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Dm the test slopes, the Trader was taken to the
Page 107
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three suspencourses, these consisting of pave, in.-sett and 2-2f-in. sett tracks, ;ett tracks embodying transverse ete blocks spaced at irregular vals. Each of these tracks is t 500 yd. long and runs. were : in each direction.
e pave was tackled first and, ugh at 10 m.p.h. the ride was mely rough, it was possible to in seated at 20 m.p.h. with the ng tending to fight a little. The le was being severely shaken, the result that on the return leg olent clatter became apparent, iding with the jamming of the Lie pedal.
Fault Rectified
ipection revealed the general to have been a broken clip ing the throttle cable to the front lead, the fracture allowing the to foul the cooling fan. A ly repair was effected with the a piece of string. Current proon Traders have a different cable to avoid this occurrence, and it merely unfortunate that the test le was unmodified.
3rn the pave the Trader was L on to the 1-11-in. setts and, as ual with vehicles of this size, it driven over these obstructions at i.p.h. A surprisingly good ride :ed—indeed, the steering almost aed " hands-off " qualities.
e 2-21-in. setts presented a dift picture, however, and at times vehicle, which I was trying to Lain at a speed of 20 m.p.h., was
d sideways through up to 403 to direction of intended travel. ing also was fierce and rattles [Wed from the chassis, cab and . Half-way down on the return he auxiliary box, which had been #1 ratio, jumped into neutral and tie farther down a loud bang under the engine cowl foretold Mechanical Puzzle
e exact sequence of what had led ) this noise is difficult to decide. two rear engine-mounting bolts worked loose and may have ed the engine to move forward, at the fan pierced the radiator . and broke off one of the blades. natively, the loose throttle cable have bent one of the fan blades, It the excessive engine movement caused it to break off and fly gh the radiator.
e test vehicle should have been with a modified rear engineiting layout in which the mountoohs are permanently under ten sion, thus making it virtually impos sible for the bolts to work loose. This revised heavy-duty mounting is stand ard on current vehicles, so the trouble encountered on the setts should not occur in service.
The net result, however, was that both the fan and the radiator had to be changed during lunch-time, necessary repairs also being carried out to the rear engine mountings and one of the tailboard catches.
This done, the Trader was taken to the Alpine course at Bagshot Heath, the Army rough track for cross country vehicles. No rain to speak of had fallen on this area for a long time, with the result that the ground was hard and coated with fine dust. With this in mind, the tyres were let down from their normal pressure of 55 p.s.i. to 40 p.s.i. to soften the ride and reduce chassis damage.
The Alpine course itself was successfully completed at reasonable speeds, the steepest ascent being of 1 in 3 severity, which was made in second gear, low auxiliary, without much trouble. While on the Alpine circuit I experienced difficulty in making quick changes from third to second gear, frequently finding that I had engaged top gear inadvertently, with the result that valuable speed and traction were lost. I do not think this was caused by unfamiliarity with a left-hand-drive vehicle.
Attempts were then made over
various bumpy surfaces to obtain pictures of the vehicle with all four wheels off the ground. But the combination of a rather rough ride, a throttle pedal that preferred to stick wide open rather than to close itself when released, and a loose brakebleeder nipple that allowed most of the brake fluid to escape made the test somewhat hazardous, so I handed the wheel over to the factory driver. He managed to leap the vehicle off the ground twice without breaking anything more, the braking system having been re-sealed beforehand!
I was somewhat disappointed by the failures incurred during this test. I was not gentle with the vehicle, but I was no more severe with it than I normally am with any multi-wheeldrive cross-country machine.
Good Maintenance Essential
My experience should emphasize to operators of vehicles of this nature that frequent and thorough maintenance and inspection are essential if timeand money-wasting failures are to be avoided in service. Where such attention can be given, the Trader 4 x 4 should prove to be a useful general-purpose off-the-road vehicle with an outstanding gradient performance. The oil-engined Trader 4 x 4 chassis and cab, as tested with 9.0020-in. tyres, costs £2,027 in Great Britain, the petrol-engined version being priced at £135 less.