Want to buy used box truck with AHT Liftgate as used by Hill Rom Corp...know of any ?

I tried dealing with Hill Rom direct on this years ago but nothing much came of it....probably because they leased them thru one of the big firms like Ryder or Penske and the truck lease firm would be the actually selling agent. But checking those sites for that specific lift gate is tricky as they typically don't identify it as such as just have "lift gate" in the description...which 98 percent of the time turns out to be the typical light duty fold under style.

Below is video of the AHT gate on my Hino truck. I'd like to sell the Hino and buy a newer and larger box truck with AHT gate. Alternatively I could remove the gate mechanism and put it on a newer larger truck but it would be quite a bit of labor to do that plus I'd be left with a box truck with no door for the box to sell and who would want that ? Also a feature of the Hill Rom trucks is not just the liftgate but they tend to have much heavier duty interiors lined with plywood and two or more rows of E Track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElE_YvheqBI

I do not know if Penske rents or leases trucks with that style lift gate..
But they will answer questions by phone about used trucks..
Give them a call ..

Here's a video I've never seen before that shows a brand spankin new one in operation. The US distributor/installer/maintenance for these things, Synergy, is not horribly far away..in Thomasville, NC and I'll call them on Monday to see if they have any leads on used trucks already equipped with the liftgate but I recall from years ago they were quoting prices way higher than the Hill Rom trucks were going for in the Truck Trader. Just seems now there are no Hill Rom trucks for sale...might be a temporary lull....




And just for fun below is video of the mythical "wing box"....which AHT also makes but apparently has no video of, so here is a competitor...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve7GToiovuE

(warning, on the wing box vid turn sound way down or you'll think you're playing an epic battle video game)

How much for the Hino?

Tannewitz said:

How much for the Hino?

Click to expand...

Sheesh John, I'd thought you'd be the one to tell me where to buy a newer one, not the one maybe interested in buying this one What I want..dunno...Hino now has 360,000 miles, still runs perfect but needs radiator work (overheats...at least the gauge says so...laser temp indicator indicates otherwise on short run tests). The AHT liftgate is still in excellent physical shape...no cracks or bends anywhere....and works in all functions....but the hydraulic pump is leaking, the cylinder check valves are not holding properly and the pendant and push button controls are getting long in the tooth.

I just called Synergy and spoke with the man himself, Haire....and he knows of no used trucks with the AHTs for sale. He tells me most of Hill Rom's trucks are now going overseas when retired....I take that with a grain of salt, but could be true.

He seems only interested in selling new liftgates. A new LA-3300 is now "just north of $10,000" installed and takes 90 days to get one in ! They have none in stock.

I called J. Stephens in Atlanta to see what it might cost to completely redo this one with all new hydraulic pump, electrics...left message...no call back yet.

FWIW, I'm now finding out that Palfinger makes a similar liftgate called the MBB cantilever (same 3300 lb capacity) and has a much larger dealer and installation network here than does AHT. Getting quote on new MBB unit and installation from Great Dane in Savannah (just 30 miles away) Was surprised to find they are willing to install them on units other than their own trailers.

Don’t want to bring up an old sour point.. but did you ever take off a bottom radiator hose and back flush, in the bottom and out the top. With a good solid pressure (3/4 hose or bigger hand held) that often cleans some of the problem. Hearer hose flush is just not the same.
Yes that does not lime-out but might help to make it better than it is.
Selling would be better served if you could say the truck has no problems. Yes that is a question I always ask..”Do you know of any problems?” Saying it overheats will drop price target by perhaps 500 or a thousand dollars IMHO.

Better flush for some lime out with safety .. first clear water back flush, then add a cup of sal-soda (Carbonate of Soda) run for week or two and flush again. No baking soda is not the same as washing soda (Carbonate of Soda).

Nice truck.

michiganbuck said:

Don’t want to bring up an old sour point.. but did you ever take off a bottom radiator hose and back flush, in the bottom and out the top. With a good solid pressure (3/4 hose or bigger hand held) that often cleans some of the problem. Hearer hose flush is just not the same.
Yes that does not lime-out but might help to make it better than it is.
Selling would be better served if you could say the truck has no problems. Yes that is a question I always ask..”Do you know of any problems?” Saying it overheats will drop price target by perhaps 500 or a thousand dollars IMHO.

