Interesting Examples of Shops-on-wheels.
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rn HE shop-on-wheels through the J. Use of which the range of commodities offered for sale is taken to the customer instead of the customer finding it necessaryto travel to a shopping centre to make purchases, now occupies a definite niche in the sphere of road transport. The gradual encroachment of the bus into rural districts has, of course, resulted in the provision of easier and quicker facilities for reaching adjacent towns, but in spite of this fact housewives who rely on the shop-on-wheels calling at their doors are often spared the need for making Journeys in had weather and for suffering vexatious delays if the vehicles Are carrying full loads of passengers. Such
vehicles are also often to be seen in market places, the owners travelling to various towns on different days of the week.
A company which has given much . attention to the construction of bodies for such vehicles to be used in different trades is J. H. Jennings and Son, Ltd., Crewe Road, .Sandbach, Cheshire, and two of its latest products are given in accompanying illustrations. One of them shows a hardware dealer's shopon-wheels, the basis of it being the Ford 30-cwt. chassis. Behind the driver's cab is a 100-gallon tank for paraffin, the supply being replenished through a pipe protruding, from the side near the top and drawn off through a tap below the floor level, a drip tray being provided. On the inside of the cab is a
book rack and a folding writing desk. Eaeh side of the body consists of four glass panels. The upper two are hinged at the top and are much deeper than those below them. The former can be raised and supported by a special fitting to form a protection for the lower sections when they let down to serve as a counter.
One side of the body is equipped with nests of boxes, whilst the other is provided with three shelves on which fairly long artieleff can he carried. The entrance to the body is in the centre of the back panel, rind the steps leading to the interior can be folded back inside before the door is closed. The centre portion of the body is intended for storing goods, the stock behind the glass sides being renewed as and when required. The. roof is railed in so that other goods eau be carried at this point. All the doors are fitted with locks.
Butchers in particular will he interested in the other vehicle which is illustrated. The foundation of this " shot, " is the Ford 10-cwt. chassis. One side of the body opens out to form a shelter, whilst the other falls down and forms a counter. The salesman can .4e11 from the side or the rear of the vehicle.
In the centre, of the body, running from the front to the rear, is a shelf or tray on which the salesman can keep his orders. The equipment includes two chopping blocks. The partition behind the driver above the level of the back squab can be removed, so that the salesman can reach some of the contents of the interior from the driver's seat, The rear is enclosed by doors hinged from the side pillars.