FOR THE HUNTER AND POLO PLAYER.
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A New Trailer Combination Which Conveys Four Valuable Horses and Their Owners to the Meet or the Polo Ground.
rinlIERE seems to be scarcely a 2rovince or phase of life 1 into which the motor vehicle cannot enter. One realizes the extent of the developments of the use of mechanical power in transport if one tries to imagine what one would have thought 25 years ago had one been told that, in due course, hunters would be taken to and from the meet by motor, the riders by car and the horses by van. It would have seemed as if all the glamour would be taken out of hunting. One m'ght be spared the strain, the aches and pains and the weariness of body resulting from a hard ride, but that proper pride that follows after a bath and a good meal, that delightful tired feeling that makes an armchair a very pleasant spot, would all have gone.
Such fears would have proved unfounded, for the coming of the motorcar and motorvan has actually made it possible—easily possible—to attend distant meets, to get a greater choice of country, fuller and keener sport and all the hard riding one desires for oneself and one's horse arrive at the meet fresh and (within reason) there is no need to spare man or beast merely for the sake of keeping something in reserve for the weary miles homewards.
A wealthy LoLdon business man who lives in Wiltshire and is a keen hunter and polo player has, for some little while, sought the means to enable him to attend the meets that were too distant for him unless he sent his horses on some hours in advance and arranged for them to be stabled near the meeting place. His wish was to have a vehicle which would be fast enough to take him and two horses to the meet and to bring them home again. This would not be difficult of accomplishment, but his wishes went even further, for he desired now and again to accommodate a friend, taking him on the vehicle and two more horses for him.
And not only was hunting in view, but polo playing—again with a friend, involving the transport of four horses, or if he were going to the polo field alone, or with non-players, two horses would suffice. The tale of requirements, therefore, seemed somewhat complicated. It included either two horses or four horses, one rider or more. The desire on occasion to accompany the horses is easy to understand, for it would release the car and chauffeur that otherwise must be employed, it would eliminate just the small chance of car and horse van not meeting, and to a man fond of his horses there would be the added pleasure of being with them.
After the consideration of various proposals made
to him, the sportsman to whom we are referring authorized Messrs. G.N., Ltd., of East Hill, Wandswozth, London, S.W.18, who are the designers and makers of the G.N. car, to proceed with their idea whkh was to accommodate the four horses in a Vincent horse van and a trailer of special design for which G.N., Ltd., were entirely responsible, the Vincent scheme of interior equipment and fittings generally being adopted and the constructional work being placed by G.N., Ltd., in their hands and executed at their works at Reading.
G.N., Ltd., chose the 3-ton low load-line Guy chassis for the tractor vehicle, a low platform Doing considered essential where horses have to be loaded from or off-loaded on to ground level, and the frame height of this chassis was adopted for the trailer. The Guy chassis frame was slightly shortened, as to the rear of the sack axle there would merely be the groom's compartment, whilst it was felt desirable to get the coupling of the two vehicles as near as possible to the driving axle. The wheelbase of the Guy chassis is 1.6 ft. 5 ins. Another alteration of this chassis was made so as to find a new position for the silencer, because the space immediately. behind the rear axle seemed exactly right for accommodating the spare wheel. The petrol tank was disposed below the driver's seat, with the inlet at the side and just inside the doorway.
The frame of the trailer is of pressed steel, straight from end to end, but upswept over the trailer axle, at the front being riveted a triangular extension, which ends in a substantial arm which carries the ball of the ball-joint coupling, whilst mounted on the cross-member of the frame is a Dunlop solid-tyred castor wheel to support the front end
r of the trailer when it is uncoupled, and the shaft of which can be raised so that the wheel is well clear of the ground when running, and can be lowered 4 ins. or 5 ins. beyond normal ground level, in case the ground where coupling up is being effected happens to be soft.
The socket of the ball joint is of phosphor bronze and divided, one half being permanently attached to the rear crossmember at the Guy chassis. Projecting from this are two threaded studs, which receive the second half of the socket, two large castellated nuts, split-pinned, securing the joint. The job of coupling up is made so easy that a youth of 16 is able to move the trailer the last few inches into position and to enter the ball in its socket and complete the joint The axle of the trailer is actually the front axle employed on a Guy chassis, but it is turned round and the steering arm is linked by a connecting rod to a ball-joint, the ball of which is fixed to a bracket bolted to the rear cross-member of the tractor chassis and offset about 11 ins. from the coupling. By thus coupling the wheels of the trailer to a point on the tractor they are caused to turn outwards and to steer the trailer slightly wide of the track followed by the rear wheels of the tractor vehicle. Hence the trailer does not cut the corners, and in driving all that need be considered, so far as the addition of the trailer is concerned, is the added length. In steering in and out of traffic, in passing through gateways or narrow places, the driver has the satisfaction of knowing that the trailer will follow the path of the tractor, with just a bit to spare on the inside of the curve. The trailer wheels are equipped with brakes 17hich are capable of being applied by the attendant seated in the trailer. Bells with a code of signals are used for communication between driver and attendants.
In the course of a trial run with the complete equipment we saw it get right round easily on a 40-ft. road and take a very sharp corner at the junction of two roads, each only 14 ft. wide, whilst only ordinary care was called for when reversing.
When the tractor-vehicle only is in use a detachable step is fastened on top of the coupling Locket, an this has the number plate and tail lamp, whilst, when recoupling, a junction box receives a set of plugs by which connection is quickly made to the rear lamp, the interior lighting and the bell on the trailer.
The whole equipment is exceedingly smart in appearance, the trailer looking to be an integral part of the job and not an afterthought. The roof line and bottom line run right through, and the mouldings are in line. The windobas and the ventilators are exactly alike and in line. The roof begins to fall over the driver's cab and thence forward is sharply but gracefully dow-nswept to the windscreen, which is divided and each half of which is hinged. The cab is
tastefully upholstered in real leather, because the owner and a friend wilt often ride therein, and the instruments are carried on a well-finished instrument board and include an indicator which tells which way the trailer is pointing— this being an advantage when reversing.
The spare wheel is carried on a plate and a screw pillar. A couple of rollers are carried on the vehicle and the spare wheel is placed on this and rolled under the rear of the vehicle. The plate is dropped through the aperture in the wheel disc and the end of the screw pillar, which depends from a bridge piece, is engaged with a hole tapped in the plate and then rotated. This acts as a screw lift, drawing the spare wheel tightly up against rubber pads and holding it securely. It is a simple and clever way of handling a component which is always of considerable weight.
The combination of tractor-vehicle and trailer is capable of quite a good turn of speed and it transports the four horses for which it is designed in comfort and safety. The price complete is about 2,1200, but, with a slightly less luxurious type of body, having, however, all the other good points of the design, the price could be brought to £2,000.