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Front Tipping Gear for Long wheelbase Lorries
Page 94
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TWIN rams, mounted in a front-of1 body position, and a stabilizer which is attached to the body by twin slide-bars, are features of a tipping gear recently developed by Weston Works (Birmingham), Ltd., Greet, Birmingham, II, for long-wheelbase vehicles in the 7-ton class. Front-of-body location for the rams is considered to have advantages over the under-body type with either vertical, slant or horizontal rams, in that the lower thrust required for a given lifting capacity reduces the stresses on the chassis and bodywork. Another advantage is that the thrust is applied at a point on the chassis frame where resistance to bending is high.
There is, too, an overall saving in weight, whilst the rams do not reduce ground clearance. Although the extension of the tubes above the body may
be a disadvantage when the vehicle operates inside a building or must pass under a low structure, this is not of importance to the average operator.
The rams normally fitted are of the standard double-extension type (model 9), but triple-extension rams, with a reduced closed length (model 10), are available, in the latter case there is no projection above the body.
One of the difficulties associated with high-lift rams of comparatively small diameter, such as are used for front-ofbody lifting gears, is that a variation in load distribution can result in unequal travel of the rams with consequent distortion of the body. For this reason, the rams are placed close together with a centre distance of 10 in.
The rams are ball mounted on the chassis, the thrust being transmitted to the body via half-moon cups.. Highpressure flexible pipes are used for the inter-ram connection and the connections between the tank, the control units and the ram T-piece. The pump is integral with the power take-off, and the tank, together with the control system, is designed for under-seat mounting.
An important feature of the ram installation is the small space occupied, the height of the trunnion lip being
7 in. above the chassis frame. Because the front-of-body mounting of the rams gives a substantially direct thi-ust on the body, the depth of the longitudinals can generally be reduced with a corresponding saving in floor height.
The total weight of the gear, including stabilizer and all fittings, is within 4+ cwt., and its capacity is 12 tons. The slide bars are 211 in. apart, and the attachment cross-pieces are built into the body longitudinals.
The stabilizer is constructed from 4i-in. by 2-in. pressed-steel U-section channel members of A in. gauge and has a length between centres of 5 ft.
8 in. The pivot brackets are reinforced by ribs and fit into the main sidemembers of the chassis in line with the front hanger-brackets of the rear springs.