How Long Does Body Kit Installation Really Take? A Workshop Planning Guide

"How many hours per vehicle?" is the question every workshop asks and almost no supplier answers plainly. Here are realistic planning numbers, by body type and assembly level, from Kit-Go installation documentation and customer feedback. Planning benchmarks (competent 2-person team, first-time chassis) Dropside: CKD 6–8 h · PAS 3–4 h · FAS 1.5–2 h Curtain side: CKD 10–14 h · PAS 5–7 h · FAS 2–3 h Rear tipper (incl. hydraulics): CKD 12–16 h · PAS 6–8 h · FAS 2.5–3.5 h 3-way tipper: PAS 7–9 h · FAS 3–4 h Dry freight box: CKD 14–18 h · PAS 7–9 h · FAS 2.5–3.5 h Repeat installations on the same chassis model typically run 25–35% faster than first-time figures once the team has the sequence down. The three time-killers nobody budgets for 1. Chassis preparation surprises. Factory-fitted items in the mounting zone (spare wheel carriers, AdBlue tanks on some variants) add 1–2 hours if not identified before the chassis arrives. Fix: request the mounting drawing when ordering, check the chassis on delivery day — not on install day. 2. Missing or wrong hardware. The classic distributor-chain problem. Every Kit-Go kit ships with a bill of materials against traceability codes — check-in takes 15 minutes and saves half-days. 3. Electrical integration. Lighting boards and hydraulic controls take longer on chassis with CAN-gated electrics. Budget a fixed hour for first-time electrical work on any new chassis generation. From hours to throughput Workshop capacity per bay per week ≈ (available hours × utilisation ~0.75) ÷ install hours. A single bay running PAS dropsides at 3.5 h realistically turns ~8 units/week; the same bay on CKD turns ~4. That gap — not the kit price gap — is usually the deciding number. (Full cost model: CKD vs PAS vs FAS real total cost.) When to let the factory do it If committed monthly volume × (CKD install hours − FAS install hours) exceeds the labour you can actually hire, you don't have a kit decision — you have a FAS requirement. Installation documentation ships with every kit. Questions on a specific chassis: office@kit-go.com · kit-go.com/how-it-works