TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
IN SOME TRADES, in certain districts, there are distinct possibilitirs in the way of making profits . out of trade motor vehicles by the carriage of passengers at week-ends. Any fair-sized chassis adapted for the carriage of goods can, by the fitting of a suitable body, be made reasonably satisfactory also for the carriage of passengers.
Passenger Carrying at Week-ends.
Even if the trader does not go to the expense of a regular passenger-carrying body; there may be a ocrtam amount to be done by adapting a goods-carrying body to take pa,ssengerson improvised seats, and letting out the vehicle as a whole to parties. The vehicle owner must, however, be warned that if passengers are carried, his taxation will be on a higher scale than if he carries goods only. Goods vehicles in the future are to be taxed on the basis of weight, the maximum for the heaviest types being-£30 a year. The maximum for passenger-carrying vehicles is £84 a year in London and £72 in the country. In respect of the smaller types the difference is not quite so great, but it is in. all eases considerable'. Directly the goods-carrying vehicle is used to take passengers, it ceases legally to be entitled to the lighter treatment in respect of taxation. Moreover, if a vehicle is let out to parties of passengers, the vehicle owner must be sure that his insurance policy covers all the possible, risks, including injury to passengers themselves, to other people, and to the vehicle. These points have to be set against probable profits, and it must also be remembered that holiday parties may be inclined to get out of hand,
which may be by no means good for the local popularity, Of the owner of the vehicle in which they are travelling.
How to Ruin Rubber Tyres.
There are many ways in which the very best solid tyres can be rapidly ruined, and most of these ways are fairly commonly adopted. A good deal depends on the driver. There are some drivers who are positive experts at, increasing the replacement business of tyre manufacturers. Quite a lot of harm can be done to a tyre by driving at' full speed until almost on top of an obstacle, or a block in the traffic, and then applying the brakes with the utmost violence, lacking the wheels when so doing. In .town roads, the edge of the pavement may be used as a brake, the tyre being kept rubbing along it and chipping off bits in lie -process. When starting the vehicle;, the driver has almost as good an opportunity of making
" flat " on the tyre as he has whem'atepping suddenly. He ean race his engine to the full extent and then let the clutch in with a bang. The vehicle owner, or his representative in charge of the garage, can do much to assist a had driver in the work of tyre destruction. He may select a position where ail has been allowed to saturate the garage floor, and stand the tyres, with the weight on the vehicle upon them, on thatispot: The oil will rapidly destroy the nature of the rubber. When manceuvring the vehicle in and out of the garage, free use may be made of the steering wheel while the „vehicle is not in motion. The scraping effect which results must evidently cause considerable tyre wear.'
Next, we have what may be called the, negative method of tyre destruction. This consists merely of c14 a total neglect of the precautions which might prevent excessive depreciation. Stones that may have stuck into the rubber or jammed between twin tyres may be left where they are, to continue their work of destruction. Play in thesteering gear may be permitted to-continue indefinitely, so that the tyres are subjected to constant rubbing asdistinct from mere rolling. Wheels may be left out of alignment— and there are few ways of wearing out a tyre so rapidly.
Wheel Alignment .
This matter of w.heel alignment is a very important' one. The accuracy of the alignment should always be tested after an accident of any kind, however slight, and periodically, even if no accident has occurred. The result of lack of alignment is, of course, that the two wheels on one axle are endeavouring to travel in different direction a and, being unable to do so, the tyres are constantly rubbed orscraped on the roadway. Wheel alignment can be checked by using an accurately constructed .rectangular wooden frame which will just sarround the vehicle. If the frame be placed close alongside on one side of the vehicle and if the other side of the frame is then found to be exactly parallel with the 'wheels on that side, the alignment is accurate. If preferred, the frame can be made of two pieces of wood connected by two cords of exactly equal length. In that ease it must be kept with no strain on the cords, which might lead to ono of them stretching more than the other'. Lack of alignment is more common on front than on back wheels, and its correetion is not, usually, a difficult or expensive matter. On the other hand, failure to correct it may quite easily double the tyre bill: Co-operation to Bring Custom.
There must be a certain number of places in which, local traders suffer from the fact that there are better carrying servicea from some other town 'to. intermediate villages and country districts. The man who' lives in the country and orders his goods from a neighbouring market town will, of course, tend to go where. be can get the most prompt service. The aggregate of such custom may not justify the working of all such country districts by motor vans owned by individual traders.
One alternative is the co-operative ownership and running of vans, and yet another possibility might be the establishment of a regular carriers' service by a. group of traders. In the latter case, the vehicles. would be adapted to take a certain number of passengers, and also a certain quantity of goods. Thus villagers and others would be given improved facilities for getting into the town, and also for having their goods brought out to their hornes, or to small depots conveniently situated for them.
The co-operating traders might arrange that goods purchased at their establishments should be delivered free to such depots, or, at any rate, that the prices charged for delivery should be lower for their goods than for those coming from other quarters. Thus the service might help to bring the customer first to the town and then to the, business premises of the cooperating firma, and to provide a reason why heshould deal with those firms in :preference to 'any others