COMMERCIAL BODYWORK TEN YEARS HENCE„
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Types Likely to be Most Popular. Facilitating Loading and Unloading. Cleanliness in Food Transport. Mobile Refrigerators. The Use of Containers and Detachable Linings. Modifications in Ambulances.
IN seeking to discover what general appearance and detail finish the box van and lorry and other commercial types of body will have in ten years' time one must be guided to a certain extent by present tendenciEzs. Also it is necessary to take into consideration certain defects in design which one might reasonably suppose will be obviated in the near future.
Box-van Refinements.
Taking the box van of 1936 as an example, it may be expected that adequate protection will be afforded for, and comfort given by, the driver's seat, and that these will be common features rather than a rarity. The equipment of the standard body, whether this be large or small, will include drop windows in the door, the off-side window frame having a sliding glazed panel if the vehicle be not provided with a neat electrical signalling device. It may also be expected that the rear stop lamp will be a common feature on commercial vehicles of all kinds. The box van which has rear doors only will be regarded as oldfashioned.
Side Loading.
All standard bodies will be designed for side as well as end loading, and access to the interior from the driving seat will be permitted. The door much in favour for side loading will be of the roller-shutter type, because it will have been found that it does not impede the work of the carman or fly open and get damaged. In fact, the rollershutter door may find favour for rear and front-entrance doors and the openings in partitions of all classes of bodywork. The van builder will not have to make these shutters, but will be able to buy them in various lengths and widths ready to fit.
With the better class of bodywork side and rear doors will be locked from the driver's seat, either mechanically or electrically. The built-in cab, with its tremendous headroom, gigantic windscreen and filler board will have almost disappeared.
Tilted and Sheet Van Less Popular.
Probably the box van will largely supersede other types of closed commercial body, such as the boardedtilt van, also the type which is provided with hoops and a loose sheet will have a more restricted use. Metal standards of angle or channel steel will replace the wooden ones, which will give the opportunity of building, a more scientific structure than is met with nowadays, especially when the hoops are let in at the bottom into the edge of an overhanging wood rave. The plea that the boarded-tilt van is lighter than the corresponding size of box van will not have the same force in the near future, owing to the general reduction in weight achieved with the box van.
If loading from above he required, then a sliding roof made of rustless-steel parts anti mounted on ball or rolley bearings will be provided.
The Conveyance of Food.
By 1936 it is probable that the public conscience will have been fully aroused and have demanded that as much care shall be taken in transporting food as will then be enforced in its sale in the shops. The van of 018
the baker, confectioner and caterer will be lined perfectly flush inside, with all sharp angles and crevices eliminated, so that thorough and periodical cleaning is simplified.
Cleanliness will be further ensured by the universal wrapping of bread, whilst cakes and pastries will not be carried on open trays, but in closed ones. These will consist of a double tray, the upper one forming the lid and held in position by dowels and dowel plates or other simple means. At the present time it is not an uncommon occurrence for a tray of jam tarts to be carried from the shop across the pavement into the van while a dust-laden wind is blowing.
Vans for conveying any kind of food will not only be better ventilated, but it is expected that there will be more vehicles fitted with devices for filtering the air as it enters the body, so that all dust particles are interceptud.
Mobile Refrigerator Plants.
For the transport of meat and fish it is probable that before 1936 one or more self-contained refrigerating plants will have been placed on the market so as to enable these commodities to be carried long distances without impairing their freshness. These self-contained refrigerator vans will also give much scope for trading in ice and iceeream in country districts.
The refrigerator van of the present -clay has double panelling, the inner one being insulated from the outer by the space between being filled with a suitable nonconducting packing such as felt, cork, silicate cotton or sawdust. This idea may be generally extended for use on bakers' and caterers' vans and wholesale and retail meat and milk vans.
Trailers.
• It is confidently anticipated that the two and fourwheeled trailer, trailer, as well as the six-wheeler, will continue to increase in popularity during the next ten years. There are many trades which do not make full use of this form of transport. For live-stock transport it is ideal, since a separate trailer allows the animal to be led in at the back end and off at the front, so that no turning or manoeuvring is required. Also the floor may be lower and the length of ramp reduced. For building material, especially long articles, such as poles and ladders, the trailer has many advantages, also that unwieldy material, glass, can be safely transported without necessitating a structure of abnormal height. Any form of trailer means a greater degree of isolation of the load from the heat of the engine. This aspect may claim the attention. of the food purveyor who is desirous of delivering his wares in the best possible. condition:
The travelling refreshment stall is, again, another example where trailer construction offers considerable advantages because a low floor level is obtainable.
