Dry Freight Box Body Kits: The Complete Buyer's Guide

The dry freight box is the most common body type in European parcel and general cargo distribution — and one of the least discussed. Buyers assume all boxes are the same. They aren't, and the differences show up in payload, durability and driver productivity. Wall construction: aluminium/PES vs plywood-GRP Kit-Go box bodies use rigid aluminium and PES (polyester-faced sandwich) panels. Compared with traditional plywood-GRP construction: Weight: PES sandwich panels are lighter per m² — directly recoverable as payload on a 3.5t chassis. Moisture: plywood cores absorb water at any panel breach and delaminate; PES cores don't. Repair: damaged PES panels are replaced individually using traceability-coded parts, not patched. Door configuration decides productivity Match the rear opening to the operation, not the catalogue default: Double rear doors (270° opening) — standard for dock loading; doors fold flat against the body sides. Roller shutter — faster for multi-drop street delivery, at a small cost in aperture height and insulation. Side access door — worth speccing for courier operations pulling single parcels mid-route. Tail lift integration Retrofit tail lifts on boxes not designed for them cause chronic rear-frame issues. Order the body with tail lift reinforcement in the rear frame from the start — even if the lift comes later. The cost difference at production stage is minimal; the retrofit reinforcement cost is not. Interior spec that matters Tie-down rails at two heights for load security compliance (EN 12195) Translucent roof panel — free interior light, no wiring Floor: anti-slip resin-coated surface rated for pallet truck point loads Chassis compatibility Kit-Go dry freight box kits fit Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, VW Crafter, Iveco Daily, Renault Master, Fiat Ducato, Peugeot Boxer, MAN TGE and other major LCV chassis, in standard and long wheelbase. CKD, PAS or FAS? Box bodies reward the PAS route more than most body types: panel alignment is the hardest part of assembly, and pre-built wall sub-assemblies remove most of that risk while keeping freight costs well below a fully assembled body. High-volume fleet buyers with tight turnaround commitments should still price FAS — the install time difference is 1 day vs 3–4. Browse box body kits at kit-go.com/products or write to office@kit-go.com for a fleet quotation. Volume discounts from 5 units, 0% VAT on intra-EU B2B orders.