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Will It Earn Its Keep?
Page 202
Page 205
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The Relationship Between the Type and Specification of a Vehicle and its Subsequem Cost of Operation Must be Fully Appreciated if the Right Choice is to be Math
IN considering the purchase of a new commercial vehicle the type of traffic that it will be required to move will be a major factor in determining the specification. Operators engaged in general haulage would normally have to compromise in this respect to a much greater extent than ancillary users because of the greater variety of traffic they carry.
Additionally, even though the C-licence operator is in a much better position to match his vehicles with the particular type of load he has to move, possibly involving the use of specialized. bulk vehicles, there remains an overall need for flexibility. To meet this need the commercial vehicle manufacturer provides a wide range of chassis and bodies, coupled with alternatives in specification. As a result of the combination of these several variable factors, there is a variety of choice open to the purchaser. Unless there is a reliable yardstick against which it is possible to evaluate these alternatives the wrong choice could only too easily be made.
A goods or passenger vehicle is put on the road as a commercial proposition either to earn a profit for the professional operator, or to provide an efficient service for the ancillary user. In the former case the revenue derived from the use of a vehicle or, alternatively, the standard of service • achieved by the ancillary user, will be to some extent peculiar to each sct of circumstances, but the general principles governing the cost of operation will be common to both types of use.
WHILST the initial outlay on even a comparatively smAll type of goods vehicle, for example, would represent a substantial amount to many operators, the extent of this outlay should be kept in perspective. Thus, to purchase and operate a 3-tonner for five years (assuming an average of 400 miles a week) would cost £7,371 at current prices. Of this amount, only 12.4 per cent (£914) would represent the initial outlay, whilst the balance of £6,457 would be incurred in its subsequent operation.
The significance of this ratio is that if a reduction of 2 per cent. could be achieved in the operating coSt by a variation in specification resulting in an increased initial cost of 10 per cent., the exercise would be worth while.
Apart from this relation between the amount of the initial outlay and the total cost of operation during the life of the vehicle whilst it is in the operator's possession, it is pertinent to know beforehand the relationship of the various iten go to make up the total operating cost, prior to the pur a new vehicle.
It is convenient to segregate the total operating cosi items five being grouped as standing costs and the 11 five as running costs. As an indication of the prof amount of expenditure incurred. on each item, the c costs of a 3-ton petrol-engined goods vehicle are no both per week and per annum.
It will be assumed that the unladen weight is 2 ton with a resulting annual licence duty of £33. Allowing addition for the proportional cost of carrier's licence equivalent cost of licences per week would be 14s. " of driver's wages to the employer is reckoned at £9 . This is based on the standard minimum remuneratic driver based in a Grade I area as defined by the Road Wages Regulations R.H.(70) as at present applies.
IT is additionally assumed that an adult driver employed. This amount also includes the equivalent the employer's contribution to the new Graduated Pen National Insurance and voluntary employers'. indemni
ance. An adjustment is also made to provide for. twi . . . holiday with pay.. . . Rent and rates in respect of garaging the veh nominally assessed at the equivalent of 10s. 9d. a week prehensive insurance cover for a vehicle of this class a medium-risk area would incur an annual pren £87 14s. 2d., or £1 15s. Id. a week. As with the calculations to derive a weekly standing cost, this latter is based on a 50-week year to allow for two weeks pe when the vehicle may be off the road on account of holidays or major overhaul.
Interest charged at a nominal rate of 5 per cent initial outlay of £914 would result in an equivalent gam per week of I8s. 3d. The total for these five items wo be £13 12s. lid. Taking 400 as an appropriate weekly for this type of vehicle, the standing cost per mile wo be 8.19d.
Turning now to running costs, the major expenclitur group will be in respect of fuel. Assuming petrol is p (Continued on page 517) at 4s. Id. a gallon and an average rate of consumption n.p.g. is maintained, the fuel cost per mile would be Lubricants are reckoned to add 0.21d. and tyres 0.74d. a ['his latter calculation is based on an estimated cost per 93 and an average mileage life of 30,000.
:enance, inclusive of washing, servicing and repairs, is d to cost the equivalent of 1.92d. a mile. Similarly, tion is assessed at 1.17d. a mile. This is obtained by lucting the equivalent cost of the initial set of tyres )m the initial price of the vehicle with a further deducespect of the ultimate residual value, here reckoned at :al 10 per cent, of the initial cost.. It is also assumed mileage life for this vehicle will be 150,000 which, at :s a week, would be the equivalent of a life of 7i years. otal for these five items of running costs is, therefore, thich, when added to the standing cost, gives a total g cost of 15.50d. a mile.
