Should Hauliers Repair Their Vehicles?
Page 20
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A Reply to the Article on This Subject by Mr. E. B. Howes,, By Which Appeared in the Issue of "The Commercial Motor s' "An I.R.T.E.
dated July 20 Member" THAT hauliers should repair their own vehicles is the vit.w put forward by Mr. E. B. Howes. He has therefore definitely challenged the opinions expressed in the leading article in ' The Commercial Motor ". dated July 13, He finds himself " at variance with its editorial policy "
on this subject. • Every man has a right to his own opinions, in this country at least. Like other Men, editors are not infallible, but in this particular case Mr. Howes has taken on a redoubtable opponent and one who, as the result of 'long experience, knows his subject thoroughly, and whose leading article of July 13 was perfectly sound, reasonable and based on logic. Thus, Mr. Howes has laid himself open to fait hut severe criticism, . Particularly in respect of one paragraph, what Mr. Howes • states is absolute nonsense. This paragraph is as follows:— " I assert, with little or no fear of contradictibn by anyone of knowledge and experience of the subject, that any haulier, whatever be the size of his business, ° who enlists outside help for servicing and repairing his vehicles will soon be out of business,"
What a fantastic and ridiculous assertion for anyone to make? Anyone who kilows the industry and its various ramifications, realizes perfectly. well that year in, year out, thousands of hauliers have their vehicles serviced and repaired at proper repair depots and are still in business, whilst most of them are doing very nicely. It is difficult to Under'stand haw such a statement could he Made by anyone who is in the commercial vehicle industry or road transport.
Efficient Repair Depots Do Exist
It need not necessarily, be the " local motor agent " as Mr. Howes describes the repair people. There are plenty. of good and efficient commercial vehicle repair depots which are independent, so far as vehicle repairs are concerned, and it it up to the haulier to select the right one for his work.
Most of ,these independent shops, such as The Pelican Engineering Co., Leeds, Commercial Vehicle Repairs, Ltd., Liverpool, and many others the advertisements of which can be seen in the pages of " The Commercial Motor," have their regular clients who are used to their work and stick to them.
The general tone of Mr. Howes's article gives one the impression that at some time or other he has been severely " bitten " by some irresponsible repair firm, and that the " bite " has now developed into a running sore.
If Mr. Howes had limited his article to little fleets of very small vans and runabouts, such as one-tanners and half-ton tradesmen's vans, then perhaps it might be that the owner could manage to service and repair the Vehicles, but when it comes to making a general statement covering all classes of vehicle and haulier, then he is absolutely wrong. When consideration is given to very large fleets, such as those of the L.P.T.B. and the L.M.S., or the few large and powerful haulage concerns with perhaps 100 to 200 vehicles or more, then certainly the great amount of _work well warrants a big, well-fitted and efficient shop with a competent staff of Skilled men. As, however, the great majority of the thousands of hauliers owns small fleets of from, say, 4 to 15 vehicles, then the plant, tools, equipment and skilled staff required are out of the question, and the haulier, rightly, goes to some competent repair concern which has all that is required and can do the work efficiently, • An old and true saying is: " Let the shoemaker stick to his last," and it seems to be applicable in this case. The haulage man's business is haulage and not that of a mechanical engineer. He is not expected to be an expert in all the intricate mechanical and electrical details of a motor vehicle. IL.his business be run on proper lines, he can wen afford to pay skilled people to keep his vehicles in sound running order. Let us get down to facts. The great majority of heavy and medium vehicles is today powered by oil engines, but as we are dealing with commercial vehicles generally, we will include both oiland petrol, engined chassis.
Assuming that we are concerned with a haidier with from 4-15 vehicles. ranging from 2i-tonners to 20-tonners and over, what plant and what tools will he need to have at hand and What sort af staff to carry out an engine overha-ul, a crankshaft grind_ re-lining cylinders, overhauling brakes, re-wiring worn electrical equipment, overhauling transmission gear, and a score of other jobs which must he seen to after a run of, say, 100,000 miles or more, or after an accident on the road with, considerable damage generally?
The following list will give a fair idea of the plant and tools required for repairing and servicing commercial motor vehicles:—Drilling machines, radial and portable; lathes: grinding machines, fixed and portable; Complete sets of small tools, i.e., taps, dies, reamers, etc.; magnetic crack. detecting equipment for crankshafts, connecting rode, steering arms, etc.; a fuel-pump department with calibrating equipment for testing and overhauling fuel pumps for oil engines; engine-testing bed and plant; presses, light and heavy, for bushes and sleeying; stores for tools and spare parts; electrical plant and equipment for overhauling dynamos, motors and magnetos, lighting sets, and for battery charging; main hearing " line boring " equipment; oxy-acetylene and electrical welding plant; de-greasing plant; honing and boring equipment; crankshaft-grinding machine; cranes, overhead heavy lifter and portable; tyrerepairing and vulcanizing equipment; blacksmiths' s and brazing hearths and tools.
The cost of the plant set out runs into many thousands of pounds and requires a great amount of floor space. Skilled labour is required for all the equipment and clerical labour for the stores and records. For cab and body repairs, timber, paints, spraying plant, circular saws, planing machines and other tools are needed.
The Outlay on Suitable Equipment
How could one expect a haulier of the class we are dealing with—i.e., the great majority—to find the capital for all this plant, which would for many months be, at least in part, idle? How could he afford to pay the skilled staff which he must have if he is to be able to do the work efficiently? As we are including oil engines—which in any case are in the majority to-day for heavy haulage—one of the most important and necessary items is the fuel-pump testing, repairing and calibrating room, which alone is a costly matter to set up. Again, some part of the skilled staff would be continually idle at various periods, because there .would not be enough work for them all to be fully occupied,-all the time.
Regarding the lining of cylinders Mr. Howes states:— " -Cylinders should be lined, . . incidentally, at least one manufacturer of oil engines has already taken that step, • „ the practice should be universal." Does Mr. Howes not know that for years Gardners, A.E.C., Leylands, and other oil-engine makers have all adopted the practice of lining...cylinders? In .fact the practice .is becoming almost universal.
Reverting once again to our main subject. What does Mr. Howes propose to do with the many important firms covering commercial vehicle repairs and servicing, who have expended large sums of money in buildings, plant and tools, who pay a large staff of both skilled and unskilled men, and who are always ready to take in vehicles for repairs,
overhaul, • or eerV.icing? Are these useful people to be abandoned and left to fight their Way out of the bankruptcy court? • Most certainly not; the idea is preposterous. and Mr. Howes has evidently made a bad mistake in. putting forward melt unreasonable suggestions.