Dare to Compare: Body Storage Compartments

Two Versions, Same Exceptional Quality

2″ Door Extreme Duty Body Storage Compartments for Special Service Vehicles

The world’s best special service vehicles need Extreme Duty Storage Compartments for real-world use. Intended for gear and equipment for law enforcement, fire and rescue, SWAT and tactical, catastrophe response vehicles and more, these compartments are the result of many hours of engineering, testing and construction.

“These compartments are designed, fabricated and installed right here at LDV. The doors are dual layer with an outer aluminum and inner Diamond Plate skin to make them very rigid,” said Andy Waag, LDV Engineer.

Our Exclusive Compartment Doors

Customers tell us all the time that our hand-built compartment doors are on another level, and they are. The doors contain the outer paddle handle as well as the inner latching mechanism. They are secured to the compartment with a stainless steel piano hinge and all hardware is stainless steel for longevity. Once opened, the doors are supported by aerospace-grade cables. Swing-out and swing-up doors are supported by gas shocks. Competitors often rivet a mounting tab in place for the gas shocks while our gas shocks are installed with welded custom-fabricated mounting tabs for solid and secure mounting.

What’s Inside is What Counts

The compartment housing is constructed with either 1/8″ or 3/16″ thick aluminum. Based on the customer’s needs and the weight they will carry, the storage compartment will be fully welded and designed with the appropriate aluminum thickness and any other structure that may need to be added.

For added protection, durable spatter coating can be added to the compartment interiors. For even more durability and slip resistance we can apply a bedliner or rubberized coating. Two great options to line the floor of the compartment are a 3/16” rubber drawer liner or plastic drainage tile. The plastic drainage tile lifts the gear off the bottom of the compartment and away from dampness.

These fully welded compartments are all “sweep-out” style meaning there is no lip to catch water or debris. All compartments have drain holes with shielding from road debris so they can be rinsed out if needed. These extreme duty compartments also come standard with door-activated LED lighting for after-hours deployment.

“When a customer elects to add drainage tile to the compartment, it creates a dry space useful for their gear storage and equipment. We have created a fully welded compartment that prevents water from entering the compartment but also lets the water out from their wet gear. The shielding over the drain holes prevents road spray from entering the compartment,” explained Waag.

Another added feature for these extreme duty compartments is the integration of lock actuators, meaning the key fob for the vehicle can lock and unlock all doors and compartments with the press of a button.

Redesigned 1″ Door Body Storage Compartments for Tool Trucks

We took our popular storage boxes on our legendary tool trucks and redesigned them as well to make them more weatherproof. A trough to trap water was added, preventing it from entering the interior of the compartment. The compartment gasket is also larger, includes ribs, and features upgraded material to help the sealing abilities. This keeps your broken tools, batteries and overstock clean and dry.

Our body storage compartments are ready to work. They can carry catalogs, boxes, and cases of overstock tools and other items you want to use them for.

These exterior storage compartments are integrated with a plunger switch, which is wired to the alarm system: Open a compartment with the alarm activated and it will sound. Overstock stored on the outside of your tool truck is critical to protect just like the tools and equipment inside your store.

Door-activated LED strip lighting can be integrated into the storage compartment to illuminate the interior.

We even redesigned the handles to a compression style to help seal the compartment. Nothing has been overlooked in the redesign of these storage compartments in an effort to add additional value to the tool trucks we build. All current and future tool truck builds will feature these storage compartment enhancements.

“The new handles apply pressure to the seal which greatly helps the sealing ability. Even if water can penetrate the door gap, it will be collected in the redesign trough and won’t make it into the compartment interior,” said Waag.

If you need additional storage within your custom vehicle, our storage boxes are the way to go.