total running cost per week, when 400 miles are I, would be: Fuel £5 9s., lubricants 7s., tyres £1 4s. 8d., ince £3 4s., and depreciation £1 19s.; total, £12 3s. 8d. o the standing cost of £13 12s. I Id., the total cost of a this 3-tonner 400 miles a week would be £25 16s. 7d. average weekly mileage were maintained throughout , the mileage per annum would be 20,000, still assuming :k year. The annual amount for each item of standing a year at this mileage would be: Licences £35, wages 8d., rent and rates £26 17s, 6d., insurance £87 14s. 2d., rest £45 12s. 6d.; total. £682 5s. 10d. The five items of costs per year would be: Fuel £272 10s., lubricants tyres £61 13s. 4d., maintenance £160, and depreciation ; total, £609 3s. 4d. The total operating cost for the aid be £1,291 9s. 2d.
rly, over a period of five years, the total standing nild be £3,411 9s. 2d. and the running cost is. 8d„ giving a total operating cost of £6,457 5s. 10d. considering variations in specification which the r may be at liberty to make to meet his individual ents, it would. be of advantage to reiterate the legal
as to weight and dimensions as applied to normaldes. As required by the Motor Vehicles (Construction Regulations, No. 482/55, Section 68, the total weight ed to the road surface by a four-wheeler must not 4 tons, with a maximum of 9 tons transmitted by any :Is in line transversely. i.e., one axle. The maximum I for a six-wheeler is 20 tons gross and for an :eler 24 tons. The total laden weight of a trailer with six wheels and not forming part of an articulated lust not exceed 14 tons.
IN these legal limitations the intending purchaser will wish to know at the outset the maximum legal which he could carry with any particular vehicle he has Whilst obviously the unladen weight of a vehicle substantially according to variations in both chassis y specification, the following samples of unladen .n respect of standard platform goods vehicles will ome guidance.
eady stated, the unladen weight of a petrol-engined would be around 2 tons 4 cwt.. rising to 2 tons 12 cwt. .nner and 2 tons 18 cwt. for a 7-tonner, in the quantityclass. The corresponding weights for the oil-engined would be approximately 2 tons 8 cwt. for the 3-toriner, 7 cwt. for the 5-tonner and 3 tons 4 cwt. for the :ing examples in the quality-produced class, it must be :d that there could be even wider variations in the weight of similar vehicles due to the fact that in this intending purchaser normally has much greater ty to insist on specifications to meet his particular :nts. With this qualification, a four-wheeler in this :h a rated carrying capacity of 8 tons can have an weight of 4 tons 7 cwt., whilst a 9-tonner may weigh cwt. A " heavy " six-wheeler can have an unladen 6 tons 15 cwt., whilst an eight-wheeler may come range of 7 tons 10 cwt.
articulated range of vehicles, a 10-ton oil-engined lit coupled to a standard platform trailer would give
a combined unladen weight of around 4 tons 12 cwt., assuming that the tractor unit was in the quantity-produced class. In the heavier range, the 13-ton " artic." could weigh, unladen, around 7 tons and the 16-tonner, 7 tons 15 cwt.
Regarding legal limitations on the dimensions of goods vehicles, rigid versions, whether four-, sixor eight-wheelers, are restricted to a maximum length of 30 ft., whilst " artics." are allowed 35 ft. overall. A drawbar trailer must not exceed 22 ft., and although there is a stipulation in Section 94 of the Construction and Use Regulations that the length of a tow rope or chain must not exceed 15 ft., there is, in fact, no specific limit laid down on the maximum combined length of a motor vehicle and drawbar trailer.
In addition to the advantages to be derived from the use of articulated vehicles, where. these can be fully exploited, particularly when increasing traffic delays could seriously dislocate schedules if rigid vehicles were employed, the benefit of additional platform length is obtainable with articulated trailers in some instances.
From the annual operating cost just enumerated it will be noted that, out of a total of £1,291, the -sum of £487 is accounted for by wages-over 37 per cent. It follows, therefore, that any improvement which increases the overall productivity of the driver, whether by employing articulated vehicles, improved cab design to facilitate entry and exit, or to improve visibility and reduce fatigue, could have an important bearing on the revenue-earning capacity of the vehicle.
SHOULD improvements in cab or body construction be contemplated to achieve some of these objectives at additional cost to the basic price, it should be borne in mind that, of the 10 items of operating cost previously given, the only two to be directly affected by a change in the initial outlay would be interest and depreciation. In the example just quoted these two items total £143 out of an annual total operating cost of £1,291. It will be seen that a small increase in the initial outlay would have a comparatively minor effect on the total operating 'cost, particularly as the combined total of interest and depreciation is less than any one of the three single items of wages, fuel or maintenance.
These comments have been intended to refer to comparatively minor modifications to standard vehicles. Consideration of operating aspects in this context should be quite distinct from those which apply when the purchase of specialized goods vehicles is under review. In that event, if the venture is to be a commercial success, there must be the fullest prior co-operation between customer and operator in making a precise survey as to the benefits which the purchase of such a vehicle should provide. Equally important is the amount of additional cost involved and the manner in which it is to be
proportioned between the parties. S.B.