Wilcox's light body
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SAID to weigh less than 965kg (19cwt), the Wilcolite body in troduced by E. M. Wilcox col Peterborough is claimed to offer a 508kg (0.5 ton) payload advantage over a conventional alloy body.
Volume production of the new body has now started after successful on/off road trials carried out by the makers.
ECC Quarries of Little Paxton; Cambridgeshire, has been using an eight-wheel Foden Haulmaster equipped with a Wilcolite body making six trips a day, five days a week carrying stone chippings, and the extra payload capacity has allowed the company to move an extra 15.24 tonnes (15 tons) per week.
Though savings were achieved, says Wilcox, the' were not made at the expense oi strength.
U-shaped pressed aluminium alloy sections, rather than extru sions, are used, and the front corner ports have been eliminated by using TIG welding and designing a double longitudinal "spine" which can resist high stress during loading and tipping.
A pressed section top rail gives additional weight saving but is tough enough, claims Wilcox, to withstand load stress and potential damage during loading.
With a capacity of 15.2cum (20cuyds) the ECC body mea sures 6.8 x 1.07m (22.5ft x 3.5ft) and has a 6mm (0.24in) thick deck and 4mm (0.18in) sides. It is equipped with an outside fitting tailgate for rapid unloading, and a deflector plate over the locking bar to ensure easy opening at all times.
An air-operated tailgate is optional, but many standard fea tures include access steps ladders, rope hooks, and bolt-on wheel arches for speedy replacement if they are damaged.
The Wilcolite body used by ECC is fitted to a Foden eight-wheeled Fleetmaster.