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Got dogs? They will thank you for a wooden floor. Carting large or heavy items like steel or rocks, go with steel. If you don't mind the noise, go aluminium.
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Worth pointing out that for the majority of Series production, trays were built locally by a small coach and body builder, working for the distributor, the dealer, or the new owner. Most Series 1 lwb trays were built after the original body fell to bits, in some cases built by the owner. It was only right into S3 time that Landrover actually supplied them from PMC. Cab/chassis configuration was supplied from very early in Landrover production.
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I was at Leyland Truck & Bus in July 1973 when T&B became the LR/RR wholesale distributor and Brisbane retail dealer. We were getting 109's with PMC dropside bodies then. Also a few 88's were made as cab & chassis and with short PMC dropside bodies. Very few though. They were mostly sold to govt. or semi-govt bodies for special applications.We also provided 109 chassis and scuttle to a remanufacturer who made vehicles for underground mines out of them.
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Aluminium with stirrup
I've never had an LR ute, but I did have a Rodeo tray-back. (about 2006). Big thing with tray-backs "anything's possible".
Pros and cons of wood and steel have been discussed by others.
My experience with checker-plate is that it's even easier to fall over on than standard steel. And a sod to scrape soil from.
Advantage of wood is that it's relatively easily repairable - I did half an old truck once - disadvantages listed by others.
No-one much seems to have mentioned 'load-bearing'.
My little Rodeo had a stirrup-style (bent tube upper-frame) made by a mob in Brisbane (Archerfield somewhere, I think) which I remember as being better than the Holden or Toyota standard trays. It was 'flat', ribbed, and nicely engineered out of sight/underneath. The side-flaps were removable (I think) but I never did.
And I grew very grateful for spending the extra for a stirrup (both sides) to enable easy mount/dismount.
Frankly, if that mob is still there (Archerfield somewhere, Ipswich Road), I'd skip DUI and get one from them. Only hesitation with aluminium was (when I bolted an aluminium toolbox to it) was ensuring the steel bolts were 'insulated' with rubber and wood and epoxy to prevent corrosion.
As an aside - I learned to think of my Rodeo as 'two vehicles' - unladen with about 32 front and 24 PSI in the rear tyres and laden (a genuine 1-tonne) with 45 PSI front and 60 PSI rear. Even at 48 PSI rear, with a full tonne on board it waddled alarmingly. At 60 PSI - it was 'no problem'.
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From bitter experience... checker plate can have one major disadvantage in that the striations, if they have an edge, can rub against softer materials as a result of vibrations/moving back and forth....and tear them to shreds.. good idea check the 'roughness' of the striations carefully beforehand.
