Classic Refuse Trucks GAR WOOD

Load-Packer 800

The term "bulk packer" came into use in the 1960's, due to new designs that were capable of digesting heavier items than the trucks of the 40's and 50's. The LP-800 was Gar Woods "bulk packer" designed to compete with the Leach 2R Packmaster and Loadmaster. Along with the LP-700 and T-100, it rounded out their "First Family of Packers" in the late 1960's. Unlike the T-100, the LP-800 was a body only, and probably found quite a few more buyers. It used a swing link system years ahead of its time, variations of which would later be incorporated into competitors designs such as the Heil Mark V, Dempster Route King and E-Z Pack Goliath. The packer plate was freed from the sidewalls by four pivoting links (reference no.4), which reduced friction and wear.

The LP-800 used packing and sweep panels working in tandem, much like their competitors. Even the sweep panel cylinder ("panel cylinder") is in the same location as most contemporary slide/sweep designs. Suspending the packer blade on the four swinging links was the big difference. It differed enough from the 2R so as to avoid infringement issues, and is probably a better system...at least in theory. The pivoting links reduce friction and tailgate wear, allowing more force to be applied to the load.

Note also that the the packing cylinder is attached at the mid-point of the lower link. This was to multiply packing force through increased leverage, though the strain on the cylinders may have been very high. This connection point may have also been susceptible to metal fatigue and breakage, though how well it fared is not known for sure. The modern designs still using this system (Dempster and E-Z Pack) have always attached this cylinder directly to the packing panel.

Packing cycle is fairy self -explanatory viewing the sequence at left. First illustration shows packing and sweep panels in "home" position, ready for hopper loading

At commencement of cycle, the sweep panel cylinders retract, opening the panel quite conventionally over the loaded hopper.

Next, the packing panel cylinders extend, forcing the lower link to swing downward and rearward, carrying the packing panel and upper links during its descent.

Then, sweep panel cylinders extend, clearing hopper floor

Finally, packing cylinders retract, pulling packing panel and links upward into the body and compacting the load

A Gar Wood exclusive automatic lock/unlock tailgate latch first appeared on the LP-800. The latches were controlled by movement of the tailgate lift cylinders (ref 19, top drawing), which was not only convenient but safe.

The LP-800 used telescopic ejection, controlled by a method called CDC (Constant Density Compaction). With this system, forward movement of the ejector occurred when a preset pressure was reached in the packing panel hydraulic circuit. It was claimed that this resulted in more uniform loading than competitors models which used relief valving in the ejector circuit, which varied depending on how many stages of the cylinder were extended.

The automatic four-stage cycle was controlled by electric servo, but could be switched to dual-lever manual control. Like the T-100, a safety stop bar runs the length of the hopper sill (see reference 7 in top drawing). Knee pressure against the bar caused the cycle to stop instantly. Like the T-100, the LP-800 was to become but a sad footnote in Gar Wood history, rumored to have been plagued by mechanical problems. Or perhaps electrical issues? Dana Gregory recently wrote in with his first-hand recollections of the LP-800:

The word I heard through the grapevine in the Boston area was that the electro-hydraulics were undependable. I know of one city adjacent to Boston who purchased two 25 yd 800 bodies on GMC cabover chassis. Nice, nice trucks. One worked great. The hydraulics were trouble free and it packed a huge load. The other was just the opposite: problems with the hydraulics caused the packer to cycle slower than normal and ejection was also very slow. I saw this with my own eyes. What a shame. I always liked the 800. The thing with the 800 was you either got a good one or a bad one. No in between. Gar Wood did back their product, and took the bad ones back. I think that if they stuck to manual hydraulics with two levers, the 800 would have been a very worthy competitor to the 2R.

Indeed, electric controls have been a problem for many manufacturers, especially in the early days. It would be a shame that such a minor flaw (in that it has nothing to do with the mechanical principals of the basic design) may have killed off an otherwise good packer. By 1972 though, Gar Wood was under new ownership, with an all new design on the way (LP-900) which would turn their fortunes around considerably. The T-100 and LP-800 have been long forgotten, though they were the predecessors of successful swing-link models eventually fielded by Dempster and E-Z Pack. Unitized construction and front wheel drive used on the T-100 have also been successfully used on Lodal's EVO side loader for decades.

The LP-800 should have been just right for its time, but (perhaps for the reasons explained above) the last examples rolled off the assembly lines in the early 1970's. However, its swing link design has lived on, and is currently the only rear-load packing method in real competition with the slide/sweep system. I am seeking more information on this body and the T-100, and will update this page if anything new is discovered. Please contact CRT if you have any information on these 1960's Gar Woods. I would especially like to hear from persons involved in manufacturing or sales, or those who may have actually used this equipment.

8/8/04 (revised 8/30/09)