Daf expands Plug & Play programme for rigid truck conversions

Daf Trucks has expanded its Plug & Play programme to facilitate the body-building process for its rigid trucks.

Introduced last year, the programme was designed in close cooperation with 25 body builders in Europe.

It allows the customer, builder and dealer to jointly select pre-specified and tailored plug-and-play body building options in Daf’s order system.

The underlying aim is to make the ‘marriage’ of a body with the Daf chassis as simple as possible. After mounting the body onto the chassis (using the factory-installed body mounting modules), the connectors are connected and the body is immediately ready for use.

The expanded programme includes a series of universal factory preparations for all other body builders outside of the 25 that are already participating. These plug-and-play options are available for the installation of five dedicated vehicle applications: hook lifts, cranes, tippers, mixers and skip loaders.

The Dutch truck manufacturer has also increased payloads by up to 160Kg and is offering new hole pattern options for its chassis rails.

Cornelis van der Lee, director Rigid and Vocational Trucks at Daf Trucks, said: “These superstructures represent around 90% of the body market. Customers and dealers can now work together with almost any body builder to decide which universal ex-factory chassis preparations are required for an ultra-quick installation of a superstructure.

“Daf can take care not only of the chassis configurations but also of the correct placement of the connectors. This enables instant communication between the superstructure and the Driver Information Panel on the dashboard and the switches in the cab.

“The result is much shorter lead times in the body building process, which in turn enhances the operational readiness of newly ordered New Generation DAF rigid trucks. DAF is leading the way in body-builder-friendliness.”

A newly designed, full aluminium Rear Underrun Protection (RUP) beam reduces vehicle weight by 28Kg, despite being more robust than its steel predecessor.

Buyers of a new generation Daf rigid truck can also choose to combine the rigidity of Daf rigid longitudinal chassis beams with the stiffness of the superstructure subframe. Additional chassis reinforcements are then no longer necessary. This results in a weight reduction of up to 135Kg.

Daf chassis traditionally come with a 60mm hole pattern. However, in order to meet the specific requirements of builders, a 50mm hole pattern along the entire chassis-length is now also available. The positioning of the pattern as a whole can now be adjusted to meet the needs of a body builder, even when the holes must run all the way to rear end of the chassis.

The position of nearly all chassis components, as well as the Engine After treatment System, can be tailored to the needs of the truck owner or body builder. The latter can also indicate which of the available Daf body attachment modules (BAM) need to be mounted ex-factory and at which precise location. A superstructure can then be mounted on the fully flat chassis, which reduces costs and ensures quick entry into service.

Daf also offers numerous options for controlling the bodywork and equipment from the cab – and vice versa – either by analogue means or via the special bodybuilder CAN bus, which allows signals and warnings to be passed on to the cab and clearly projected on the large digital display.