A demonstration
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in how to show off
by Tim Hoare
uality display un its for £25,000
[ILE the bodybuilding intry in general has been 'ering along with everyone during the current econodepression, companies oh have been concentrating highly specialised one offs • e been in the more fortue position of being able to p their order books full.
)ne such company is Coven Steel Caravans, whose ticular speciality is the duction of mobile demonition and exhibition units, ally based on 12.2m (40ft) vi-trailers and drawbars.
'he company's name is a • nomer for although CSC rted off in Coventry in the making high-quality domescaravans in steel it is now ed in Newport Pagnell, uses y little steel and has not de a domestic caravan since >ut 1950.
)bile banks
'he company's first commer1 units were mobile banks, :ed on caravan chassis, but r,7 the majority of the work carried out on 12.2 (40ft) p-frame chassis usually sup?,c1 and specially modified by )mant and Son Ltd. Modifiions include special floor strengthening at specified points to bear the concentrated weight of any equipment being carried.
For the actual body construction a special interlocking alloy extrusion has been designed which requires no internal support ribbing, thus leaving a clean interior surface. A second extrusion looks after the corners which are limited to a minimum radius of 22.8cm (9in).
Consultation between the designers at CSC and the designers of the clients usually takes up several meetings before work begins. CSC carries out all work from internal fitting-out to electrical installations and equipping the vehicle with air conditioning equipment and public address systems if required. The normal delivery time is six months, with eight weeks being allowed for the delivery and modifications of the trailer chassis and 16 weeks being allowed for the actual bodybuilding. The order book is currently full until well into 1976.
For an outlay of about £25,000 the customer can expect a very high standard of workmanship and a high proportion of the labour force of 25 are skilled cabinet makers. The type of work varies considerably and vehicles currently being built range from a close-coupled soil sampler for the Ministry of Defence to two very elaborate demonstration units.
Central heating
For the Fuel Advisory Service of the National Coal Board CSC is constructing a demonstration unit complete with four solid fuel fires and a complete water radiator central heating system. To provide the maximum of space the sides of the van body let down to give a 12m x 12m floor and the interior is fully 'furnished. The sides are enclosed by a fully supported canvas shroud.
The fires are in concrete grates (hence the need for local chassis strengthening of the stepframe chassis). A water tank below the floor, between the chassis members supplies the radiators with water, and the water is circulated by a mains-driven electric pump. Another vehicle of particular interest is a demonstration unit, again based on a 12.2m (40ft) step-frame trailer made by Fromant, which will be touring East European countries for Rank Xerox. The trailer really is lavishly equipped with full air conditioning as well as a Webasto heater situated below the floor to cope with sub-zero tempera tures. To further minimise heat loss an " air-lock" type of double-entrance door is also provided.
Inside the vehicle there is a fully equipped bar, topped with black-stained pine veneer, and kitchen. The rest of the vehicle accommodates the five Rank Xerox photo-copiers on demonstration. The walls of the van are furnished with air-crafttype plastic mouldings which also act as frames for picture displays, while in the roof there are panels which support lighting and heating ducts and also loudspeaker enclosures for the 60W amplifier system. Adjacent to •the bar is a full vanheight panel which hinges down and outwards to provide a platform.
Considerable use of fibre glass mouldings is made to provide storage lockers around the sides of the vehicle. There is . also a special moulding which makes up the rear underpart of the trailer. These mouldings of course are specially made for CSC and more often than not are " oneoffs."
The Rank Xerox trailer will be towed by a left-hand drive Leyland Marathon which has been fitted with an 18kVA generator, driven from the unit's gearbox pto. The unit is uncoupled when providing power for the trailer to minimise noise nuisance.
Although CSC exports very little direct most of the vehicles end up overseas. A good example of this is an order for 40 :drawbar trailers which are part of a guided weapons simulation contract for a Middle East country. The company constructs the trailers complete with air conditioning, etc, just leaving space for the electronics to •be installed by the manufacturer.
Sales manager Ron Lown told me that training units and laboratories are becoming more common in the company's business, taking over from exhibition units in popularity. In addition although the company has built units based on rigid chassis the expense of building up •a complete front end (often involving the front section •of a coach shell) has proved prohibitive and it is now very rare for vehicles such as this to be built.
Thatched roof
CSC is not averse to carrying out the more bizarre requests and perhaps the most unusual was a vehicle for a crisp manufacturer in the North of England. The vehicle was required for country fairs and Shows so it was decided to build a complete half of a Tudor cottage. The combined skills of CSC did not extend to a thatcher for the roof so this work had to be contracted out!