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"Back-bone" Trailer Frames the Continental Vogue

16th July 1948, Page 37
16th July 1948
Page 37
Page 37, 16th July 1948 — "Back-bone" Trailer Frames the Continental Vogue
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AFEATURE of present-day trailer and semi-trailer design on the Continent is the rapidly increasing use of "backbone "-type frames, particu

larly for semi-trailers. Designs vary widely; the single central member may be a large-diameter steel tube, a welded box section, a lattice girder, or a deep double channel. Torsional effects are usually well looked after by the careful attention given to suspension arrangements.

Good examples of this trend may be found among the latest models produced by Van Doorne Aanhangwagenfabriek, Eindhoven, Holland, known as D.A.F. The machine illustrated is a 10-ton articulated tanker in which the backbone is formed from two deep channel pressings, are-welded to make a box-section girder. Curved bearers to take the tank are welded onto it.

The rear suspension, designed for Continental roads, which are often

steeply cambered, or humpy from worn pave surfacing, is of interest. The short axle between each pair of wheels is mounted on a longitudinal tubular member, the ends of which are carried by two extremely robust transverse springs. The wheel carrier has pivotal mountings and tyres remain at right angles to the road surface, whilst the load is equally distributed between the four of them.

Revolving Wheel Carrier

To assist in tyre changing, the tubular wheel carrier can be revolved upon its axis, bringing the inside wheel to an outside position, where it can be

removed with vastly less trouble. The forward support leg of the semi-trailer is hydraulically operated, and hydraulic controls are arranged so that the leg rises as soon as tractor and trailer are coupled.

The D.A.F. coupling gear allows for coupling at angles up to 90 degrees, for the lower disc guides the collar into the centre of the upper turntable on the tractor. One movement of a lever in the cab locks the tractor and semitrailer and, at the same moment, the forward support is raised, brake lines arc automatically connected, and rearlight adaptors are joined.

In the four-wheeled trailers, D.A.F. retains the central box-form backbone for the frame, but suspension arrangements are more normal. Cross-members for the platform are of cantilever pattern, deep at the centre, where they are welded to the backbone, and tapering at the ends, which are welded to a light • channel-section pressing which forms a longitudinal border for the frame.

The trend towards using a single central member for trailer frames has been noted at the Paris, Brussels, Geneva and Amsterdam Motor Shows. The D.A.F. design described is one of a dozen or more seen, but it has been selected as a particularly good example,


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