Should I install a liftgate on my box truck or stick with a ramp?

[Kevin71]

I’m trying to decide if I should spec a new box truck with a liftgate or just stick with a ramp. My last truck had a ramp, but I’m getting more deliveries to places without a proper dock and I’m worried about straining my back wrestling heavy pallets on an incline. The initial cost is significant, but I keep wondering if the time savings and reduced physical hassle would justify it over the long haul.

[RichardG]

We swapped to a box truck with a liftgate last spring. It took a couple weeks to find the rhythm, but offloading felt smoother and my back hurt a lot less at the end of the day. On days with heavy pallets and no dock, it was suddenly doable.

[KevinR]

The upfront cost is steep, and the numbers barely penciled out in my rough ROI: labor savings and less healthcare slog add up, but you have to ride it for a few years.

[Oliver_T]

Maybe the bigger issue isn't the equipment at all but the dock access and scheduling. We tried rearranging routes and pallet sizes to fit docks, and it helped a little, but the bottleneck persisted. Is the real problem just not planning enough around the dock situation?

[DennisL]

I rented a truck with a powered platform for a month to test it. It helped a bit, but I still couldn't justify the cost given the current routes.