Classic Refuse Trucks WESTERN

Western Body & Hoist Company
Jet Full-Pak and Wesco Truck Chassis

Nothing made in 1965 could compare with the Jet, an engineered package combining a 35 cubic yard Full-Pak body with a special chassis & cab designed and engineered jointly by Reo Motors and Western. The axle placement split the weight equally over each axle, and only four wheels with duplex tires were used. Power steering and Allison AT-40 automatic transmission were standard, with choice of gas or optional Cummins diesel engine.

It was however, the loader mechanism that was the most interesting feature of the Jet. Western owner George Morrison had come up with a novel arrangement whereby the narrow-spaced lift arms were mounted in the the center, splitting the cab (narrow "telephone booth" operator and driver cabs were provided) and eliminating danger to operators without infringing on Dempster's over-the-cab lift arm patents. The Jet Full-Pak was a contemporary of the ill-fated Gar Wood T-100, and could handle most standard containers (up to eight yards) with a choice of side or flat fork configurations. Morrison's Jet was far more practical and easier to build than the unitized T-100, and appears to have had seen at least marginal success.

The side forks are lowered, and ready to hook up to a container. In this photo, you can see an indicator rod sticking out of the front of the body, giving the driver a visual cue that packer blade is retracted (fully forward), and the hopper is ready to receive refuse.

More photos showing the arm details follow:

WESCO JET TRUCKS

Through their subsidiary Wesco Refuse Equipment Sales Co. of Sun Valley, Western sold their special truck chassis separately for use with 25 cubic yard rear loading packer bodies by Heil (above, Colectomatic Mark III) ,Gar Wood (below, Load-Packer LP-725), and the E-Z Pack rear loader (not shown). With a short cab and 140 inch wheelbase, the Jet gave agility to the large packer bodies, as well as the same excellent weight distribution as their own Jet Full-Pak front loader.

Additionally, the Jet does have a special place in history, though in a slightly different guise as the famous Son of Godzilla automated residential loader built to the specifications of the Refuse Division, City of Scottsdale, Arizona. Though based on the Jet Full-Pak, that vehicle is covered in greater detail on this site in the City of Scottsdale album.

The Jet chassis was also sold commercially as the Diamond Reo CF-5542, and also by parent White Motor Company as the "Alley Cat" with a full-width White Compact cab in place of the twin phone booths.

4/6/08