'Containers.
The container is a useful means of conveying a large hulk of tea or other commodity, enabling it to be loaded up inside a warehouse and then transported on an ordinary platform lorry. The container also forms a con venient means of sending Sheets of printed matter from the printer to. the' binder.
The same idea is particularly suitable for any t.lass of goods which need especial protection from the weather, and there is the advantage that there is no need to "break bulk" again until the container is once more inside another warehouse. It is probable that the use of the container will be extended in the near future, although it will only, of course, appeal to large firms.
Detachable Linings.
An idea resembling this, which .is already in use in Arneriea,.is the equipping of the delivery van with a detachable lining. By thismeans a load, whether of the same kind or in any required degree of assortment, can be loaded up in the packing Or despatch department so that the empty van does not have to wait during the time occupied in the making up the load.
These linings are of skeleton construction and are practically of the same overall dimensions as the load ing space of the van, a suitable allowance being made for the necessary clearances all round. Each lining is provided with runners, so that it can be slid in easily, together with fasteners for holding it. in position. The detachable lining may appeal to the large stores, but, may be adopted for the Conveyance of food, since
there is the •advantage of ensuring more hygienic conditions of loading-up, and, if required, the lining could, be provided with a washable cover.
Ambulances.
In proportion to the number in use, it may be said that more thought and ingenuity have been expended on the detail design and fitting-up of the ambulance than with any other kind of bodywork. Any improvements which may take place during the next few years will be rather. in the provision of .special chassis than in any radical alteration of the body itself. The ambulance, it is hoped, will then be mounted on a chassis having an am-)le body space, low load line and a system of suspilesion designed to deal with a comparatively light load. It is thought that the actual number of ambulances in use will have increased considerably by ins, that is, at a greater rate. than the growth of the population, so as to ensure that all cases of einer-' gency can be dealt with more. promptly. .
, Hearses.
There should be Plenty of scope for improvements in the general design of the motor hearse: It is, like the ambulance, a body which demands a special type of chassis. The private-car chassis which is adapted for funeral purposes is usually too short. Public opinion has been educated to the extent that the display of nickel fittings, filigree ironwork and bevelled plate-glass can be reduced considerably without detracting in any way from the degree of sentiment which it is desired to express.
Many hearses are now built which have folding seats inside for the accommodation of attendants. There is seldom much comfort in these seats, owing to the space available being so limited. The practice, however, is to be'condemned from the hygienic point of view. The hearse of the future will, it is 'hoped, be designed to carry, the coffin only in the main portion of the body, the driving seat being always partitioned off.
Instead of using a special vehicle for transporting the coffin previous to the funeral, there will be, it is thought, a tendency to merge the two styles of bodywork, and more of these bodies will be designed to carry a coffin below the bier or platform. The practice of having removable glazed panels so that plain ones may be substituted when the occasion requires will also increase.
Convertible Bodywork, In view of the saving effected by using the chassis. for more than one purpose, it is surprising that convertible types are not more popular. A touring ear may serve occasionally as a light delivery van or carry the samples of a commercial traveller, but often the result of these experiments is that the bodywork wears out rapidly, simply because it was designed for carrying passengers and only a limited quantity of light packages. It would appear, therefore, that more propaganda work is required to educate the motor owner , as to the advantages gained by having _special bodywork when the vehicle is likely to be used for more than one purpose.
The development in the near future of this idea will no doubt include the introduction of new systems of mounting the body on the chassis, so that, although held securely, it can be quickly and easily detached by the adoption of exterior fastenings. There may also be special forms of suspension supplied, so that, without having to dismount or add any fitting, the springs can be properly adjusted to any difference of load.
There will, no doubt, be a general adoption of more durable and easily cleaned forms of painting and finish, such as the nitro-cellulose system which is now engaging the attention of many on both sides of the Atlantic. Probably by the proper organization of repair and repainting work in large factories the cost of keeping a van or lorry in an attractive condition will be much cheaper than hitherto. Also better organiza
tion and the adoption of new painting processes will reduce the time taken in renovating.
The attention which has been given during recent years to the design of the poster and the general provement effected in advertising display should have some effect on the character of the layout of the writing used on the commercial vehicle of the future.
The motor vehicle moves faster than its horsed prototype. Therefore the writing display should, if anything, be more easily read and less in quantity. The use of elaborate shading often tends to make the wording concerned less legible, and it is probable that shading of any kind will become less popular.