Top pack owned by Aladdin Sanitation is a great example of the early straight-style arms used on Pico bodies. Truck is a White conventional with Allison automatic transmission After Bowles started making front load bodies with his pull-type packing method in the late 1950s, Pico broke into the market with the invention of the top pack style front loader. With a quick packing cycle and light body weight, top packs were great for residential and commercial waste, as well as cardboard routes. Using a single stage cylinder with guide tubes and a following plate, their packers were reportedly very reliable, rarely breaking or needing more than the usual maintenance. To help save weight, Pico bodies did not require a top door found on most half and full pack bodies. When the driver had filled the truck, he would run the blade (with follower) back to cover the load. Pico also put a plate up in the cab shield, which the driver would flip up and rest on the lift arms when raised. It acted like a wind guard, preventing the wind from affecting the material being dumped and in the hopper. As the driver lowered the arms, the plate would flip back down and rest on the packing cylinder. Pico only made front load bodies for a handful of years before either going out of business or ceasing their refuse truck line in the early 60s. However, their invention of the top pack style took hold in the Southern California, and soon many other companies started offering their own versions. While very few pictures of their trucks remain, and nothing is really known about the ownership, their legacy lives on through the top pack style bodies.
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