1963 RL-15 Rear Loader     For 1963, Pak-Mor unveiled their first-ever rear loader, the Profit Maker series . Again designed by the team of William Ferrari and Orin Anderson, these modern packers featured a rotary sweep panel, driven by a hydraulic motor very similar to the Gar Wood LP-500/600 series. A critical difference was in the position of the pack panel hydraulic rams, mounted behind the panel and pushing forward (instead of overhead, as on Gar Wood). Full-hydraulic ejection was standard, using an angled telescopic ram arrangement.     Like the Gar Wood, these packers had a very fast cycle, with a five second reload time. Also like Gar Wood, they were somewhat limited in their ability to crush bulky items. The rotary sweep panel, driven by roller chains was not well suited to breaking up solidly constructed items. These bodies were available in 14-16-18-20-25-30 cubic yard capacities. Model designation was RL-xx15, the first two digits changing depending on body capacity (RL-1415 for the 14 yard, RL-1615 for the 16 yard, etc.). In 1963, the RL-3015 was probably the largest rear loader available in North America. The RL-15 series remained in production until 1976, when it was phased-out in favor of a slide-sweep design. Diagram of pack cycle; 'pusher' cylinder arrangement transmits maximum force to load. Model RL-2515, twenty-five cubic yard capacity on GM chassis 76" wide hopper easily handles two large barrels, Loading height of 1.8-cubic yard hopper is approximately 5" below chassis frame All major wear items in tailgate are easily replaced, including a unique 'bolt-on 'hopper floor! Liquid or air-cooled auxiliary engines up to 60 HP were optional to run the pump independently, allowing unit to pack 'on the run'. Model RL-2515 (shown above) is part of a large fleet purchased by the city of Los Angeles, and uses an auxiliary air-cooled V-4 gasoline engine made by Wisconsin. An optional kick-bar container hoist handles 1-3 yard cans, or an overhead winch could be ordered for up to 6 yard containers The Pak-Mor RL had slightly larger hopper (1.8 yards) than the competitive Gar Wood LP-600/700 A Pak-Mor RL-1815, probably of seventies vintage, languishes in a junkyard Close up shot of the hopper, showing sweep panel stopped after almost one quarter revolution This RL-1315 was the smallest body, at 13-cubic yards capacity Right-hand side of the body, showing the chain drive cover Left: packer controls and cam wheel. Right: triple-reduction chain drive connecting the hydraulic motor to the sweep panel sprocket. The entire bottom half of the hopper could be removed for servicing the sweep panel bearings The big RL-2515 on a GM tilt-cab tandem chassis: only the RL-3015 was larger SELECTED PATENTS Patent # Description Inventor Assignee Date US3229832 Loading and Ejecting Mechanism for Refuse Vehicles Ferrari, et.al. Pak-Mor April 17, 1964 4/5/09 (updated 6/5/22) © 2009 All Rights Reserved Photos from factory brochures/advertisements except as noted Logos shown are the trademarks of respective manufacturers