Better flush for some lime out with safety .. first clear water back flush, then add a cup of sal-soda (Carbonate of Soda) run for week or two and flush again. No baking soda is not the same as washing soda (Carbonate of Soda)

Click to expand...

I would fix the overheat issue before trying to sell it...I just haven't bothered as it hasn't been an issue for my short trips. I would also fix all the liftgate issues.

If I were there I would do it for you.. about a two hour job or less.. perhaps a new hose if the old was hard stuck.
Still having your building I would use the fire hose.. by hand-hold to not blow the works.
Get stuck in traffic and it might be a problem. Did my jeep in the fall and could see the difference on the gauge (it was not overheating just the heater was not working well, you should have seen the rust junk the came out... then clear.

There pretty common over here on the covered trucks used by nearly all the pallet distributors - pallet tail lift delivery services. Normally over here the lighter grade tail lifts only see use in rolls such as delivering groeries and such to small stores.

Have no idea about finding used over there, but at least over here getting extra rows of E track and such retrofitted is pretty cheap. All the more so if you go secound hand. I know the fair ground people who i do repairs for have no issue finding bits like that from crash damaged trailers. Normally they can slavage enough to do smaller - shorter trucks pretty cheap. But they have a ridiculous amount of contacts. That said if you can find some heavy truck repair places you may get lucky. There also probably may have more in the way of leads for your search too.

I thought I found the Holy Grail liftgate this morning. The disadvantages of the AHT type is if you need to load with a forklift from the ground you have to lower to liftgate to ground and drive over it. A bit of a trick sometimes since the surface is a ramp so you have to lower to forklift mast as you drive up. Also there is no driving a forklift in the truck from the dock possibility since any forklift will be too heavy for the aluminum platform.

Thus the ideal would be a tuckaway design that had a larger platform and the ability to adjust the level of same. Maxon has a relatively new design tuckaway that avoids the main problems with conventional tuckaway liftgates...which have pitiful capacity, small platforms, rust easily, and will not stay level.

But their GPT-LR seems to address these issues with 3K and up capacity, platforms 5 feet long, aluminum platforms and "always level" mechanism. Alas, it turns out the "always level" aspect depends on the truck itself remaining level and is an automatic adjustment not tweakable by the operator.. and with limited range.

A beauty of the AHT design is you can lower it on a dock even if your truck is considerably lower than the dock. You then load "going downhill" or unload "going uphill" with electric pallet jack...sounds difficult but it actually works well with a little experience and caution*. This little trick is probably not possible with the Maxon GPTLR.

Thus the Holy Grail liftgate, remains elusive, with AHT still being the winner for my various situations, all things considered.


Here's another vid with different views...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhRgCH9Jzg






--------------------
*Example of this here - http://www.practicalmachinist.com/v...-000-lb-machine-without-breaking-sweat-81240/

3. In this case there is an 6 inch difference in truck height and dock height, so the machine will be going 'downhill' into the truck. So there is no possiblity of the machine sliding on the pallet jack during the small 'braking' moves going down the truck liftgate/ramp, I place a board and screwdrivers in the holes at the end of the pallet jack forks. I also make sure the weight of the machine is oriented towards 'uphill' by tilting the head and moving the table that direction.

You could go to work for them, see what that perspective yields. You may find out how the trucks are surplused, who they sell the trucks to, etc.

Or why not do a VIN check on the unit you have, for provenance? Or did you buy it directly from Hill Rom?

Field Service Representative at Hill-Rom Company | Memphis, TN

SteveBausch said:

You could go to work for them, see what that perspective yields. You may find out how the trucks are surplused, who they sell the trucks to, etc.

Or why not do a VIN check on the unit you have, for provenance? Or did you buy it directly from Hill Rom?

Field Service Representative at Hill-Rom Company | Memphis, TN

Click to expand...

The whole idea is going sour as I'm finding out that Penske and Ryder Isuzu NPR box trucks that sold for $14,000/$15,000 a couple years ago ... same age, mileage, condition, features....are now selling in the $23,000 range, with way less selection to boot. Pesky improved economy I guess.

If I could find a mechanic I could trust I'd be tempted to say, here's $7,500...fix everything wrong with the lift gate, plus all new hydraulic hoses, new radiator for engine, all new engine hoses and whatever else sprucing up the left over money would buy... and just keep the same truck for a few more years. Of course if I did that you know it would guarantee the engine would blow the week after I paid up...