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• SMALL HORSES
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FOR SWILL COURSES
by Trevor Longcroft and Paul Brockington
VEHICLES operating at 3.5 tons gvw or less are not normally associated with tipping work. However, an increasing number of operators, particularly local authorities, building contractors and oneman jobbing builders are finding this relatively new lightweight tipper a very useful tool. Previously, these people had used a lightweight vehicle with a fixed body and this meant that the load had to be discharged by hand. So the first real advantage is one of time saving.
To add to the popularity of this vehicle it is not required to be specified on an operator's licence; drivers do not need an hgv licence, and although restricted by the legal hours of work they are not bound by law to complete journey record sheets. It is not surprising, then, to learn that more and more bodybuilders are producing tipping bodies for these lighter chassis. In many cases they are able to keep the unladen weight below 30cwt, giving the added bonus that the vehicles need only be submitted for the annual DoE test for light vehicles and private cars and are not subjected to annual plating and testing.
The Bedford CF, Ford Transit, Commer PB 2500 and the Reliant three-wheeler are currently available with tipping bodies.
The Reliant tipper chassis can take a 15cwt, 2 cu yd capacity body. It is built by Melford Engineering Ltd, Cottenharn, near Cambridge, and the body tips hydraulically but the operation of the tipping gear is manual, so that the driver has to leave his cab to lift the body. It carries a safety device in the form of a locking strut which is incorporated in the lifting gear and locks the ram in the maximum tilt position. The cost of this equipment is £.860.
The chassis is offered with Ford-approved Telehoist and Edbro bodies, the bodied vehicles being available ex-stock.
In general, bodybuilders can manage to fit a tipper body and remain under 30ewt unladen on the 115 and 175 Transits except the long-wheelbase 175 diesel version, The Bedford CF chassis remains unaltered for tipper operation — farther strengthening of the chassis is not considered necessary. The long-wheelbase CF has a gross plated weight of 3.32 tons and is priced in chassis cab form at £1076 for the petrol-engined version, and £1267 for the diesel version which is approximately 2001b heavies than the petrol version.
The petrol chassis-cab weights approximately 1.22 tons. Tipping bodies are also fitted to the shorter 106in. wheelbase CF and there seems to be no difficulty in keeping the unladen vehicle weight below 30cwt.
The CF uses a commercial vehicle gearbox which has a pto suitable for powering the hydraulic lifting gear.
Recently, interest has been shown by two bodybuilders who want Chrysler approval for their Commer tipper body.
The inclusion of a chassis bracing strut to the basic truck chassis is considered sufficient by Chrysler to make it suitable for tipper operation. The unladen weight of the chassis is 1.1 tons and the vehicle has a maximum gross plated weight of 2.43 tons. The retail price of the chassis cab is £784.
The body material for these vehicles varies. Neville Industries offer very light all-alloy body named "Bathtub" which, including tipping gear adds only 3.75cwt to the cab chassis weight. At the moment they are fitting this body to both Transit and CF short-wheelbase vehicles. The retail price of this body is £350 as fitted to the shortwheelbase versions.
Rootes of Maidstone are offering — on the Pb2500 — a tipping body which has an alloy underframe and steel-faced, resinbonded marine-ply floor, sides and top hinged tailboard. Body dimensions are 8ft lb. by 6ft by 1ft 2in.; cubic capacity is 2 yds. When the body is mounted on the petrol-engine chassis the unladen vehicle weight comes to 1.40 tons whereas the diesel engined version weighs less than 1.50 tons.
Finished in primer and having manually operated screw tipping gear, the body price is £408. Electro-hydraulic gear adds £103 to the price but the unladen weight remains below 30cwt.
Telehoist offers its Tellite design tipper body for these chassis. The short-wheelbased chassis are offered with a 1.5 Cu yd body and all remain within the 1.5-ton unladen bracket.
For the long-wheelbase CF Telehoist has a 2 cu yd body weighing 7cwt which when fitted puts the vehicles at around the 30cwt unladen weiglit mark on the petrol chassis. Price of the body is £264.
A similar body is fitted to the Transit 175 long-wheelbase version and this is priced at £284.
Neither of the long-wheelbase diesel chassis come under the 30cwt unladen mark.
