"The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other environmental agencies have determined that land spreading of contaminated soil is more acceptable," says Bob Broz, water quality specialist at the University of Missouri."Previously, farmers might have had to have soil from these sites transported to a hazardous waste incinerator. In most cases, they now can dig out petroleum-stained soil and spread it thinly across their fields, where natural biological activity breaks contaminants down," he says.

The first light-rescue trucks had gross vehicle autoheatercore weight ratings from 8,000 to 10,000 pounds and payloads of 2,000 to 4,000 pounds. At that time body manufacturers were building mostly from steel. When the body was fabricated and only a small amount of equipment added, the unit was overloaded.Today the light-duty rescue can be built on a two- or four-door cab chassis with GVWR up to 19,000 pounds for two-wheel drive, and 17,500 pounds for four-wheel drive. This range allows for more options and greater flexibility.

Most light-duty cab/chassis have standard cab-to-axle (CA) dimensions: 60, 84, 108 and 120 inches. The CA is the distance from the back of cab to the center of the rear axle. Typically the 60-inch measure is used for a 10-foot body, 84-inch for a 12-foot body, 108-inch for a 14- or 15-foot body, and 120-inch for a 15- or 16-foot body.You can use a four-door, 4x4 cab/chassis up to the 84-inch CA, but beyond that you may run into an overload situation. Be very cautious with the larger 14- to 16-foot bodies, even with a two-door unit. Bodies are fabricated many different ways: formed or extruded construction; steel, stainless steel or aluminum; and varying thicknesses. All these things will have an effect on the weight of your body. Aluminum weighs approximately 40% less than steel or stainless steel, allowing for more equipment storage or personnel in the long run.

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