AN ORNATE CARAVAN ON A LORRY CHASSIS.
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A Travelling Showman's Modern Road Vehicle Which is Particularly Suitable for Negotiating Soft Ground at Fairs and Similar Entertainments.
WE HAVE just received particuFirs of what must be considered the most ornateand elaborately fitted. out caravan yet put an the road. We publish illustrations of the vehicle on this page, from which it will be seen that this assertion is by no means overestimated.
The vehicle, which was supplied by the Four.Wheel Drive Lorry Co., Ltd., of Slough, Buckingharn.shire presents many interesting features. The chassis itself is a, standard rebuilt ex-W.D. lorry, and the only alteration from standard is that the petrol tank has been removed from the back of the driver's seat (for reasons which we will refer to later), and is now carried on the front end of the chassis beneath the radiator, the carburetter being supplied with fuel by means of an Autovac. The body, the outside of which is finished in mahogany, is lined out in gold leaf, and is built to the full width permissible by law, in order to provide three roomy compartments. The front compartment, which is entirely enclosed, contains the engine and the driver's seat, the back of which may be removed in order to provide sleeping accommodation for the driver at night. The body proper is divided into living and sleeping compartments, ' the former being at the front and the latter at the rear. The inside is painted throughout in a tasteful shade lined out in various colours, with appropriate, and somewhat ornate, decorations on the wall and roof panels. The whole of the woodwork inside is of polished mahogany, and cut-glass mirrors add to the embellishments.
The living compartment is by no means so small as it might appear to be from the illustrations, and, in addition to a neat, self-contained cooking stove, sideboards and cupboards, which are fitted in the body, it also contains a small upright piano, as well as easychairs and other aids to comfort,.
The sleeping compartment, which may be entirely shut off from the living compartment by a sliding door, contains a full-size spring bed and a dressingtable.
Windows are fitted only on the near side of the body, and are of the railway carriage type. Their position can be regulated for ventilation purposes., whilst air can also reach the interior by means of louvres fitted in the clerestory roof. When in use at a fair, the showman,:a stall is built up at the side of the caravan, suitable arrangements being made for stretching an awning from the roof supports. When the vehicle is on the road, the necessary fittings and stock of goods can be carried in large cupboards slung underneath the body at both sides. Folding uprights are provided on the roof for carrying long poles, etc., and, as will be seen from the illustration of the complete vehicle, a convenient detachable stairway is provided. In one of the lockers below the body on the near side a dynamo is mounted, which is belt driven from the flywheel, and ,supplies current for the side and headlamps when travelling, and for illuminating the interior of the caravan, and the stall itself when this is erected.
The F.W.D. chassis is a great favourite amongst i3howinen, for the simple reason that, as each wheel is independently driven, the vehicle CAD readily negotiate soft ground, whereon users of this class have often to make their pitch. This type of vehicle has also a good reserve of power, and can, therefore, readily be used by the showman for the haulage of caravan trailers and other parts of his diversified equipmen'