Better bodies for higher vehicle utilization

13th September 1968, Page 168

13th September 1968

Page 168

Page 169

Page 168, 13th September 1968 — Better bodies for higher vehicle utilization

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by P. A. C. Brockington, MIMechE

THE new plating regulations and the heavier chassis that have been developed to cater for them offer a challenge to goods bodywork manufacturers to play their part in the scheme of things by increasing vehicle utilization. This may take the form of producing lightweight bodies to enable the payload to be increased, by providing a means by which the turnround time of the vehicle can be reduced or by exploiting the advantages of haulage in bulk.

The emphasis on vehicle utilization in eihidence with Show exhibits is not, however, the only trend that will be noted. Advanced structural techniques have been exploited in many cases to give strength with durability and /or to reduce the cost of the structure.

Because lightness has become an urgent need, aluminium construction is more in favour than it has ever been, but the all-steel lightweight bodies that will be on display at the Show indicate a trend that may well gain favour in competition with aluminium. Although swop bodies add weight in varying degrees to the unladen weight of the vehicle, their application may enable vehicle utilization to be multiplied in some cases to give a bigger overall payload reward than could be obtained by reducing the weight of the body. At the time of going to press, seven companies had announced that they would be exhibiting swop-body systems and it is likely that there will be a larger number at the Show.

Folded-steel construction is a feature of the Export integral van that will be exhibited by Marshall of Cambridge (Engineering) Ltd. (Stand 34) and this is combined with Zintec panels and a roof of glass-reinforced plastics. Pennine Coachcraft Ltd. (Stand 44) will also feature a steel body having folded sections that form pillars, the body being sectionalized in 2ft modules. Economical to produce, the body is considerably lighter than a conventional timber-and-alloy van type.

Telehoist Ltd. (Stand 50) and Autolifts Engineering Co. Ltd. (Stand 120) will be showing lightweight steel tipper bodies, designed to provide a substantial reduction in weight by carefully planned stress distribution. The Telehoist Tel-lite bodies to be exhibited are of welded high-tensile steel, while the Autolifts body is insulated with glass fibre and panelled in ribbed aluminium.

The form of construction of the Telehoist Tel-by welded-aluminium tipping body is basically similar to that of the Tel-lite body and may be compared with the lightweight aluminium body of welded monocoque construction to be exhibited by Peterborough

Engineering Co. Ltd. on Stand 131. It is notable that the design of the Peterborough body was first applied experimentally to an all-steel body.

Special features of a lightweight all-aluminium tipping body to be shown by Spenborough Engineering Co. Ltd. on Stand 113 include pressed-aluminium cross-bearers. The sub-frame is also of aluminium, which is a comparatively rare feature.

Visitors to Earls Court who are interested in all-plastic bodies will be disappointed that Mickleover Transport Ltd. is not an exhibitor this year. But there are a number of new or recently introduced plastic bodies, which show that plastics construction is holding its own with aluminiumand high-tensile steel as a weight saving material notably for insulated bodies and containers.

An insulated plastics container will be exhibited by Duramin Engineering Co. Ltd. (Stand 36) which is one of a large number being built for Overseas Containers Ltd. This container is constructed of glass-fibrefaced polyurethane-cored panels and experience has shown that it possesses the strength and thermal efficiency required by container users.

In the case of an insulated container to be displayed by Cravens Homalloy (Preston) Ltd., (Stand 51), moulded glass-fibre sandwich construction is employed, while Road Transport Services (Hackney) Ltd. (Stand 84), will be displaying an RTS refrigerated body constructed of polyester materials and having expanded-polyurethane foam insulation.

Incidentally, opinions differ on the relative merits of an insulant in slab or foam form. Bonallack Refrigerated Vehicles Ltd. (Stand 23) for example prefers to use slabs on the score of consistency, and the company will exhibit Coldsaver aluminium bodies and aluminium-and-steel ISO containers insulated with polyurethane slab, the end frames. main sides and cant rails being of Hyplus BS 968 steel. Employing these steel parts is necessary to meet ISO requirements and adds about 15cwt to the weight of the container compared with an equivalent all-aluminium structure.

First introduced about a year ago, a United Body Developments light-alloy body will be displayed by Appleyard Coachbuilders Ltd. on Stand 28, which is based on standard units. Variations of the basic van body include a skirted van, a body with a side-mounted roller shutter, open-sided bodies, bottle carriers, insulated bodies, pantechnicons and semi-trailer bodies.

Employing a framework that can be ad

justed to accommodate different thicknesses of insulating material is a novel concept that is applied to an all-aluminium refrigerated body to be exhibited by HWP Engineering Co. Ltd. on Stand 15L Metal-to-metal contact between the frame sections is avoided by the use of non-conducting spacers.

The use of a sliding tilt body in place of a box van offers a valuable weight saving in addition to loading advantages and of related interest a Boalloy all-aluminium roll-back tilt body will be displayed by Bowyer Bros. (Congleton) Ltd. on Stand 118. The tilt is manually operated and runs on a special type of superstructure.

Little is yet known about new types of demountable-body systems to he exhibited by a number of companies. Bonallack and Sons Ltd. (Stand 24) will display a completely new system based on built-in hydraulic jacks (in the demonstration park).

A lift-off device (details not supplied) will be seen applied to a 32ft platform semitrailer displayed in the park by the Duramin Company. More is known of a system to be shown by Arlington Bodybuilders Ltd. (Stand 80) which can accommodate all types of bodywork and is based on two pairs of telescopic manually operated lifting jacks, each pair being operated together to give uniform lifting of the body. The system will be seen applied to a vehicle fitted with a light-alloy body of 1,130 cu.ft. capacity and it is notable that the use of aluminium for this exhibit and for a lightweight tipper body represents a new departure for .the company.

A. C. Penman Ltd. (Stand 89) has shown demountable bodies of one form or another at the Scottish Show for many years and has probably given more thought to swopbody problems than any other company. The company's exhibit at Earls Court will comprise a Penman container, based on a skeletal chassis, which is raised by manually operated jacking legs. Four types of leg are available to suit varying applications, two of the legs being of the hydraulic type.

An interesting comparison may be made between the demountable-body systems shown by Peterborough Engineering and by Ronalong Ltd. (Stand 114). In the Peterborough Load-O-Matic system, power-operated hydraulic jacks are incorporated in the vehicle chassis and in one case the legs can be retracted into the body to enable it to be lowered to ground level. The built-in hydraulic legs of the Rollalong system can be operated manually or by a pump driven by a battery-operated electric motor. Locating cones give a tolerance for positioning the body of about 6in. in each direction.

James Cocker and Sons (Southport) Ltd. (Stand 112) has been exhibiting demountable body systems at Earls Court for a number of years and this year will be displaying an hydraulic pedestal type of jack leg, as well as the standard type, for lifting a Kewtainer demountable body, which is of steel-based composite construction.