TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
N0 ONE who visited the recent commercial ,vehicle exhibition could have failed to have . been impressed with the large number of vehicles of the heavier types that were fitted with tipping gears, generally hydraulically operated by ,utilizing the power of the vehicle engine.
TheUsefulness of the Tipping Wagon.,
Some of these gears were very irgenious, permitting of tipping to the rear or to either side. Now a tipping gear is essentially a device to accelerate unloading. It can only be applied to goods of a certain class, so that, even when brought to the highest perfection, it could represent no more than a very partial solution of the problem of eliminating -all loading and unloading delays. Comparatively speaking, the exhibition showed • very few devices calculated to accelerate loading of goods of any kind, or unloading of goods that cannot be tipped. There were a few examples of bodies divided into sections, and there were one or two vehicles fitted with hoops carrying running gear to facilitate. the movement of packages _above the level of the plat.forms. There was, however, no real sign that coachbuilders or chassis makers, or the two in conjunction, are really giving a great deal of attention to this very important matter.
Whether it is given attention depends mainlyon the motor user. If he demands 'devices for accelerating.loading and is prepared to pay for them, he will get them. If he continues under the impression that terminal delala are no more serious with motors than when horsed vehicles were used, there is no particular stimulus to rouse the vehicle or coach maker to action. No one can examine the methods used by a large variety of users without being struck by the fact that very little is done to reduce the manual labour to the minimum and, simultaneously, to save time in loading. In plenty of cases, goods are placed on ground level, or very little above it, and every package has to be raised by hand to the level. of the vehicle platform. In plenty of cases., again, goods are brought into.,the yard and unloaded on to ground level or something approaching it, only to be raised again later on when they are to bOloaded into other vehicles.
Comparatively little use is madeof simple mechanical devices, such as blocks and taakle, inclined runways, and so on. If the cost of engineoperated tipping gear is justified in n-any instances, there must be other instances in, which the cost of an en gin e op e r at eid crane or other eve rhead mechanism would also be justified. Then, again the use of alternativedetachable bodies, one of which can be loaded while the other is on the road, is still very uncommon and, surely, might with advantage be applied far more generally. There are, in fact, scores of principles that could be applied, but,
judging by common practice, the average user has not yet begun to demand improvement in respect of a matter which is really costing him an unnecessarily considerable sum of money.
Makeshift Vehicles.
The strong movement in theadirection.of the employment of pneumatic tyres on trade motors mast, sooner or Inter, have the effect of making the dean of commercial chassis mOre nearly sl--;•e +^ 44-s-* of private motorcar chassis. There are, however, various respects in which the two must slwc+vs remain
different. The well-to-do private motorist is 'willing to pay somewhat heavily for additional speed capacity. Consequently, he demands an engine that would be unnecessarily large and expensive were his speed requirements more modest. lie also demands a springing system particularly efficient at high speeds. In general, he does not require his chassis to carry a very heavy load, the maximum probably being represented by four or five passengers and a little luggage with a, somewhat heavy and highly equipped body. A chassis suitable for the heaviest -class of passenger work should be able to carry about a ton of useful load in a van body, but in respect both of first cost and of operating cost it mould probably prove very extravagant to the trader. The motorist of more moderate means is compelled to modify his requirements. Very commonly he aims at saving, both in his first cost and in operating cost, by buying a car only capable of holding three or, at a pinch, four passengers. This ear probably has an engine of very moderate horse-power, but because the motorist, despite his limitations, desires speed capacity, this engine is generally of a. very highly efficient but somewhat delicate type. Moreover, weight is cut down wherever possible and the chassis is not designed to carry a dead weight of any appreciable magnitude.
Increased Speed Capacity Not Wanted.
Now, even when pneumatic tyres become general, the trader's vehicle would be appreciably different from either of the general types indicated. It will not --be worth his while to go to much additional expense in order to obtain much higher speed capacity on an open road. Most of his work is probably done in traffic, where this speed capacity would be of little use to him. Neither would he, probably, pay very much for refinements leading to slight weight reductions without loss of carrying capacity. In fine, he wants a good, solid vehicle capable only of moderate speeds and, therefore, not liable to be abused by being driven too fast in the wrong place. He wants his springs to be most effective under something approaching full load. First and foremost, he wants carrying capacity. .,It is apparent that, even with the protection of pneumatic tyres, the average touring car, if fitted with a van body, is at best a. makeshift. It is not designed for its work and, therefore, it is not the
right thing for its job. In the long run, it will probably prove an extravagant investment. These remarks are suggested by the fact that there is now something of a slump in the second-hand private car market. There are probably plenty of people who would be glad to sell to traders more or less obsolete high;powered cars consuming a great deal of petrol and liable to a high taxation under the new scheme. Offers of this kind may seem tempting, but only in very exceptional cases should they be seriously considered. Even those systems which involve the alteration of private standard cars into commercial vehicles by the introduction of new components and the strengthening of others are open to the criticism that they are, in a sense, makeshifts. Their -case is, however, very different from that of the ordinary car chassis with a van body stuck on to it. The original designer has not aimed at the production of a trade vehicle, but a second designer has studied his chassis and endeavoured, perhaps with considerable success, to convert it i-to a trade vehicle of a thoroughly practical character.