Dropsides give side access without the payload penalty of a curtain, and they are the default body for merchants delivering building materials to site.
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Yes. A dropside truck funds as a commercial vehicle in the ordinary way, and the dropside body is simple enough that funders barely distinguish it from a flatbed. New and used both fund without difficulty. The practical issue is the crane: a very large share of dropsides carry a mounted loader for unloading on site, and the moment one is fitted the vehicle is assessed as two assets. Buyers who plan to add a crane later should say so at the outset, because bolting equipment onto a financed vehicle needs the funder’s agreement first.
Used kit: Yes — used dropside trucks fund easily, often to ten years or more, with crane condition rather than body condition the usual limiting factor.
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Business asset finance is quoted on a flat rate, so that is what this shows — with the equivalent APR underneath, because the two are not the same number. A quick guide only; your actual rate depends on the asset, term, deposit and lender.
Representative example: on Hire Purchase, borrowing £25,000 over 48 months at a 6.0% flat rate (equivalent to 11.5% APR representative), you would repay around £646 a month; total amount repayable approximately £31,000, of which £6,000 is the cost of finance. This calculator is for illustration only — it is not a quote or an offer of finance, and the rate and repayments you are offered will depend on the asset, term, deposit and your circumstances. CW Asset Finance is a credit broker, not a lender, and may receive a commission from the lender that funds your agreement. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval. CW Asset Finance is an Appointed Representative of Rural Finance Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 630701).
Dropsides sit alongside flatbeds in the easy category on the asset side, so funders concentrate on the operator and on any mounted equipment. Where a Hiab or Palfinger crane is fitted, that becomes a material part of the value and needs its own documentation — installer, service record, thorough examination certificate. Merchants and suppliers buying dropsides are often established trading businesses with filed accounts, which reads well. Owner-operators and smaller contractors are underwritten personally. Funders occasionally push back where a dropside is specified at a weight the described work would exceed, because an overweight vehicle is an enforcement risk and an income risk. Declines are rare on the asset and usually reflect licence or credit position instead.
Examples of the machines we are asked to fund. This is not an exhaustive list — if what you are buying is not here, it does not mean we cannot fund it. Your supplier quote is what the agreement is written against.
| Machine | What it is |
|---|---|
| DAF LF 260 dropside | Eighteen tonne dropside for merchants |
| Isuzu Forward N75 dropside | Light dropside for builders and landscapers |
| Mercedes-Benz Atego 1218 | Twelve tonne dropside for town work |
| Iveco Eurocargo 150E dropside | Mid-weight dropside with crane option |
| MAN TGM 18.250 dropside | Strong dropside for heavy building materials |
| Volvo FL 280 dropside | Comfortable cab for long delivery rounds |
| Scania P280 6x2 dropside | Six-wheel dropside for bigger payloads |
| Fuso Canter 7C18 dropside | Compact dropside for narrow sites |
| Ray Smith dropside bodies | Aluminium dropside bodies and racks |
| Thompson dropside bodies | Steel dropsides for heavy-duty use |
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Builders’ merchants, roofing and cladding suppliers, landscaping firms delivering aggregate in bags, and tool hire companies moving equipment. The trigger is almost always delivery to sites with no forklift, where the driver has to unload with a crane or by hand from the side. Many are replacing a 3.5 tonne dropside that keeps running overweight. Fencing and paving contractors buy them too, because the sides keep loose material aboard on rough site tracks.
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Bought on hire purchase, business plant and machinery normally qualifies for capital allowances on the full cost even though you pay for it monthly, which is a large part of why hire purchase is the common structure. On a finance lease you generally set the rentals against profit instead. The rules change between budgets and your position depends on how you trade, so treat this as the direction of travel and get your accountant to confirm the detail before you commit.
You can, but not without telling the funder. The vehicle is their security and fitting equipment changes what they hold. Most funders will either fund the crane as a separate facility or refinance the combined asset. Doing it without asking risks breaching the agreement, so make the call before the installer has the truck in.
A flatbed is a plain deck; a dropside has hinged sides that fold down. Dropsides keep loose or stacked goods contained in transit and still allow side access and crane offload. Flatbeds suit long or oversized loads. For finance they are treated almost identically — both are simple, durable, widely resaleable bodies.
It depends what you deliver. Bagged aggregate, blocks and dense materials will run you out of weight quickly at 7.5 tonnes, especially with a crane fitted taking payload. Many merchants find a 12 or 18 tonner is the realistic minimum. Work back from your heaviest typical delivery before committing to a chassis.
Not materially. Alloy saves weight and therefore payload, which is why merchants favour it; steel is more robust against impact damage. Both from a recognised bodybuilder are fine. What funders do notice is a body that has been repeatedly repaired, because that suggests the vehicle has had a harder life than the mileage implies.
Yes, though it is underwritten differently. Vehicles going onto hire are assessed on the strength of the hire business, utilisation and the fleet as a whole rather than on a single contract. Funders who work with rental fleets are used to this and often provide block facilities rather than vehicle-by-vehicle agreements.
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Not an offer of finance. All finance is subject to status, affordability and lender approval.
Tell us what you’re looking to fund and Conor will come back to you personally — usually the same day.
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