Garages for Commercial Vehicles.
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By George W. Watson, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.A.E.
The author is the _Tnspecting Engineer of the Commerazil Motor Users Association ; this article suggests suitable and necessary equipment for the proper care of nwtor vehicles from the driver's point of view, but it does not deal, with the necessary arrangements for the mechanical repair of such. vehicles ; the latter subject has already been dealt with in previous articles tJi" 7 he COMMerClat Motor."
My duties during the first four months of this year took me to over ion consmeremamotor garages in and around London., and although the machines housed therein, taken as a whole, were remarkably clean and well maintained, and in far better condition than have found them in previous years, the credit for such condition in most cases, is due to the drivers and mechanics and not to the owners.
Many commercial-vehleie owners are inclined to expect their machines to run for indefinite hours with excessive loads at practically no cost, but, when they find that the machines will not run economically under these conditions, they unjustly lay. the blame upon the unfortunate builders and upon the still more unfortunate drivers. Such owners are quick to blame motors for failures which are really due to lack of suitable garage accommodation and mechanical maintenance, yet they are more often than not, enthusiastic and regular visitors to their horse stable a and are quick to make improvements therein and to correct mismanagement by the stable staff.
Fairer to Their Horses Than Their Motors.
It is a matter of public comment that some of the finest draught-horses in Great Britain are those owned by the large brewery companies, and almost invariably the directors of those companies take a personal pride in their frequent visits of inspection to the stables to see, with their own eyes, that all is well in that department. -Unfortunately, few such directors make similar visits to their garages, and I have never heard of any directors taking the trouble to go down to a brewery.yard, we will say, on a Saturday morning, while the steam-wagon or tractor boilers are being washed out ; if they did, they might detect the need for many little additions to the equipment, by virtue of which the efficiency of the machines could be increased and their condition improved. Owners, as a class, are not so fair to their motors as they are to their horses, and it is in the hope that their attention may be directed to some of the essentials of a, garage equipment that I have written the present article.
Location of Garages.
A few cases have come to my notice of vehicles which are garaged many miles from the business in connection with which they are employed, and this means an appreciable " dead " or useless mileage each morning and night. In one such instance, that of the owner of a single vehicle, such useless running amounted to 14 miles a day. If the owner had only taken the trouble to ascertain the cost of such daily waste mileage, he would have found that it greatly exceeded the maximum daily charge for housine which would be made by any garage proprietor near his business premises.
Damage in Congested Garages.
I am well aware of the difficulty experienced in obtaining private garage accommodation near to business premises in London and other large cities, but big users, such as Harrods, Shoolbreds and Whiteleys, find it profitable to have their garages near to their stores, and if they find it so, surely the small owner, if he cannot secure suitable premises for his private use, should seriously consider the advisability of taking standing room in a convenient and established garage. In thi3 connection, it is important to avoid
congested conditions, or there may be annoying delays and frequent damage to the radiator, tires, wheels, wings and body-work generally.
The Proper Sort of Building.
For the efficient housing of a steam wagon, an open shed. is all that is necessary in the way of building, although the driver and his mate would work under more favourable conditions, especially when cleaning boiler or engine, and when making necessary adjustments, if the shed were closed on three sides. The majority of steam wagons and tractors, however, stand in open yards, and under the circumstances it is not surprising that the drivers, during bad weather, postpone the supposed regular wash-out for so long a time that irreparable damage may be done to the tubes and plates.
I have found that a few petrol vehicles also stand in the open, but their condition generally proclaims the fact ; a closed shed, suitably heated in winter and well lighted and ventilated at all times, is just as necessary to a well-maintained motor vehicle as are the sanitary conditions of the stable to horses kept therein.
The garage floor, whether for steam or petrol machines, should be concreted to a depth sufficient to carry the loaded weight of the machine without cracking. An inspection pit is useful, but by no means essential, unless the whole of the mechanical maintenance of the machine is effected in the garage.
Provision for Washing Vehicles.
The washing of the machine should preferably be done outside the garage building, and for that purpose a suitably paved and drained yard should be provided, and if more than one vehicle be garaged at the same place, the washing space should be located so that a. machine which is being washed down does not form an obstruction to other machines entering or leaving the garage building. A good ,water supply, a length of armoured hose mid the necessary brushes and sponges should also be provided. I have seen many garages in which the washing had to be done from a, bucket, and the water carried from a tap more than bo yds. distant it is almost impossible to keen a machine clean under such conditions, and the paintwork quickly suffers, whereas if regularly and thoroughly washed down and then wiped over with a clean cloth and a little clean thin oil, the paint will be prevented from cracking, and the vehicle can always be kept up to its maximum advertising value. LOne of many smart L.G.O.C. garage devices is the provision of dipping pits to save the time wasted while filling from taps.—En.] A smartly-kept machine is an undoubted asset to any business, and it is a great pity that more owners do apt appreciate their advertising value to the full. If a machine is worth anything up to £800, it should be worth housing and cleaning in a proper manner, and at the very least it should have as much care taken over it as is ungrudgingly bestowed upon a horse costing one-tenth of that amount.
Bench, Vice and Quick-acting Jack.
A solidly-built bench and a substantial vice should be provided in every garage, together with a fair assortment of hand tools, as without them it is impossible for a driver to do anything in the way of running repairs and adjustments with any degree of satisfaction. 'Running repairs and adjustments are more likely to be made as quickly as they are needed if the working conditions in the garage are favourable for the work, but, if a driver be compelled to work under uncomfortable and inconvenient conditions, the chances are 100 to 1 that the work will be seamped. Another useful thing to have in a garage (especially if, as is often the case, a vehicle is systematically loaded up over-night ready for an early start on its next day's journey) is a quick-acting lifting jack, and one or two stout baulks of timber of sufficient strength to lift the rear end of the body and frame so as to relieve the rear bearing springs of some at least of the imposed load. The axle will also be saved to a certain extent if the use of a jack he regularly employed. If proper arrangements he made for it, the
operation of putting the jack in position and lifting the load will only occupy a. few minutes.
Store Cupboards, Stores and Spare Parts.
Every garage should have a lock-up cupboard for spare parts and stores, such as cleaning materials, etc., and suitable provision should also be made for the storing of solid and liquid fuel, paraffin and lubricating oil. The following list gives some of the principal stores which should be kept in stock in suffiCient quantities to meet all reasonable needs: engine ,oil ; gearbox oil ; grease for Stauffer lubricators and joints ; cotton waste or mutton cloths in cwt. bales ;•a small
quantity of paraffin lamp oil for the lamps, and for• occasionally cleaning the engine externally' and, if acetylene lamps be fitted, a supply of carbide should also be held in stock.
I would also urge upon owners the necessity of keeping in stock a set of the smaller spare parts of the machine, unless the garage be in close proximity to the works of the manufacturer, as by the keeping in stock of certain parts, which may in the ordinary course be expected to give out from time to time, much unnecessary delay can be avoided.
For a petrol vehicle, I consider it, is almost imperative that, in addition to anything which may be kept in stock in the garage, the following parts should be carried on each petrol vehicle : two valves complete with springs,, washers and cotters ; a few assorted bolts, nuts and split pins, of sizes that are used on the chassis ; a few assorted springs ; a yard or two of copper wire of No. 16 gauge ; a yard or more of asbestos cord ; two lengths of rubber tubing for waterservice connections ; four sparking plugs with washers complete; and a couple of yards of high-tension insulated wire.