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Mkt' 7"() rra l q raile r s
Page 143
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Page 145
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JOHNSON LINE
IT SEEMS that the spate of non-reactive suspensions which appeared at the 1964 Commercial Motor Show has almost died out. Only two of the designs which were produced specially for the BRS contract put out in 1963 and triggered off the great non-reactive race have survived to be shown this year.
The trailer scene today is dominated, it would appear, by the need to carry containers. Nearly every maker is exhibiting either skeletal units designed solely to carry containers or platform units equipped with twistlocks to enable them to carry containers when necessary.
Despite a swing towards the widespread bogie on the maximum-length, maximumcapacity units only two firms will be showing units with steerable axles. Northern Trailers, one of the early importers of the Italian Ceschi axle, have now concluded an agreement to build the Italian Rigo self-steering unit in the UK and have re-designed it to accept twin wheels and qualify for the full 10-ton axle loading.
The unit will be shown mounted on a 40ft-long platform skeletal with twistlocks for 2 x 20ft, 1 x 30ft or 1 x 40ft containers and will be plated for a gcw of 32 tons but be suitable for a gross trailer weight of 36 tons for future operation at 44 tons if regulations are changed to permit that weight. The other company showing a self-steering axle will be the Primrose Third Axle Co Lad which along with Rnbery Owen Rockwell Ltd, Moss Gear Co Ltd, North Derbyshire Engineering Co Ltd, and York Technical Services Ltd will be showing trailer running gears and/or axles and brakes on their stands in the accessory and components sections.
Another trend that is not so apparent is the building of vehicles so designed as to be capable of being legally uprated should the regulations change to permit higher gross vehicle weights. A number of firms including Northern and Boden will be showing vehicles suitable for operation at 44 tons gross.
The industry remains clearly divided into two strictly defined camps, one line producing a fixed range of models featuring only the option of length by certain increments and of a standard range of fittings, and the other offering anything on wheels that can be trailed or semi-trailed for any conceivable purpose.
There has, of course, been the expected demise of one or two companies since the last Earls Court Show, notable absentees being Hoynor and that old stalwart Hands of Letchworth. Hands-designed running-gear units will be shown on the stand of Gloster Saro the tanker builders who are part of Hawker Siddeley, the same group that ran Hands. Although there has been a change of ownership, Tusher, the second oldest trailer maker, will be exhibiting vehicles from its Formula range—developed before the firm was taken over by Cravens Hollmalloy—and a Strickvan, an American design built under licence in the UK by Cravens and Tasker. Rubery Owen running gear is used extensively on the Tasker vehicles now except for the low-loaders with knock-out axles, these still being produced by Tasker at the Andover works.
The only independent suspension mechanically sprung trailer at the Show will be seen on the Stand occupied by Peak Trailers Ltd The Peak unit will be a tandem version of the suspension--introduced with such secrecy at the last Earls Court Show— which incorporates swinging-arm mounted stub-axle units suspended by coil springs. Other units with independent suspension all feature either rubber in shear, compression or torsion, or air suspension.
Among the many TIR vehicles on show will be a low-level vehicle produced by a newcomer to the show, Booth Trailers of Oldham. The unit utilizes a tri-axle running gear manufactured by the Moss Gear Company and is mounted on 8.25-15, 18-ply Michelin tyres in twin formation. It has a lower deck height of only 3ft lin., is ol 40ft lin. overall length, has a bottom deck length of 30ft and is 13ft high.
Frameless vans will feature strongly on several stands. On Domain's there will be a single axle unit with a number of unusual structural features. The body is panelled with glassfibre sheets sandwiching foamed-in-situ expanded polystyrene. Lightalloy cross-bearers support the floor and to these are bolted the running gear, landing gear and the rubbing-plate assemblies. The latter of these units extends to the full width of the body and 3ft 6in. _rearwards. The kingpin is set at 24in. and the landing gear is carried on pressed-steel runners carried over five cross-bearers.
Stillage carriers are again to be shown by Weeks and Co but this year a new vehicle with a capacity of IS tons will be the centrepiece of the company's stand. The Week units utilize a hydraulically powered parallelogram-type sub frame which provides a lift sufficient to land or lift stillages forming part of the system the company produces. The new semi-trailer features tandem axles manufactured by a subsidiary company, A. W. Hunton of Norwich. Other units of a similar type, one for on-road use with a capacity of 12 tons, and an off-highway model of the draw-bar type for 10 tons will also be exhibited.
