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Dunlop keeps your load on the road not on your mind
Page 80
Page 81
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Week in, week out the great loads speed across country, meeting tight schedules— sometimes missing schedules because of costly tyre failure. Dunlop tyres are built with extra stabilityto take the maximum ton nage ... built with road-hugging treads for utmost safety on dry and polished or wet and greasy roads ... built with special casings that can take a real beating without over-heating. Built to cut out tyre failure. Fitting Dunlop truck tyros takes a load off your (and your driver's) mind, and pays off in prompt deliveries and prestige. Pays off, too, in the lowest tyre costs per mile you've ever experienced. DUNLOP HIGHWAY The most advanced type of tyre for general haulage purposes. A tyre famous for its long-wearing and trouble-free qualities.
DUNLOP HB6 Radial-ply steel cord tyre for vehicles operating at sustained high speeds. Gives enormously increased mileage and a definite saving in fuel costs.
later than the time stipulated for luncheon or dinner oubtless know the reason why. He will have been told uncertain terms that the meal was ruined. The same tpplies with meals en Incase. Chefs take an immense in their job, while the waiting staff like to get their work too.
I OF HOTEL
Pups such as the kind we are dealing with do far better els which are family owned. These are not too difficult
in Italy, Austria, Spain and Belgium. The remaining ries within the scope of the coach operator also have but these are less frequent. The next choice is the hotel is not too large, ostentatious or, in plain English, "posh". former kind of night stop welcomes the coach tour trade Se rates they charge are reasonable. They are as much t: serving this class of trade as the grouns are being served :In. In the larger establishments many people in the tour trifle overawed and ill at ease and quite often, it seems , the staff—perhaps not intentionally—contribute to this
for pleasing the coach passengers on a tour, it will be. s impossible to please them all the time on the Continent
to please a group of tourists in the United Kingdom. ver, the same principle prevails whether touring abroad Cireat Britain. Try to please the majority of the party for eh of the time as possible. although this feat is often made difficult by the fact that for those venturing across the lel for the first time there is no precedent. One would le that for such as these almost anything would be new felting. Unfortunately, such is not always the case and, singly enough, what should be a thrill quite often falls
tourists can resist the grandeur of the Austrian Tyrol, ernese Oberland, the Dolomites and the tulip fields of Id in the spring. It is no great trick to put together a vhich covers all these tried and trusted favourites. along the many other attractions. What is important to iber is that all this ground can be covered comfortably it excessive daily mileage. On these routes many hotels type recommended above exist.
:E STOPS
lough great care is needed to ensure that a group is suitxcommodated on night stops, the same attention to detail Liked for the siting of those all-important coffee stops1 across the Channel as "comfort stops ". First, they occur as near as possible to the half-way mark between departure time and the luncheon halt, and again during mid-afternoon between the luncheon stop and the night stop.
On paper this would appear an uncomplicated matter. But in practice this is not the ease at all. Next to knowing the route personally, the next best thing is to obtain this kind of information from someone else who not only knows the route but who appreciates the snags involved in attempting to obtain refreshment for 40 or more non-comprehending people, practically all of whom will also wish to visit the toilet.
I make a point of this because many outwardly attractive cafes possess toilet accommodation which is totally inadequate. and the British tourist—unused to variations in the equipment of such places—is, in turn, amused or disgusted. Fortunately, these typically Continental toilets are fast giving way to the more modern version. But, even so, the old type are still fairly numerous in parts of France. Italy and Spain.
Apart from the purely natural aspects of such stops, one has to be certain that the service is adequate. In this respect there is little difference between England and the Continent. However pretty or attractive the setting of a caN or hotel may be, unless it is geared to produce three or four dozen teas. coffees or minerals, with cakes, buns or bread and butter to accompany, and to take the money and give change all within the space of half an hour, then one must look elsewhere.
In Germany, on the autobahn at least, coffee stops are no problem at all. All the huge filling stations (or tankstellen, as they are called) cater for large parties, and although prices are not cheap, everything is good and, of course, spotless. For main meals. it is advisable to book up well ahead and to arrive on lime, especially during holidays or peak season.
When such a meal is taken, bear in mind that they are substantial (and reasonable in cost). However, because of the heavy demands made on the staff, service will rarely keep time with the needs of the consumers. It will require constant supervision if the coach is to be on the move within one hour of its arrival, and it behoves the person in charge to stock himself with indigestion tablets. He will have little chance to enjoy his meal!
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES
It is by no means certain that one will encounter Englishspeaking staff at every stop the tour makes. Many of the stall speak enough to negotiate the ordering of a meal or to convey some special requirements in the matter of allocation of room. It is wise, therefore, for the operator or driver to carry a phrase book in respect of each of the countries to be visited.
If one ignores such useless examples as "I have a red pencil box ". or "where can I purchase an automobile tyre ", it is possible to get along quite well, if a little laboriously. Better still, of course, to have a command of French or German. At one time it was said that to be able to speak French enabled one to he understood anywhere abroad. I am rather inclined to the view that nowadays German is the better known language of the two.
REPAIRS AND SERVICE
One consideration that must be carefully taken account of is the question of repair and maintenance while touring. There is always present the possibility of mechanical failure, and it must be borne in mind that British vehicles, coaches in particular, are not all that well known.
The small operator, if he is wise. will have had his vehicle thoroughly checked before embarkation, for let us be under no misapprehensions about this— breakdowns are never cheap anywhere. And if they happen across the Channel they can be disastrous. Should the delay be of lengthy duration, then the group must be carried on by a hired coach. In the case of the driver acting as the courier, this will mean that the tour is deprived of the services of their only link between all that is foreign to them and the explanation of it.
in the case of spares having to be sent out from England, there are Customs formalities which can be irritating, and worse, for the anxious operator or his representative doing his best to get the job done and putting the tour on the road again.