.

Thanks.

Post what you end up buying. I a like the utility body as well, not sure who's is the best. Do you have a long bed or short bed?

My truck is a long bed. If I were to have ordered a brand new truck back in 1997, this would have been the truck. So when I saw it for sale 1400 miles away in Spokane, I bought a plane ticket and drove it home.

Well, after looking online at the weather stripping of each body, it looks like the Knapheide is a bit better. The weatherstripping on the Reading looks to be glued to the door, so I'm not sure how long it would actually stay there.

The Reading also has spring shackle cut outs in the rear of the body. This means the rear bins will have blocked out areas, and the floor will not be flat across the entire bottom. My dad's original Classic has the same problem, and it looks like the new Classic II is in the same situation.

If you compare specs between the Knapheide Ford or GM page and the Reading , you'll see the Knapheide has better utilization of body length. It appears there is less wasted body, and more useable door.

I'll try to find a couple distributors, besides the one in AZ, that carries both Knapheide and Reading and give them a call. It's tough to make a decision unless you can check each of them out. But I've had two trucks in the past with Knapheide bodies, and I've never been disappointed.

I looked at the sites and didn't know they came in aluminum. That should help out with the rust problems.
I am going to make a call on it tommorow to see how much one would be for my short bed truck. I see they list them. I also like the ones with the sliding cover on the top.

I bought a new Knapheide in 97, not a bad body but the installer and paint job sucked. They(Knapheide) had cut 3 off the top of the body(from the same model I had in 90) to get better visibility out the rear window. 3 inches(careful with that ) doesn't sound like much until you take the stuff out of your old one and refill the new one.So in 2003 I bought a Reading ClassicII. it rules, way more room and its taller so rear window is blocked but so what. I have sliding cap(another 800$) so the rear doesn't fill up with snow. From my experience I'd take the Reading any day of the week.

Edit: I had flip tops on both bodies, Readings are tighter but still leak some. I carry many thousands of dollars of Electronics in my truck and I've had no problems with seals except when pressure washed.

[This message has been edited by walrus (edited 09-17-2004).]

Walrus - Are you sure Knapheide actually changed the height of the standard body, or did the distributor install a low profile body? All the standard bodies are right around 40 to 41 inches in height.

How exactly do the seals attach to the doors? Unfortunately, I can't check a new one out in person, as there aren't any distributors in California.

Joey D - Be careful with the aluminum. It doesn't flex like steel does, so it can eventually crack. Since my truck is 4WD and I take it off the beaten path, I'd never install an aluminum service body.

I have never seen an aluminum one but have seen many with rust on them. Got me thinking. I have also seen plenty of steel ones with the rear of the sides tipping outwards due to the bottom support flexing and cracking.
I have seen fiberglass ones as well.

Walrus what did the new body cost you?

The new body was over $5000 maybe 5600 installed and painted Black with Imron paint. The best(toughest) paint money can buy.
It might have been a low profile but I certainly didn't ask for it. My understanding was it was 3 inches shorter but they had added it to the bottom not removed that space totally.

As far as rust goes, I doubt any of you live in a worse place than Maine for salt damage and now even worse calcium cloride. Both bodies stand up well if painted right. I would make sure they paint with good quality paint and not just the standard spray job.If you are getting it painted and installed check other bodies at the shop. I didn't in 97 and paid the price for a lousy paint job. This time I saw it as it was being done.

AS far spring hangers taking up space, they do on both brands but I believe Readings take up more space. I had the installer make it smaller as the body is made for different trucks and on a GMC the springs are inboard some so I gained 2 inches in side lower part of cabinet.

Both Reading and Knapheide offer the "flip top" tray on their "standard" (squared style) service bodies.

There are a bunch of companies out there that offer service bodies - Stahl is another big name here in the midwest, but Knapheide has 'em beat in IL (Knapheiede is in Quincy, IL). There's Warner (www.warner-bodies.com), Monroe (www.monroebodies.com)

Been looking at a 130" setup w/ a sliding top, so I don't have to hang a conduit tube off the ladder rack, and my stuff in the back is "crackhead-proof". It probably won't happen for a year or so, but hey, ya gotta have a dream!

I ordered a Knapheide body for my dually last Thursday. 696D54FJ40 It is the taller body with the flip-tops. I looked around on the web and researched several different brands then called in my area for price and Knapheide was the way to go for me. One thing I did notice and knew I didn't want was the Stahl bodies. The hinges are a single pin down through the door and it pins at the top and bottom. I was driving to a jobsite one day and saw an old body just off the road and stopped looked at it and it was a Stahl, pretty old model with a little rust and went to open one of the front doors and it fell off in my hand. The rod that holds the door on only goes up into the body about 3/8 of an inch. The body was cracked in that location but it did open my eyes to what could happen with this style of hinge. Maybe this is an isolated incident, but I looked at a brand new Stahl body and it had this same style hinge. Just my opinion.