Although the name Trailmobile will still appear at Earls Court there will be no trailers of that make there—or running gears or other trailer equipment; Trailmobile's activities in the trailer field were wound up earlier this year.
The elder statesmen of the trailer industry, Dyson, continues to show its versatility by eihibiting a wide range of units including a 25-ton deck-over-wheels low-loader, a 16-ton gcw brewery-bodied semi-trailer and a 20-ton Gran don semi-trailer chassis equipped with a special body by Freight Developments of Lancing, Sussex.
The Grandon is one of the original non-reactive suspensions that has survived the price war on running gears and it features interfinked bell-cranked shackles to pass the brake torque reaction between the axles.
The low-loader on show will be basically 2 tracked or wheeled-plant carrier and is intended for export. It has an unsprung walking-beam suspension and the deck is Cut away over the tops of the wheels. Because it has to be interchangeable with logging trailers the vehicle features an inverted bolster type coupling in place of the usual kingpin.
Dyson will also be showing a converter doily and a tandem-axled, unitized air-suspension running-gear with a sub-frame, suitable for mounting on to tankers and frameless vans.
Another old-established firm showing a wide range of models including the other of the surviving non-reactive suspensions is Brockhouse. One of its exhibits will be a tandem axled Expeditor designed for dual-purpose operation in Scandinavia. Having a composite-plywood deck and detachable drop-sides, it will also be equipped with twistlocks positioned to accept 2011, 30ftand 4011-long containers
The vehicle will be fitted with two folding kingpins making it suitable for use with tractive units of different types. There will be three other semi-trailers on the Brockhouse stand: a 10.5-ton gross trailer weight unit with automatic coupling gear, a 14.75-ton gtw unit and a 19.5-ton unit.
Pitt Trailers Ltd, the Wigan-based (formerly Hampshire-based) firm, will show two recently introduced semi-trailers. The first will be a 16-ton gvw model, the design of which was a joint effort between Pitt and Loughborough University, who co-operated in order to attain the highest possible payload within the bounds of 16-tons gross. The result is in a unit with an unladen weight of only 2 tons lcwt. The other unit will be a 40ft platform skeletal—the biggest trailer turned out by the firm since it moved to Wigan. It is plated for 36 tons gtw—for operation at 44 tons should future legislation permit this weight—and will carry one 40ft-, two 20ftor one 301t-long container. Also shown on this stand will be one of the 24-ton gross Tandem 4 units introduced at the last Show.
ScammeIl will be exhibiting a special tipping-trailer chassis; the unit will be an addition to the Challenger range of semi-trailers catering for outfits of over 24-ton gcw. The trailer features Rubery Owen M-series suspension and running gear and exceptional torsional stiffness through its 6.5in. and 10in, diameter tubular cross-members. It also has a 0.25in.-thick fabricated cross-member intended to stabilize the hinge-pivots of the tipping body.
York Trailer will exhibit units covering a wide range of trailer operation. A new frameless Freightmaster van features steel-framed light-alloy bodywork with recessed plywood lining throughout as standard equipment. A 40ft-long refrigerated van has a Thermo-King freezer. The vehicle features alternative kingpin positions and a sliding bogie so that it can be made suitable for use with twoor three-axle tractive units.
A TIR with a difference will be on show: it will be based on a platform skeletal equipped with sockets for the TIR bodywork, so can be used for general freight, for container work or for loose TIR consignments. The unit will have the York Selectalode sliding tandem-bogie with widespread axles; it will also have dual kingpins.
Providing for a unit suitable for town delivery and for journey work, York will show an outfit on the demonstration park comprising a 16-ton gross Guy four-wheeler towing a 24ft-long Freightmaster semitrailer coupled through a converter dolly.
Among the tipping trailers on show will be both chassis-types and others employing the Villiers system. Not very many years ago artics were considered most unsuitable for tipping work, now a large number of builders produce such models and they are becoming more popular each year. Two firms that will show both types of tipper at Earls Court will be Neville Industries (Mansfield) Ltd, and Neville Truck Equipment Ltd of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Notts.