TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
TRADER,S who have to deal with the conveyance of bulky or heavy goods or supplies must always consider the relative advantages of carrying arid of hauling—or, in other words, the relative merits of a tractor or the self-contained vehicle. Such a comparison is affected by the working conditions. Speaking in rather general terms, the lorry is usually preferred to the tractor when a good deal of the work has to be done on the congested roads of great cities. The arguments in favour of the tractor are, as a rule, much stranger when the work has to be done in agricultural districts, and particularly where it is occasionally necessary to convey loads to or fetch loads from, places BO situated that a. certain amount of running has to be done across country or on mere farm tracks as opposed to hard roads. Suppose, for instance, that it comes within the trader's business to collect timber from a variety of points where the trees are felled, or suppose that he has to deliver produce to a number of points at farms, some of them so placed as to involve the crossing of soft land. In such instances the tractor has many merits, which may be set out as follow :— Advantages of Tractor Haulage.
The main paint is that the tractor can separate itself from its load. In cross-country work this is very important. Suppose that we have to cross a short stretch of very soft land where the wheels of a. laden wagon tend to sink in badly, it may be that, under such conditions' a fully laden lorry would become hopelessly bogged. The tractor, on the other hand, when trouble seems imminent, can be disconnected from its trailer and the whole of its power applied to the movement of the tractor alone. The engine having been got forward on the hard ground, the wire rope is let out from the drum and attached to the trailer' and the whole of the engine power is then applied to the job of moving the trailer, without at the same time having the additional work of moving the weight of the tractor itself.
Another set of circumstances in which the tractor appeals unusually forcibly is that in which the trader's business requires the regular transport of loads between two fixed points. For work of this kind we may use a single tractor and two or three trailers employed singly. The tractor may be hauling one of these trailers, say, on the out journey, while the second trailer, which has just brought in_ a load,. is being unloaded at the home depot, and the third
trailer is being loaded up at the out depot.The tractor, having completed its out journey, disconnects from its trailer and connects up to the one which is now ready,loaded and waiting for it. Meanwhile, the unloading of the trailer at the home depot is completed, and by the time the tractor has finished its return journey, this trailer has been loaded up with goods for transport to the out depot. Thus, under this system, a power vehicle, which represents a considerable capital investment, is being kept constantly employed in useful work, and only the comparatively cheap trailers are being kept standing for leading and unloading purposes.
Where the Lorry Scores.
If the work involves a variety of different journeys, the process indicated above is not applicable. The tractor, having taken its trailer to a depot to be loaded, must wait until the process of loading is completed. Thus, the suggested advantage for the tractor disappears. The lorry, on the other hand, can, both in practice and from the legal point of view, safely maintain a higher average speed when travelling, because it is more compact and more completely under control. If a fair part of the work is done in traffic, the lorry has the additional advantage that it is easier to manoeuvre and particularly easier to reverse with acouracy. Its higher average speed means a better record of work done in a given time, and, therefore, a better economy per ton-mile. The points in this and the preceding notes are, for the most part, matters of elementary knowledge to those who are conversant with power transport. They are, however, among the considerations which should not be neglected by traders in agricultural produce and supplies who may, for the first time, be 'considering the adoption of motor transport.
A further advantage of the lorry is that, when used in conjunction with a trailer, the total useful load that can be transported is somewhat larger than is generally possible with a 5 ton tractor. Thus, the lorry owner has the alternative of tWo systems. He may either transport about the same load as a tractor, but at a higher speed, or else he may be contented with the same speed as the tractor, but can transport a bigger load. In either case, he can get more useful work done in the day. Also, if the load is somewhat bulky, he evidently has the advantage in respect of capacity, inasmuch as the lorry platform, as well as the trailer, is at his disposal.