Meeting the Special Needs of the Distributive Trades
Page 54
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Bodies Carefully Designed to Meet the Special Requirements of the Operator Can Do Much to Increase Transport Efficiency. In This Field the Cunard Concern is in the Forefront
WHILST several makers catalogue a VV standard van in their range of goods vehicles, and such machines meet therequirements of many distributors, there is a wide variety of trades in which the efficiency of the transport arrangements can be greatly increased by the adoption of bodies that are specially designed to suit their particular needs. In this field the Cunard Motor and Carriage Co., Ltd., Talbot Road, West Ealing, London, W.13, is in the forefront, and this goahead concern has specialized, for some years, in the design and construction of bodies carefully planned to suit the individual requirements of the operator.
Accompanying illustrations snow three recent deliveries, and the salient features of these and other machines, which we saw during a visit to the concern's works a week or two ago, will indicate the way in which the operator's transport problems can be overcome by careful design on the part of the coachbuilder.
Vehicles used for the delivery of biscuits are often rendered unsightly by the need for carrying empty tins on tht•
roof dm-Mg the return journey. This objectionable feature has, however, been overcome in the van illustrated on this page, whicp has been produced for the Peek Frean concern. The body is divided into two compartments, the forward section being used for empty tins. ' Access is gained to this compartment through a sliding door in the
bulkhead behind the driver's seat, and another sliding door communicates with the main section of the van.
Further to save space, sliding doors are also used for the driver's cab, and Beclawat fittings ensure that these shall be smooth-running and reliable. Based on a Commer N2 forwardcontrol 30-cwt. cha_ssis, this van should prove a great asset to the operator, and the good lines, together with the cream finish and green wooden lettering, give the vehicle a striking appearance.
Refrigerator Bodies for Cheese.
A number of special vans has been built for the transport of Kraft cheese and the box-type bodies are insulated with Alfol to maintain an even temperature at all seasons of the year. Zinc is used for the floor, whilst the inside panels are of Masonite; the rear door is made airtight, it is also insulated and is provided with a refrigerator-type handle. These useful machines have as their basis the Morris-Commercial forward-control 1-ton chassis.
Sliding doors for the driver's compartment are a feature of several van bodies built for newspaper delivery work on Dodge 15-cwt. chassis. Ampls space is available for the load, whilst a Brady shutter at the rear saves time when unloading. Incidentally, springs are incorporated in the shutter channels to prevent rattle. Another spacesaving idea is the provision of a small tip-up seat for the porter.
Designed for electrical maintenance work, a smart Morris wirernan's van was another vehicle we saw in course of construction during our visit. The whole of the roof of the driver's cab is formed by a glass panel so that the driver can see the tops of telegraph poles without the need for stopping the van. The roof gantry is designed to support the special ladders needed for the maintenance of overhead wires.
The Cunard concern's works are well equipped for the production of all types of body and modern machinery is being used to an increasing extent. Mention should be made of the activities of an associated firm, Mobilicity Van Display, who have made a careful study of pictorial work on vans.
The value of good advertising display on this type of vehicle is being increasingly recognized and all operators of this class of machine would do well carefully to consider the full possibilities of this form of publicity. The small tradesman suffers no disadvantage in this matter of mobile publicity, for effective designs can be prepared and carried out on small vans at reasonable cost. • Mohilicity Van Display make extensive use of photography for the models: they have perfected a process whereby a photograph, of even a complicated machine, can quickly be enlarged to the required size and faithfully reproduced in every detail on the body panels.