Case study
Dock strike on a 26 foot box truck with lift gate and rear frame damage
The unit was reversed into a dock bumper at an angle. The rear sill was pushed, the lower two body panels were creased, the roll up door track was bound, and the lift gate platform would not sit flat. The unit was revenue equipment for an operator out of the City of Industry distribution corridor, so downtime was the primary cost, not the repair.
Vehicle
26 foot box truck, aluminum body, Maxon rail gate
Price band
$750 to $12,000
Calendar time
1 to 3 weeks
Operations
What the job actually consisted of
- Priced collision teardown, rear sill and gate assembly measured before disassembly
- Lift gate removed as an assembly and the mounting plate straightened on the bench
- Rear sill section replaced and welded by certified personnel, then re squared
- Two lower aluminum body panels replaced, rivet pattern matched to the original
- Roll up door track replaced and the door cycled under load to confirm it runs full travel without binding
- Gate reinstalled, hydraulics bled, platform levelled and cycled through full range
- Fleet graphics reapplied across the replaced panels to match the surrounding livery
Outcome
How it ended
The unit went back on route inside the moderate body window, and the operator kept the rest of the fleet working because only one truck was in the building at a time. The invoice was written against the purchase order and the department cost center.
More
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Is your vehicle in the same situation
Match on construction type and failure mode, not on the badge. We are 18.4 miles from Hacienda Heights via SR-60 west to Fullerton Rd, then south to La Palma Ave.