Justin

Justinelect - Which bodies did you research? How much did you pay for your body? I'd rather install the body myself, so I got the quote from a distributor near where my dad lives. My dad can pick up the painted and set up body with a flatbed trailer, and we can install it together in his shop. Unfortunately, the quote seemed real high. I'll call around for prices around me, and see if I can get that guy to come down a bit. If do get a Knapheide, it will be the 796FJ40. I really like the 700 series because it has the 500 style on the curb side of the body. The longer horizontal door on the curb side comes in handy. It's a good place to store fish sticks, flex bits, etc.

Regarding the hinge you are referring too, I think the Reading has the same type too. Is this the style?

I never gave it much thought. It makes sense that the hinge bar not traveling the full length of the door would be weaker. Of course, you'd have to treat the body rather poorly to let it rust out like that.

My dad has a Knapheide on one of his trucks, and the vertical doors have gas shocks instead of springs. I'm not sure if that is a Knapheide option though. I believe the body is on a 1998 or 1999 Ford. I spoke with a distributor and they said Knapheide only offered the springs. Any ideas? I guess I could always call Knapheide tomorrow.

[This message has been edited by royta (edited 09-21-2004).]

Royta,
The bed i purchased was the 696D54FJ40. It is the 600 series with both sides matching. It is the shorter bed to fit on a dually rather than a cab and chassis--cab and chassis is 4" longer. I added a master locking system and had them match the clear coat/ base coat paint on my truck. The price before taxes was $5232.00. I didn't order it with a bumper due to the fact that for an afternoon and a couple hundred bucks I can build the bumper I want as well as a full headache rack--both options from the dealer were going to be around $1500.00. This price included installation. I don't know what the price is for just the bed without install.
As for the picture of the door in your last post that is much more substantial than the Stahl hinge.
I researched Rawson and Koenig, Stahl, Reading, Knapheide, and the Royal bodies. Royal has a plant in Dallas and they looked like a good body, however I wanted to talk to people who have these beds and get their opinion on what they have and I didn't run into anybody in over a year who had one here in my area. I talked with several different people who have utility bodies and it was basically a toss up between the Rawson, Reading and the Knapheide. The deciding factor for me was the price. In my area and these are approximates Rawson--$5500.00, Reading--$5600.00, and Knapheide--$4900. Just a side note the dealer I went through told me he mostly sells Knapheides--he had 12 Knapheides and 1 Rawson on the yard waiting to be installed.

Having had 2 knapheide bodies for over 12 years, I'll take Readings hinge over there piano hinge anyday. The newer Knap. body had Stainless Stell Hinges but they still gummed up. My older Knapheide body had steel piano hinges that rusted tight on doors I didn't use alot. I must admit Maine winters can kill a piece of steel

Justinelect - An EC that I had worked for in the past, currently has a Royal. He said he'd never buy one again. He has had at least two Knapheide bodies in the last eleven years, and he prefers them over the Royal.

As far as a 4" longer body than the 96", there isn't such a thing. The next size is the 108". It is 4" longer between the cab and the axle, and 8" longer between the axle and the rear. I personally like the 96" body the best. Especially when my truck has the extra cab.

*edit - Do you happen to have all of the option numbers that you ordered with the body? I'm also ordering the body sans bumper. I may have mentioned this before, but I can't stand the standard utility body bumpers. Any longer and they could be used as a platform off of the back of a dive boat. I'll make, or have made, my own.

[This message has been edited by royta (edited 09-22-2004).]

Royta you are correct with your measurements. I didn't word my last post very well concerning the four inch difference. It effects where the fender wells are positioned. If I were you I would go to the Knapheide website and look through the options there. I liked the rock guards, however they looked a little too short for my taste--another thing I will do myself. I found for me the body and master lock system were pretty much the only things I wanted to buy from the manufacture--the rest I will take care of later.

Justin

[This message has been edited by Justinelect (edited 09-22-2004).]

I've already scoured the Knapheide site. I put together a list of options and faxed it to several distributors in my area. I went with these options:
77004315 – Stainless Rotary Latch – 700 series requires 7 latches
77000768 – Master Locking System
21104385 – Frame Adapter for 1994 thru 2002 Dodge 56” CA
21105721 – Spring Mounting Kit, Dodge 56” CA 2002 and prior
77000123 – Mud and Stone Guards
77000198 – Fuel Hose Guard for 1994 and Later Dodge
77004851 – Fuel Fill Cutout for Aluminum Cup – 1994 to 2002 Dodge
20048427 – Fuel Fill Aluminum Cup for 1991 to 2002 Dodge
26103515 – Flush Mount Light Kit, Ford Plug
77000156 – Light Hole, High Location
20046900 – Rock Guards
21105366 – Shelf Liner, 10.5” x 20’ roll

I just wanted to get an idea of what you actually received for the money you spent, this way I can compare it to the prices I will be receiving.

If you're looking for a quality aluminum utility body check out www.jomacltd.com. They're American made and hand built.