Easy-loading Vans Make the aker's Job Easier
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SIDE doors as well as end doors, or roller shutters, are desirable features for a baker's van which makes several calls, often in the same road. If the roundsman has access to the load all round the vehicle, time and labour are saved, and any item of the load is quickly found.
A confectioner's van can with advantage be built to carry its load on 26 sliding trays, 20 of these trays being arranged in two tiers of five trays and four in a row. All the trays may be loaded from the back of the vehicle with their lengths across the van, which has three doors on each side.
These side doors give access respectively to the first, second and third tray in each row. As the trays have been loaded from the back, the angle-iron runners are fitted lengthwise. In order to allow the first three trays in any row to be removed or wise, as well as length-wise, there are cross-bars or strips of plywood between each pair of runners, to support the trays when moved crosswise. On the floor of the same van, between the wheel-arches, there are two rows of three trays. These are loaded from the back, their lengths being parallel with that of the van.
The wheel-arch prevents these trays being unloaded from the side ; moreover the side doors are not wide enough to allow a tray to pass lengthwise. If required, the front 'trays may be supported on cross-wise runners for loading or unloading from the sides• of theY van only.
Another side and end-loading design, suitable for a smaller van which carries a mixed load of bread, pastries and groceries, has a stepped floor and all the sliding trays are under this floor. In front, under the higher part of the floor, there is a compartment, with side doors, which accommodates four trays. There is a locker on each side, extending as far back as the side members of the chassis allow, below these trays. Each locker has a fall front.
The main portion of the floor, for carrying bread, is above the wheelarch and access is afforded to it by means of a central shutter on each side, also a shutter at the back. Under this floor there are two rows of two trays, which slide between the wheel-arches, and they are loaded and unloaded from the back. The higher and front part of the floor may be reached through the c,entral opening, or by means of a sliding door in the front partition.
The style of van just described may be modified by making the front tray-compartment a full-height one and enclosing it with a roller shutter.
Then, instead of a central opening, the remainder of the side of the body, above the waist, is made accessible by means of a pair of sliding doom. With these doors available it will seldom be necessary to go to the back of the van during deliveries, although a back door will be useful when loading, or to facilitate access to the chassis.
A stylish van, suitable for mounting on an electric chassis, may well be of streamlined design. The outline, in such a case, is balanced by shaping the front of the body similar to the back. A distinctive feature is a belt-panel, painted in a colour contrasting with the rest of the panelling. Below the cant-rail there are three windows, which not only light the interior effectively but enhance the general appearance. Such a van should have a roller shutter at tne back.
A two-wheeled trailer, suitable for a baker and confectioner, may have a box-type body with a midway central slatted shelf and a small compartment in front for sliding trays. Another trailer design is wide and low and the body is divided by a central crosswise partition. There is a fixed roof, which is about a third tne side openings of the trailer may be fitted with hinged lids. If the trailer has semi-circular-shaped ends and partition, then it may be fitted with sliding curved panels which travel from one side of the body to the other. The ends and partition of the trailer have double grooves, so that a pair of nearand ,off-side curved panels may, when necessary, be on the same side of the body.