Articulated Trojan Oiler with 940 Cu. ft. Body
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WHEN the Trojan chassis with the Perkins P3 oil engine was first introduced, it was obvious that it had great possibilities. One is as the tractive unit of an articulated outfit having a large body for the carriage of light but bulky articles.
Some time ago The Warwick Upholstery Co., Ltd., Willow Road, Colnbrook, Bucks, acquired such a vehicle and as a result of the satisfactory service obtained, a second one of similar type has recently been put into service. The basis of the outfit is the Trojan 9-ft. 4-in.-wheelbase chassis incorporating slight modifications.
The most important of these is the use of a lower axle ratio of 5.5 to 1, as the gross laden weight of the outfit will be 3 tons 14 cwt., of which the semi-trailer weighs 1 ton 7 cwt. 3 qr. and the chassis 1 ton 6 cwt, 1 qr. The estimated payload will thus be about a ton, made up of spring mattresses. The body is 20-ft. long, 6 ft. 6 in. wide and 8 ft. high, its capacity being 940 Cu. ft. The use of a Carrimore semi-trailer with Quickfit coupling gear
called for two further chassis modifications, one to take the coupling and the other to meet the needs of the vacuum braking system on the semi-trailer wheels. Braking on the tractive unit is by a Lockheed hydraulic system, so that it was necessary to fit a Clayton Dewandre vacuum exhauster on the modified timing-case cover on the Perkins engine.
Carrimore Six Wheelers, Ltd., North Finchley, London, N.12, were also responsible for the body.. This has a wooden frame, to which the light-alloy panels are screwed. When loaded, the floor level is 1 ft. 10 in, from the ground and the lower portion of the rear door forms a ramp when let down.
The upper part of the rear has two doors which swing out and lock themselves automatically in position alongside the body.
To increase. stability, the pivot brackets on the Carrimore turntable were dropped slightly, but in other respects the unit is standard. The body support legs are operated and loF,ked by levers brought out on the near side. The base colour of the body is yellow with a centre panel of white, and the
writing is grey-green. Grey-green is used also for the wings. All the wheels are interchangeable, as between the tractive unit and the semi-trailer.