REAR LIFT FOR EASY LOADING
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A LIFTING frame.hinged at the front, and a rear-mounted twin-ram elevating gear enable containers, packing cases and so on, to be unloaded by gravity to ground level from the Curtishoist semitrailer outfit in a few minutes, whilst loading is performed with the aid of a hand-operated winch. Produced by Curtis Motors Ltd., Whitacre Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham 9, the prototype vehicle is also equipped with four hoisting jacks with which the entire trailer can be raised from the ground to accommodate different loading-deck heights. If necessary the lifting-frame rams can-be used to tilt the frame upwards as well
as downwards to facilitate loading at a raised deck. The lifting frame system is fully patented.
Other features of the prototype include two lengths of roller conveyor, placed longitudinally in the centre of the body, and detachable ramp extensions, which provide for easy movement of packing cases and non-wheeled loads. Runwa■s at the sides of the conveyor sections are used when loading wheeled vehicles, which can be driven or winched on the trailer. In this case the ramps are of the hinged, fold-under type.
The rams and jacks are supplied with fluid from the hydraulic systeni of the
prime-mover but can also be operated by a trailer-mounted pump which may be driven by an auxiliary petrol engine or electric motor. Hinged struts are lowered to the vertical position to support the load when the frame has been raised.
When packing cases are being unloaded, the winch is employed to control the rearward movement of each case at the end of the line until it contacts the ground. The cable is then unhooked from the case, the vehicle is driven forward and, because the cases are in close contact, the rest are unloaded automatically without restraint by the winch.