The Case for the Light Motorvan.
Page 11
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An Interesting Account of a Tradesman's Conversion from Horsed Vans to Light Motor Delivery Vans.
Dramatis Persot;x The Tradesman 1 The Salesman
Mr. Castor, Mr. Chassis.
" . . . 1 have considered the literature that yuu have sent to me. and, although I have not the least doubt that the reli_ ability of your machines is all that it should be, I cannot see that 1 should effect a saving in cost. over my present sysLen ot horse-haulage."
The foregoing is an excerpt from a letter written by a grocer to a manufacturing company, which had supplied him with literature bringing the question of the utilization of inotorvans before his notice. IN e were shown the actual letter at the new London depot, in Great Portland Street, W,, of the .Iiiihnan Motor Car Co., Ltd., of Coventry and London. from the conversation which followed, together with the inspection of various documents, we gathered the information on uhich the following article is based. It is to be remembered that a representative of the Hillman Co. has approached the tradesman in question, and is engaged in pressing forward the claimsof his company's products.
" You must understand that I employ four horses and three vans. My deliveries are very largely confined to the town and the very near suburbs, and, consequently, I must always keep a horse standing by, in order that, should one show Mims of fatigue, the reserve animal can be harnessed and put to work at once. The loads carried do not, as a side, exceed 10 cwt. Now, I am not an expert on motorvan construction, but. friends have told me that it is impossible for a motor to effect short deliveries without running up a higher cost than does a horse, nuttier, my drivers have been with me for a number of years, and I am not prepared to dispense with their services." Thus the grocer.
You have put a case to isle, Mr. Castor, similar to one with which we frequently have to deal. A motorvan having a very powerful engine cannot, of course, expect to compete with horse delivery when engaged in town work in which a large number of calls has to be made. In designing our en gine, we kept the fact well in view. A special type of economical engine was made, in Which only two cylinders are employed. These are set at an angle of 60 degrees, so as to eliminate vibration. The bore and stroke are 90 mill. by 140 mm., respectively, and this gives 10 h.p. at 1750 r,p.m. The transmission from the engine to the gearbox is by means of a loather-faced cone dutch. We have endeavoured to sine plify everything to such an extent that a horse driver can pick np the construction in the shortest possible time. Accordieely, we have adopted the practice of using a separate magneto to each cylinder. The lubrication is by a hand pump from the main tank, and a sight feed is located is» the dashboard. In the transmission, we provide two speeds forward and a reverse. The direct drive is on top speed, and it is impossible to engage the reverse by accident. The final transmission is by propeller shaft to a bevel-driven rear axle. Ball bearings are fitted wherever we have considered it desirable. Amplt-sized brakes are supplied, the foot brake acting on the shaft at the rear of the gearbox, whilst the other is of the internal-expanding type, located on drums situated on the roar wheels. If yant will allow me to run a chassis down for your inspection,' you will see that the frame is built up of channel-section steel, which is quite straight throughout its length. This combines strength with low manufacturing cost. The price of our svp,gon is £185, or with a wagon body capable of carrying 10 cwt., 1200."
" What you tell me is of interest, Mr. Chassis. I do not quite see, however, how you can reduce my delivery cost, and at the same time give me a better service."
" Perhaps, Mr. Castor, if you will refer to your books, you can give use some idea of your present horse-van system, and the service which it gives you, together with its cost? " " By all means." A clerk placed the books on the office table, and after careful search and tabulation, it was discovered that four horses at £35 earls., three vans at £25 each, harness at £7 per set, and sundries at 125, showed a capital expenditure of £261. The average over 300 days per annum for each horse-van was 15 miles per day, making 50 calls. Each horse-van then, covered 4500 miles per year, and each van made 15,000 calls.
" You wfil find," said the motor man, after going into these figures, " that the initial expenditure on motorvans will be distinctly higher than on the other service. If you are to dispense with all your horses, two machines will be Tsquired, and you will at. once have to invest £400. Accessories and alterations will run into another 125. Each of the vans, however, will easily cover 60 or more miles per day on 300 days per year, and they can make 100 or more calls each dav on this mileage. You will see therefore that each machine will run 18,000 miles per year, and make 36,000, calls at least.
"Th-ee horse-vans cover only 13,500 miles per annum, making during that time 45,000 calls, whilst the two motorvans will cover 36,000 miles and effect 72,000 deliveries. The fact that the motorvans average only two calls per mile is due to their going so much further afield. If kept strictly to town, the deliveries per mile would be the same as for horses. The respective expenses will roughly be according to this table."
He jutted down a few figures for two motorvans, £10 is. 10d.
It. is interesting to note that the grocer because the owner, some few weeks following this interview, of two 10 h.p. chassis, and he is enthusiststic in praise of the work which they perform. He was persuaded, when he realized that the costs per call were: by horse, 20.; by motor, 2d. He thought a possible saving of twenty per cent. good enough, with the advertisement value, as he said, " chucked in," to say nothing of the new custom he would get, and the " vesperal*" he could follow.