 
McNeilus
The Future Is Now
McNeilus was purchased by Oshkosh Corporation in 1998, and has operated as a subsidiary since that time. Oshkosh manufactures specialist vehicles for industry and defense applications, and had frequently partnered with McNeilus by providing heavy-duty chassis for their front-discharge cement mixers. Oshkosh briefly built their own refuse bodies in the 1980s, but these were of limited production. For many years, Oshkosh owned both McNeilus (USA) and Geesink-Norba (Netherlands) making it a titan in the world refuse body market.
With Oshkosh, McNeilus front loaders were sold in Europe by Geesink-Norba. Conversely, McNeilus began offering a narrow-bodied, compact rear loader called the M5, which was based on the Norba KI-11 packer design. It remains in the lineup, even though Oshkosh no longer owns Geesink-Norba. A mid-range rear loader also joined the team called Metro-Pak, using a tailgate and packer almost identical to the Heil Formula 4000, but paired with a modern curved-shell body. A roll-off was added in 1997, but lo longer appears in the catalog.
McNeilus has enjoyed an amazing quarter century, catapulting to the top of the market from very humble beginnings in 1990. Since the first Pacstar-RL rolled out of Dodge Center, the company has sold over 25,000 rear loaders. Their wide range of products are in service in every corner of the continent, and the company will doubtless remain one of the top producers of refuse bodies in the 21st century.
McNeilus roll-offs arrived for '97
The full-sized rear loader is available with a split-body of either 25 or 32-cubic yards
Metro-Pack is a mid-range rear loader, almost identical to the Heil Formula 4000, but with a curved body shell
McNEILUS M5 REAR LOADER
McNorba: The McNeilus M5, a Norba-based American rear loader
The Swedish-built Norba KI-11 was a popular slide-sweep type rear loader, variations of which have seen widespread use in Europe for decades. The KI-11 evolved into the RL-35 (with smooth plexiglass body sides), leading the way into the model RL-300. A lighter, yet still full-width/height version was developed called the RL-200, with a smaller packer blade and smaller packer/slide cylinders. The slide plate is the same as the RL-300, as is the body, with the exception of the angle at the rear plane towards the tailgate. The result is a slightly lesser packing force, and a reduced swept hopper volume. A lower-height version of the RL-200 is also available, but the packer assembly is identical.
With both Norba and McNeilus being (at the time) under common ownership, McNeilus simply "Americanized" the RL-200 and the result was the M5 rear loader. Changes included deletion of the regeneration valve, resulting in the slide panel descent being significantly slower than on the European counterpart. This change may have been due to the modification of the design into a compact-sized rear loader, where the M5 resides in the McNeilus lineup. Conversely, the tailgate lock mechanism found on Norba RL-200/300 (and then on the McNeilus M5) was patented by McNeilus in 1992 for their Pac-Star rear loader. Thus, each company benefitted from the technology of the other during their years together under the Oshkosh Corporation.
The M5 remains one of the few European-designed rear loaders ever sold in significant numbers in North America. Some of earliest M5 models were available as "full height" versions, and of approximately 20-cubic yards capacity. Meanwhile back in Sweden, Norba subsequently offered a compact version of the RL-200 for European markets. The short-lived "mini RL-200" was almost as expensive to make as a the full-size version (it had all the functions that the bigger siblings had, but in a smaller package), but customers wanted to pay significantly less for it.
Martin Nilsson/Eric Voytko
Early-model McNeilus M5 with "full-height" 20-cubic yard body, and rounded tailgate lines
Full-height M5 is patterned after the Norba RL 200 real loader
Full-height M5 with container bar, cart lifter and overhead winch
Compact-sized McNeilus M5 has a more angular 'Norba-style' tailgate
Rear view of Swedish Norba RL 200, on which the American M5 was based
Norba "mini" RL 50 (now discontinued)
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9/24/17 (revised 12/1/18)
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Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted
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