Lower the suspension, drive underneath, raise it: This is how swap bodies really work in ETS2!

First, one thing needs to be clearly distinguished: Even with version 1.61, ETS2 does not have a standard swap-body system from SCS in which you simply buy a BDF truck in the vanilla game and pick up swap bodies at companies. SCS did introduce official dynamic loading and unloading with Update 1.57, initially, for example, for timber transport. In addition, 1.61 contains internal changes that modders can use for rigid trucks and swap bodies. However, the actual BDF chassis, swap bodies and the process of setting them down and picking them up are still created by mods.

The foundation for this is the swap-body package by Sebastian7870. Among other things, it brings suitable chassis for various trucks, Krone swap bodies and matching trailers into the game. These mods remain compatible with ETS2 1.61. Ventyres 3D builds on this and primarily changes the physics and the actual workflow. The current Orten safe-server version explicitly supports ETS2 1.61 and now uses the new possibilities so that swap bodies can appear directly on company premises for freight contracts.

This means a journey no longer begins with the swap body simply being permanently attached to the truck. You drive with a suitable SOLO chassis to the company, where the loaded body is already waiting on its support legs. This is where the air suspension comes into play.

Before you drive under the swap body, the chassis must be low enough. With the setting “Advanced coupling” activated, the Ventyres mod has genuine collision physics between the truck and the body. This means the swap body does not simply pass through the frame until the game eventually detects the correct position. If you drive underneath with the suspension set too high, the truck may touch or shift the body, or simply fail to get properly under the mounting points. The developer therefore explicitly points out that the air-suspension height must be set correctly when driving underneath—especially on slopes or uneven ground.

The process therefore corresponds much more closely to the real principle: Lower the suspension, slowly drive as centrally as possible under the parked swap body, and then raise the air suspension again. This brings the chassis up to the body from below and lifts it off its support legs. Only when the truck and swap body are properly aligned are they coupled.

The lifting itself is the crucial step. In the current Ventyres version, the swap body already responds to the movement of the air suspension before you couple with T. When you raise the chassis, the body rises with it. When you lower it again, the swap body also moves downward accordingly. Picking it up is therefore no longer merely an animation or an invisible connection point, but is actually linked to the vehicle height.

When setting it down, the principle works in reverse. The swap body is positioned on its legs, after which the vehicle is lowered so that the weight rests on the supports again. Only then can the truck drive out from underneath. Anyone who tries to drive away with normal or excessively high suspension height is working against precisely the physics that the mod now simulates.

Another change concerns the contracts themselves. Under ETS2 1.61, the Orten swap bodies can already be standing loaded on a company premisesfor suitable Freight Market jobs. So you no longer first drive to the workshop, mount a body there and then pretend that it has just been loaded. The bridge waits where the transport begins, is picked up and then taken to the destination company. Alternatively, you can buy your own Orten swap bodies through the trailer dealer.

This is a significant difference from older versions of the mod. Under ETS2 1.54 to 1.60, the swap body was still selected as an accessory directly on the truck. This looked like a BDF vehicle, but only partially represented the actual swapping process. Only the possibilities of 1.61 allow the current process with a separately parked body on the company premises.

Ventyres also changes the weight distribution. When a swap body is loaded, its mass correspondingly affects the vehicle. If a suitable tandem or drawbar trailer is also used, the weight is distributed across the entire combination. With the automatic lift-axle function activated, the truck’s lift axle can therefore be lowered automatically under load. This is not the same as manually lowering the air suspension to pick up the swap body —the two functions should not be confused with each other.

Refrigerated swap bodies also receive their own function through the mod. If a corresponding reefer body is used, the extension generates a suitable refrigeration-unit sound. There are also various Orten bodies, company liveries and suitable spoilers for certain DAF models. Ventyres lists the current version as v1.8 for ETS2 1.61+ .

However, the Ventyres file alone is not enough to make all of this work. The three underlying swap-body packages are still required: suitable truck chassis, trailers and the actual boxes or bodies. The Ventyres mod must be placed above them in the mod manager because it overwrites definitions from these base packages. If the priority is set incorrectly, you will consequently not get the intended range of functions.

For more realistic pickup, “Advanced coupling” must also be activated in the gameplay settings. Only then does the new collision and coupling physics work fully. Anyone who overlooks this point will quickly wonder why the process does not work as shown in the current videos about the mod.

The most important difference can therefore be remembered quite simply: The air suspension is no longer just a visual gimmick when swapping bodies. You really need the correct height. Down, so the chassis fits under the body. Drive centrally underneath it. Up, so the truck takes over the swap body. Only then couple up and drive away.

And that also leads to a pretty good video idea: pick up the same swap body twice. Once with normal or incorrect suspension height and once properly lowered. However, if you really want to show a collision, it should actually be reproduced and recorded in your own game—I would not claim that invented crash scenes occurred.

Do you already drive swap bodies in ETS2 yourselves—and do you think the new process with air suspension is better, or is it already almost too much manual work for normal driving?