Heil Half-Pack Front Loader and Full-Eject Front Loader 1985 Heil Half-Pack 40-yard front loader     By early 1985, another all-new front loader would replace the original Heil Half/Pack. The new model was 40-cubic yards, and shorter and height, with a hydraulically-operated bubble tailgate replacing the barn doors. It was still a partial packer, but got completely different packer panel, of the type pioneered by AMREP. This utilized a pair of overlapped horizontal rams, with a single-stage 63" stroke. This cross-ram design alleviated wear and tear on the floor, and helped reduce wedging. The bottom half of the panel had a box-like protrusion to house the rams, which also aided in rolling and compacting the load as the body filled. The hoist-dump method was carried over, but now with rearward-extending lift cylinders.     The new body resembled the 1st gen full-pack, except for horizontal braces in the hopper area. Though heavier than the original, Heil offered a special "light-weight" option package for the new Half/Pack. These had reduced thickness steel in the floor and sidewalls, shaving almost 1,000 pounds of weight. The Half/Pack Full-Eject was another variant which had telescopic rams in place of the single-stage cylinders. The half-pack cycle could be used on the route, and full-stroke ejection employed at the dump site. The old standard Full-Pack front loader remained in the Heil catalog, and got an updated body and direct-pull lift arm cylinders. Visually, it was now actually hard to tell it apart from the rival Dempster XHD!     Like most Heil refuse bodies, the Half/Pack front loader was converted to the DuraPack body in the late 1990s, either as a half-pack or half-pack full-eject. The latest models feature clamp-on lift arms for ease of repair, and electronic controls, as well as novel packing cylinder restraint system to prevent body damage in the event of a mounting pin failure. The dependable DuraPack front loader remains a best-seller for Heil in North America, as well as in numerous countries around the world. The Half/Pack's 3-yard bustle tailgate helped roll refuse to aid compaction The Half/Pack Full-Eject model is almost identical to the standard model... ...except for three-stage telescopic cylinders in place of single-stage rams... ...which eject the load out the rear instead of tilting to dump. The Heil full-pack front loader was still available with old-style vertical telescopic packing cylinder... ...however it got an updated body shell and more conventional (outside the body) direct-pull lift arms Curved-shell DuraPack body was adopted on the front loader in the late 1990s Inside of a Full-Eject DuraPack body Full-pack blade and track way The HPE4401 DuraPack was a rare version: lift arm cylinders are anchored to the cab shield The 4401 featured a large, rounded bustle tailgate 5/29/17 © 2017 All Rights Reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers