As the RL25/RL30 LINEA bodies were introduced, Norba's workhorse Ki11 also received the same update package and was renamed RL35. On some occasions, it also had the LINEA designation in its name. The body for the RL35 didn't have the additional slopes on the upper portion of the rear side beams like the RL25/RL30, but was geometrically almost identical to the body of the Ki11. Apart from being built with the new LINEA body concept, the main difference was that the new construction provided a higher clearance for mudguards and other additional equipment below the body.
The tailgate was geometrically identical to the previous version Ki11, apart from some minor differences. The slide and packer plate were updated and reinforced, giving them "thicker" cross-sections. The 100mm bore cylinders operating the packer assembly were also reversed, to help avoiding damage to the piston rods. Despite this, the packer components were interchangeable, and it was not impossible to see old Ki-11 bodies equipped with packer parts from the RL-35, and vice versa. The swept hopper volume was 1.7m3, just like on Ki-11.
The striking Linea body concept was applied to the Norba Ki11, which became the RL35
RL35 with inner body braces 'rippling' through the outer plastic 'skin'
With outer plastic 'skin' removed, the inner construction of the the Linea body can be plainly seen
Norba MF-35
During the LINEA era, Norba also launched an updated split-body rear loader. It was almost identical to the RL-35 externally, but inside it was vertically split at a ratio of approximately 40/60. The tailgate was built in one piece, with a fixed divider wall in the lower hopper. Optionally there was a movable divider plate in the upper part of the hopper area, which allowed the dumping of large bins into either of the two compartments. As the tailgate was built into one piece, it can be assumed that there was some kind of retaining device in the smaller body compartment. This would be required to be able to dump the loads separately without significant cross-contamination.
The version with the movable divider wall required a high level lifter.
Video of the MF35 mechanical features (courtesy of Marijus Lenciauskas)
