A FARM UTILITY VEHICLE.
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Further Notes on a VehiCle Designed for Carrying Produce and Passengers.
IN our issue of August 24th we gave details of a . vehicle designed for both produce and passenger carrying. In the; concluding paragraph • it was mentioned that several improvements might now be _advantageous, although it has proved generally satisfactory. These improvements are minor ones, but as apparently some of our readers are interested and have made inquiries as to what they are we give a. few details below.
To make reference easier we reproduce the sketch of the vehicle and would briefly recapitulate that it is for general use in connection with a, farm. The purpose of the vehicle, fully outlined in the article, is the carriage of passengers, milk churns, pigs, and general farm produce to the station or nearest market town.
The back seat as originally arranged was a fixture. This was not satisfactory, as it restricted the available tarrying space when passengers were not being carried. Further, after some of the loads, a good swilling was necessary, and, although the cushions could be taken eat, the fixed boards rather interfered with this operation.
The seat has now been altered so that it can be taken out and left at. home when pigs, manure, etc., are to he carried, or an extra. bulky load :has to he handled.
It has been suggested that the seat should be made • to hinge, preferably across the body, so that the cushions would come up against the side of the back canopy. This, however, is a matter Ter the individual user. If he is likely to take-Joni:1s requiring all his body space to say, the station and, on the return journey with no goods, to bring back extra passengers, then, this arrangement would be very welcome. Providing the character of the recent load is not such as to preclude its use without, cleaning, it is certainly handy to be able to drop the scat and give a lift to two or three people extra,. Then there was a, point about communication between:the people in the front and those at the back.
This is a small matter, but in building a new van. a small slide should be built in, which can be opened from either side and located just under the driver's window for preference. it should nobbe put too ne-ar the driver's head. A sudden voice in his ear might make him jump and lose control. If placed properly, it will be found better than hammering on the boards and holding a lip-reading class through: the window. Someone may be tempted just to cut a bole or take the window out! It is not advisable! Without ready means of communication someone will have a stiff neck sooner or later.
Referring to the sketch, a panel and Step will be seen just forward of the rear wheel, It should have been mentioned in the article that the panel on one side might with advantage he made as a door. This enables passengers to get into the van without climbing over the goods at the rear. If this he done, it is important to fit a very substantial fastening on the door, so that it will; not come open when goods or stock are being carried.
The floor of the .van should be protected by iron strips if churns are to be carried, and, in any case, good drainage hales should be bared through the floar,..the holes being placed so that the drainage is quite clear of any part of the mechanism.
Lastly, the importance of going to a good coachbuilder should be emphasized. Anian who has had • experience in building bodies for commercial vehicles is most likely to make a satisfactory job, even if he hae.not 'built a body exactly on the lines required.
His advice should. be taken as a supplement to these and the Previous notes. Attention might be drawn to the roofof the canopy, which should be rather carefully made, BO that the occupants of the rear seats are not likely to get seriously wet from
roof drippings. • • The position of the ware wheel, if any of the tyres are pneumatic, also deserves consideration.