Edbro produces steel bodies for the Transit and CF chassis. The unladen weight of the petrol-engined Transit 175 is kept below 30cwt with an alloy bod: fitment of this body to the chassis w approximately £500 to the price 4 chassis.
Steel bodies
Steel bodies are fitted to both sho long-wheelbase models of the Ford 1 and Bedford CF. A body for the wheelbase versions will add £310 1 chassis price and for the long-whe £325. The body capacity for the wheelbase Transit model is 1.38 cu 5 long-wheelbase transit 2.3 cu yd. Tht wheelbase CF can be fitted with a 2.7 body.
Telehoist offers a new range of a welded, single drop-sided tipping bo4 cater for the needs of operators me more carrying capacity than the vehicles and less than the conver 5-tonners. The Cheltonians have ca capacities up to 3.47 tons and an weight of not more than 3 tons.
This means that the vehicle requi be specified on an operator's been( although the driver is not required t, an hgv licence he must keep records hours of work. The vehicles will, of c be required to be submitted for plating and testing as they will gross than 3/ tons.
The bodies are tailor-made fl chassis which include three Bedfori BLMC, two Commer and two models. The bodies have cubic cap between 2.77 cu yd and 4.11 cu yd an also have been introduced mainly tc for local authorities and jobbing builc Vehicles such as these are frequent] where mechanical loading is not av. so that the side cape height of 1: should prove particularly attractive a width at 6ft 4in. or 7ft will allow ac4 the tightest of entrances. The length between 9ft 6in. and 13ft 3in. The t gear used is either the FR2 or the two-stage single ram front-mounted Each model is available in fully I down kit form.
Norway tries electrics
recent flurry of activity in the field of :ic vehicle development must at least :atifying to the environmental lobby. ever, of the designers and engineers ved few have started from scratch. one or two exceptions such as the ow van existing vehicle types have adapted to electric propulsion, This esulted in conversions which in themcannot make the best of the oppories offered by a clean drawing board.
Insiderable interest attaches therefore he successful trial operation, since imber 1971, of a Norwegian-built )type electric vehicle chassis and the :nt construction of three similar units 'urther evaluation this summer. The electric vehicle is being developed r a Norwegian Government-spon1 contract by Elbil A/S of Oslo, a ml company in which 13 of the try's leading engineering firms have :s.
e Elbil will be marketed as a van or pus while bare chassis suitable for al applications will also become availThe project was first revealed in opean Scene" of March 1971 and is which have now been released indicate that the design owes little to conventional vehicle practice.
The main feature of the 7ft-wide Elbil is the floor height of only 151in over a 3ftwide gangway or aisle. The low floor extends over the full length of the 17ft body. This is achieved by dividing the drive to each rear wheel by using separate motors of 13kW each, mounted longtiudinally one on each side of the vehicle and powering each wheel through a geared drive. The battery packs are also accommodated within the 8ft 6in. wheelbase on each side of the centre aisle and are accessible from the outside for quick changes. Conventional leaf springs are fitted to front and rear suspensions and extensive use is made of aluminium in the construction of the base frame.
The body shell is of aluminium sections and grp panelling. Front and rear corners have been so designed that damaged sections can be replaced in a minimum of time while substantial wrap-round bumpers provide adequate protection against slowspeed impact in reversing or similar manoeuvres. Tyre equipment is 205-14 radials, singles all round, with a 50-50 weight distribution on front and rear axles when laden. With a payload of 1500kg (33001b) a gvw of 4400kg (96001b) is reached.
The low, stepless floor is extended to the nearside front of the vehicle to provide exceptionally easy access through the 3ftwide door. Suitable for parcels or passenger work, up to 12 seats can be fitted and a total of 20 passengers can be carried. In the minibus version headroom is bft 5in.
El Styling for
tomorrow's van
A DEVELOPMENT BRIEF of a totally different kind was followed by Austrian industrial designer Werner Holbl in the realization of the van of tomorrow — Vityload 2000. While this experimental vehicle recently built for a large wholesale builders' merchant and ironmonger in Vienna is largely aimed at promoting the operator's progressive image the no-expenses-spared result incorporates a number of ideas which may well lend themselves to future delivery vehicle practice.
