Utility truck body with option attachment components

A truck body is disclosed for mounting on a standard truck frame. The body includes extruded attachment components which run the full length of the body. The attachment components have T-slots formed beneath their surfaces for permitting attachment of optional equipment to the truck body. The attachment components are designed to conform to the shape of the truck body in an aesthetically pleasing manner. One type of extruded attachment component includes an integral hinge pin for rotatably supporting a toolbox lid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to truck bodies, and more particularly, to 
truck bodies having slotted body components for attaching optional 
equipment and accessories to truck beds. 
2. Description of Related Art 
Utility truck bodies are often modified by tradesmen to fit their 
particular needs. For example, superstructures for enclosing the truck 
bed, tool racks, cargo securing devices, and other accessories are often 
bolted to the truck body. Typically, installation of such accessories 
required that numerous holes be drilled into the truck body. When it was 
desired to replace the accessories or add new ones, more drilling was 
necessary. The drilling of holes in the truck body resulted in water 
leakage into tool storage compartments and rust formation in addition to 
an unattractive appearance. 
It is known to fasten a slotted rail to a truck body for providing a 
cargo-securing device. Typically, such rails are bolted to the truck body 
as an add-on accessory and do not conform to the shape of the truck body. 
That is, the bolt-on rails project from the truck bed. In addition to 
creating an unattractive appearance, the the rails sometimes interfere 
with cargo and reduce the usable dimensions of the bed. Furthermore, 
existing slotted rails have only one slot, thus limiting the flexibility 
of the rails. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of the invention is to provide an attachment component which 
serves to provide a hinge pin for rotatably supporting a toolbox lid. 
In a preferred embodiment, the invention includes an extrusion for a truck 
body comprising the following: an outer surface adapted to conform to the 
shape of the outer surface of the truck body; an inner surface adapted to 
engage the surface of the vehicle body, the inner surface including 
structure for attaching the extrusion to the truck body; and an integral 
hinge pin formed on the outer surface having a longitudinal axis which is 
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the extrusion. 
Other objects and advantages and a fuller understanding of the invention 
will be had from the following detailed description of the preferred 
embodiments and the accompanying drawings

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIG. 1, a truck 10 having a utility body 12 is illustrated. 
The body 12 includes a pair of upstanding side structures 14, 16, a bed, 
and a plurality of storage compartments 18. A plurality of doors 20 cover 
the storage compartments 18. The two side structures are mirror images of 
one another. The body 12 is constructed to be fastened to the frame of a 
commercially available truck. 
Referring to FIG. 2, each side structure 14, 16 includes a top surface 22, 
an inner vertical surface 24, an inner connecting face 26, and an outer 
connecting face 28. An inner attachment component 30 is connected to the 
inner connecting face 26 by a fastener 32. Pun outer attachment component 
34 is connected to the outer connecting face 28 with a fastener 36. The 
attachment components 30,34 which run along substantially the full length 
of the truck body 12, conform to the shape of the truck body 12 and form 
part of its aesthetically pleasing shape. 
A flange 38 is formed about each storage compartment defining an access 
opening. A resilient seal 40 is provided between each flange 38 and each 
door 20. The doors 20 are hinged for swinging toward and away from the 
seals 40 to permit access to the storage compartments 18 from the outside 
of the truck 10. 
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer attachment component 34 is an 
extruded part including a top surface 42, a sloped side member 44, and a 
connecting surface 46. The component 34 also includes two parallel T-slots 
48,50. One of the T-slots 50 is formed in the connecting surface 46 and 
serves to retain the fastener 36 for connecting the component 30 to the 
connecting face 28. The other T-slot 48 is formed in the top surface 42 
and serves to receive one or more fasteners 54 for mounting optional 
equipment to the truck body 12. The sloping side member 44 serves as a 
rain deflector for deflecting rain away from the storage compartment seal 
38. The side member 44 also forms an aesthetically pleasing curve for 
complementing the curvature of the doors 20. 
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the inner attachment component 30 is an 
extruded part including a top surface 56, a side surface 58, and a 
connecting portion 60. The component 30 includes three parallel T-slots 
62, 64, 66. One of the T-slots 62 is formed in the connecting portion 60 
and serves to retain fasteners 32 for connecting the component 30 to the 
connecting face 26. The other two T-slots 64, 66 are used for receiving 
fasteners 70,72 for mounting optional equipment to the truck body 12. One 
of the T-slots 64 faces a direction which is 90.degree. from the direction 
faced by the other T-slot 66. Thus, one slot 64 faces upward and the other 
slot 66 faces inward toward the opposite side structure. 
The T-slots 48,64,66 are constructed to slidably receive fasteners such as 
bolt heads, nuts, or a simple plates having threaded openings formed 
therein (not shown). The fasteners fit loosely within the slots 48,64,66 
to permit rapid positioning of the fasteners to any location along the 
length of the truck body 12. The forward ends of the components 30,34 
(near the truck cab) are unobstructed to permit fasteners to be inserted 
and removed from the T-slots. The T-slots 48,64,66 are below the surface 
of the truck body 12 and thus do not interfere with cargo and do not 
reduce the usable dimensions of the bed. Thus, for example, if a 
superstructure (not shown) is to be fastened to the truck body 12, it is 
not necessary to measure and drill holes in the body 12. A number of bolt 
heads are simply inserted into the T-slots 48,64 with their threaded 
portions projecting upwardly. The superstructure is lowered onto the body 
12 while the bolts are aligned with openings in the superstructure. 
Finally, nuts are tightened on the bolts for securing the superstructure 
to the body 12. 
Referring to FIG. 5, an attachment component 74 having a hinge pin is 
illustrated. The attachment component 74 is mounted to a connecting face 
76 of the truck body with a fastener 78 which is preferably a nut and 
bolt. The component 74 is an extrusion having the same cross sectional 
shape along its entire length. The component 74 includes a pair of T-slots 
80,82 located at right angles to one another which serve the same purpose 
as slots 64,66 discussed previously. The component 74 has an integrally 
formed circular hinge pin 84 as seen in FIG. 5. The hinge pin 84 serves as 
part of a hinge for rotatably supporting a lid 86. 
The lid 86 serves to cover a storage compartment 81 formed in the side 
structures 14,16 of the truck body. The lid 86 is comprised of an inner 
extrusion 88, an outer extrusion 90, and a planar panel 92 connected 
between the inner 88 and outer 90 extrusions. The inner extrusion 88 has a 
circular portion 94 for cooperatively engaging the hinge pin 84 to form a 
hinge. When the lid 86 is lifted, the circular portion 94 rotates about 
the pin 84 as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 5. The inner extrusion 84 
further includes a T-slot 96 which is preferably used to attach one end of 
a gas spring (not shown) to the lid 86 to control the lid=3 s movement. 
The outer extrusion 90 includes a door overhang 98 for deflecting rain away 
from the top of the storage compartment doors 20. The outer extrusion 90 
further includes a T-slot 100 which is preferably used to attach a striker 
(not shown) for latching the lid 86. 
While preferred embodiments of this invention have been described in 
detail, it will be apparent that certain modifications or alterations can 
be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set 
forth in the appended claims.