Increased Utility in Market Gardeners' Lorries
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JOE SMITH, the market gardener, and Jim Ashcroft, the coachbuilder, had known one another for a quarter of a century, and one Thursday afternoon, when Joe bad called in about some repairs he wanted done urgently, the conversation turned to the subject of the new lorry, which had been discussed on many former occasions.
" My boy George," said Joe, "is full of new-fangled ideas and says we ought to have something different from the old wagon, with its high floor, heavy tailboard and all the clutter of loading racks, which, he insists, is not much .different from what his grandfather had."
"Well, it's easy to criticize," replied the coachbuilder, a little sharply, "but has George any suggestion to make? You get along all right with the two lorries you have, don't you, Joe?"
"I do and I don't," murmured Joe, rather thoughtfully. "It depends on what we are carrying, Jim, and whether the stuff on top is always wanted first. I am inclined to agree with the boy that the load may be nicely arranged and tied up, but, after all, it's just one big heap. It would be nice if we could separate the heavy from the light stuff and have some of the load lower down.
"This is, roughly, George's idea," continued Joe. "He doesn't see why we cannot have something like a removal van with a well-floor at the back. The other part of the floor is to be kept low, and he even wants platforms built over the wheelarches. After all, why jib at wheel-arches when churns are stood on them? '' The lorry is to have fixed high sides with slats at the top, some kind of roof to lift off, if necessary, removable shelves, or a middle floor to separate the load, and side, as well as back, doors. 'Then,' says George, triumphantly, 'you can put numbers on the cabbages and pick out each one separately if you want to.'
"Do you think there is anything in the idea, Jim?" concluded Joe, with a smile.
"I'll certainly go into the matter," replied Jim. "It seems to me, Joe, that you want something between a double-deck livestock lorry and a pantechnicon. I shall have your job done on Tuesday and will then have a sketch ready for us to talk over.
Let us consider the problem placed before Mr. Jim Ashcroft. No matter how large the market gardener's lorry may be, more capacity would always be welcomed, especially if it could be achieved without increasing the overall height and length. The well-floor requires a chassis with cranked tail-ends, similar to those fitted to a doubledeck bus chassis.. If the well be only 12 ins. deep, 18 ins, long and 6 ft. wide, 'it represents an extra 9 cubic ft. of loading capacity.
The tailboard is discarded, unless one low enough to clear the ground be mounted, and a pair of full-height back doors is fitted. These doors would be close-boarded at the bottom, with spaced slats for the upper part.
The size of the rectangular wheelarch enclosures would be decided after an experimental pile had been made of the usual boxes, crates, or baskets carried, so that they would pack safely and without undue loss of space. The main portion of the floor between the wheel-arches and in front, being built close to the chassis, would be about 9 ins, lower than with a plain floor. Assuming that the body is 6 ft. long in front of the wheel-arches, that the wheelarch enclosures are 9 ins. high, 3 ft. long and 3 ft. 6 ins, apart, neatly 35 cubic ft. is gained below the level of -the top of the wheel-arches.
Good Headroom in a Luton Van. The sides of the body are sufficiently high to enable the roof, when carried forward, to cover a Lutontype front with at least 2 it. headroom.
The lorry has two pairs of runners, which support removable cross-bars, which, in turn, support a set of loose boards. One set of runners is at the level of the floor of the Luton-type portion and the other about 2 ft. above the main floor, or 3 ft. above the well-floor.
As the removal floor consists of loose boards, any number of boards may be arranged at either the upper or lower level. When a complete floor is in position, boards may be removed from the rear, as the lorry is unloaded, in order to facilitate access to the other part of the load. When-the floor is in the lower position, it is level with one of the side rails of the body framework, above which there is a pair of doors and, below, a hinged side. These doors and hinged side give access to the greater part of the lorry in front of the wheel-arches and their value is not decreased even when the intermediate floor is in the higher position. The doors are made of spaced slats and match the construction of the upper part of the body.
Loading Facilitated.
The Luton-type portion has a door on both sides, so that it may be loaded independently if required. The roof is a separate unit made in a style similar to that already adopted for the farmer's general-purpose lorry. The roof may consist of lengthwise slats and hoopsticks to support a sheet, or it is boarded. The boarded roof may have a rail surrounding it, which will then be useful for carrying empties..
When the roof is removed, the
lorry is available for a load which exceeds the normal headroom. Although the high sides are more rigid than are the usual sides with a superstructure of loading racks, one or two cross-rails may be fitted to hold the sides of the body together when the roof is removed. For convenience of handling and storing the roof, it may be in two sections. If the market gardener should decide that he does not care for the wheel-arch enclosures, the main floor may be level throughout, with loose boards to cover the well, so that the vehicle may be used with a straight floor, or without rear boards over the well. In any case, these boards could be moved during loading, also part of the load could be carried under them. The level floor would appeal to the owner if the lorry were required at any time for animal transport, in which case the intermediate floor would be arranged to provide at least 2 ft. 6 ins. headroom.