The Berghofer Cityload 2000 is based on front-wheel-drive Fiat 238 components and mechanical parts although wheelbase, track and overall length have been considerably extended from the standard dimensions. The wheelbase was lengthened by 50cm Oft 74in.) to 299cm and the overall length of the vehicle is 520cm — 61cm longer than the standard Fiat 238 van. Most striking feature is the styling of the front end with the headlights, flashers etc. arranged in a band below the slanted windscreen which provides more than 23 sq ft of glazing.
Hydraulically operated side and tailloaders accelerate the handling of special trolleys or pallet bins which are pre-loaded at branches and warehouses so that waiting times in congested city streets can be reduced considerably. The side-loaders are roof-hung while the horizontally divided rear door serves as a tail ramp. The cab is fully air-conditioned and is equipped with a radio-telephone installation and stereo tape deck.
The driver's seat is arranged to pivot towards the door for easier movement in and out of the cab. A fifth-wheel on a hydraulic jacking post is fitted at 90 degrees to the driving wheels to facilitate parking and reversing turns in confined spaces.
With the primary aim of creating visual impact, the Cityload 2000 lacks some of the features, such as automatic transmission, which might seem desirable in an advanced city van while it is also debatable whether some of the styling details are compatible with current thought on vehicle safety. Nevertheless, the exercise, readily supported by a long list of manufacturers including Steyr-Daimler-Puch, Alusuisse and Bosch, provides one of today's rare examples in which private initiative and funds have contributed a step towards a new, small van concept.
Li State boost for bus
AT the beginning of this year public transport undertakings in the German province of North Rhine-Westphalia began receiving subsidies and grants under a government immediate aid plan to assist in the replacement of obsolete vehicles and equipment. The scheme, the first to be introduced in the Federal Republic, provides subsidies of up to 50 per cent for the acquisition of new buses and trams as well as 100 per cent grants for radio-telephone equipment, bus shelters and workshop tools and equipment.
The initial sum of DM 50m (approx £6im) has now been allocated and would provide over 1800 rit sets and 950 new shelters. The largest share goes to the Diisseldorf region — which this year alone will receive over DM 20m most of which will be used towards the purchase of 277 new buses and 90 new trams. Solingen will introduce 35 fund-aided trolleybuses while the unique Wuppertal suspended railway will also benefit from state aid when it introduces new carriages.
CI Bavarian scheme for integrated transport
SELF-HELP of the kind which enabled Hamburg to stop the passenger decline is now setting the pattern for other large German conurbations. In Munich where the opening later this month of a second new underground railway will signal the inauguration of the Bavarian capital's public transport integration scheme the fare structure and timetables of all buses, trams and trains in a region of over 3000 sq miles will be unified.
The Munich scheme will be put to a severe test a few months hence when the Olympic Games are expected to stretch the resources to the limit. Already, to woo the motorist without whose co-operation severe traffic problems will arise during the period of the Games, park-and-ride facilities are given top priority in the scheme. The wider integration throughout the country of all German postal and railway-operated (D.B.) bus services in also proceeding towards completion and it is hoped that by the end of 1972 season tickets, for example, will be freely available on both carriers within the area covered by the ticket.
More fare-winning ideas from Hamburg
IN the meantime the Hamburg partnership of eight transport undertakings, the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund HVV, is continuing its policy of aggressive marketing. Special offers such as cheap tickets for "shopping mums" continue to fill the buses while the operating people are given a free hand to explore new ways of tailoring services to changing demands.
The most recent innovation concerns the introduction of so-called Eil-Bus am and pm feeder routes worked non-stop between large residential areas and Lindell and railway stations. Although it i exactly 15 years since Hamburg first express bus routes — carrying a sur — and served by vehicles in a di livery, the new facility supplements e stopping services over the same rot eliminating stops journey times are r by as much as 40 per cent. Norma are applicable on the Eil-Bus services are distinguished by green route m and stop markers.
Another popular experiment ar likely to be repeated in the auturn vided a monthly season for off-peal between 9 am and 2 pm at a cost of (£0.90). In addition any number of c (!) up to 10 years of age could acco the named ticket holder free.
Another service to shoppers in HE is the provision of "parcels buses" are in effect mobile left-luggage stationed conveniently at busy parts central area. Intended to make a sh spree by public transport more ati the free and fully-insured facilities allow anyone to leave parcels, sh bags, etc, before continuing on a rc other stores. Three old vehicles hal specially adapted for the service wh had a great welcome in this enterpris which, in 1971, even managed to n . slight upward trend in the passenger