You too can have a body like this, 'off the peg'
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Brian Weatherley followed a typical Luton body through the building and fitting process at the Draycott depot of cv bodybuilder Giltsave
FORA LIGHT vehicle operator, unfamiliar with the task of specifying bodywork, the bodybuilding industry can seem like an impenetrable jungle with no path to guide him through. He tends therefore to rely heavily on the chassis dealer, who being unlikely to keep a bodied model in stock, will usually place the vehicle with ane of his "pet" bodybuilders. While this arrangement may well satisfy all parties, a general bodybuilder can take anything up to two weeks to complete the job depending on how busy his production line is, and for the operator in a hurry to use his finished boxvan the extended wait can mean lost business. One answer would seem to be a same-day body-fitting service using prefabricated "off the peg" bodies designed to fit most popular makes of 3.5 tonne gvw chassis cabs. One company currently offering a "while you wait" service to light commercial operators is Giltsave, which launched its Bodystop system one and a half years ago and now has four depots in the UK engaged in quick-fit bodybuilding with an average fitting time for a standard aluminium 3.04m (10ft) Luton or Box van body of less than two hours. A dropside alloy tipping body with electro-hydraulic tipping gear can be fitted in four hours. Commercial vehicle bodybuilders since 1978, Giltsave produces all the prefabricated parts for the standard alloy bodies at its main premises at Rochford, Southend. These are then distributed to the three "satellite" facilities at Deptford in London, Draycott-in-the-Clay near Burton on Trent, and Darlington, where they are assembled and held in stock ready for final fitting.