I left off last time by saying that I’d investigate the history of refuse collection vehicles in the USA. It has not proved to be easy but seems to confirm that compression bodies arrived there, just as they did here, in the late 1930s probably influenced by Continental developments. The big names were Heil, established 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Gar Wood of Wayne, Michigan which, in a 1942 advert, claimed more than a quarter century of continuous service. There was also a newcomer called Dempster, of which more anon.
Heil made tipping and tanker vehicles whilst Gar Wood is remembered for its wrecker truck winches and equipment in the Second World War and the fact that the dashing founder, Gar Wood, was a playboy renowned for his exploits with power boats. In the 1930s his Miss Americas were the ones to
