Still The Fastest Rear Loader In The World After Almost 60 Years

Zachary Geroux

 

Gar Wood Industries was a household name in the waste industry for almost 40 years. Their load packer design, which saw several versions and was often referred to as the “Slam Door” Gar Wood, catapulted the company into market dominance for nearly 20 years. However, in the 1950s, Leach and Heil had fielded competing rear loaders that were more technologically advanced the antique staple in the Gar Wood product line.

 

Leach was first to really contend with Gar Wood with their newly re-designed Packmaster slide-sweep style packer. It offered a bigger hopper, higher compaction and better payload. Heil had released their Colectomatic in 1953, which quickly launched the company to become a dominating rival and major contender for both Leach and Gar Wood.

 

The LP-500 Series

Knowing they needed a completely radical design that wouldn’t infringe on the patents held by either of their competitors, Gar Wood released their LP-500 series “Cyclomatic” Rear Loader to the world in 1957. Featuring a 360 degree revolving, chain driven paddle panel used to clear the deep 1.5 cu yd. hopper in 4 seconds, the “Cyclomatic” style bodies still hold the world record for fastest rear loader in the world. Once the paddle had scooped all of the material out of the hopper, it would be compacted into the body by a huge 7-inch cylinder actuating a packing blade exerting 81,000 pounds of force into the body. The entire time elapsed from start to finish was only 10 seconds. Compared to the much slower Leach Packmaster at 28 seconds, the LP-500 allowed the operators to load more material at a three to four times faster rate. Offered in four sizes—10, 13, 16 and 20yds—the LP-500 was tailored to meet the demands of any hauler.

 

While rear loaders were used on residential routes 95 percent of the time, in the 1950s, their usability was greatly enhanced for the hauler by an optional container attachment for use on commercial routes. Gar Wood offered the Load-Lift container attachment mated with their Pax-All 1-yard wheeled containers. Using a hydraulically actuated “kick bar” to empty the containers, Gar Wood’s design was more efficient then that their closer competitor Leach who used chains attached to their slow packer to empty containers.

 

The LP-500 series only lasted for three years before being replaced with an updated version in the LP-600. While the “Cyclomatic” series Gar Wood bodies could never compete with Leach on their bulk item crushing ability, they held no equal on a residential route with their lightning fast packer and excellent payloads. They were beloved by the haulers and drivers who used them and became the breath of fresh air that Gar Wood needed to maintain their dominance.

 

Zachary Geroux is a historian, photographer and owner of Refuse Truck Photography. He lives in Western Washington with his wife where he currently works full time for the Air Force and has been driving garbage trucks off and on for the past nine years. He can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.refusetruckphotography.com.

 

Many thanks to Eric V. at Classic Refuse Trucks whose years of knowledge and documentation has been an inspiration to me since CRT came online in 2004. Visit the Gar Wood album at www.classicrefusetrucks.com to read a complete history of this amazing company and be sure to stop by the Refuse Truck Photography Facebook page to join the conversation on this month’s article.

Capone White 3000 Gar Wood LP 500 Gar Wood Load Lift Container Attachment LP500 Packer cycle

 

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