The new Pal Pro 20 mechanics body from Omaha Standard Palfinger made its debut at the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.
The compact Pal Pro 20 comes in 11-foot and nine-foot configurations and can accommodate
MARTINALLRED
David Phillips (right), regional sales manager for the Midwest for Omaha Standard Palfinger, addresses a press conference at the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis
cranes of up to 20,000 foot-pounds capacity, said David Phillips, regional sales manager for the Midwest, during an interview at the show this March.
“It’s designed to fit on a class 3 or class 4 chassis,” said Phillips, who joined Palfinger in July 2017 after about eight years with Elliott Equipment Company. “So it gives us a lot of options to provide you with configurations on a smaller truck.”
He said the Pal Pro 20 is receiving a lot of interest from companies looking for a smaller mechanics body outfitted with a crane in the 3,200 to 4,000 pound range — such as in the Texas oil patch and in municipal markets.
“Now that we are fully out of the service body business, this is a good way for us to have a true mechanics body in that size range,” Elliott said in a reference to Palfinger selling its service body business to Reading Truck Group in 2017.
Mark Woody, who was set to step down as president of Palfinger Inc. at the end of March, said it was difficult for the company to differentiate itself from other players in the service body segment. “But mechanics trucks, we can show people there’s a real difference – lift, capacity, quality and those kinds of things,” Woody said.
Standard features of the new Pal Pro 20 include “two-piece steel doors featuring internal C-channel stiffeners, automotive adhesive bonding and 316 marine grade stainless steel hinges,” said a news release issued at the show.
A full-length channel drip rail diverts water away from the compartment openings while three-point compression latches improve sealing and security. Also available are aluminum shelving and roll-out drawers with four longitudinal dividers and padded floors.
The bodies come in more than 30 outrigger and bumper configurations. As with other Pal Pro bodies, the new model also has Palfinger’s 12-step E-coat corrosion protection.
The tops of the compartments are reinforced to accommodate welders and other accessories, Phillips said. The reinforcement also prevents cracking should the body twist during off-road use “that happens commonly on service bodies.”