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168 
Tough trailers from a new company
Page 60
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• Unsophisticated, robust work-horses at extremely competitive prices are to be the type. of semi-trailers produced by the new Oldham-based company of James Booth (Trailers) Ltd.
A member of the Parnell Investments Ltd. group of companies, this latest entrant into the semi-trailer production field is basing its activities on what I consider to be two important pieces of background. Mr. Norman Wild, who is the director of the semi-trailer project, has long experience in the manufacture of this type of unit but, far more important, for the past two years he has been operating his own company as a trailer repair centre.
This section of his activities has undoubtedly affected his approach to what a semitrailer must be to capture the imagination of hauliers in general—and it has given him the opportunity to smell out the shortcomings of units produced by other companies.
Second, and equally important, James Booth Fabrications Ltd., under whose wing the trailer division has been setup, has a long history of metal fabrication work for such demanding applications as mine-working machinery and the like. The plant available at their Oldham works makes it possible to manufacture every component on the premises, although the company does not envisage manufacturing running gear.
When I visited the company last week to inspect the first unit off the line and have a look at the facilities being laid down, I sensed a remarkable air of confidence that those concerned were going to break into the trailer market in a big way. For a start, units of the single-and tandem-axle flat-platform type are being produced at the rate of 10 per week. When production is in full swing the company anticipates a throughput of 40 units per week of all types including skeletals.
A main beam 18in. deep, with 6in. flanges (the web being 0.312in. thick and the flanges 0.5in. thick, and weighing 35113 per ft) is profiled down to 9in. in the area forward of the landing gear. Cut-outs in the web are made to accept pierced-through cross-bearers 5in. deep by 2.5in. wide by 0.1875in. thick and these are set so that the lin. half-lapped Keruing floor is flush with the top flange of the main beam. Rave-rails are . again of 0.1875in. material folded into a channel 6in. deep by 2in. wide and this is electrically welded to the outer ends of the cross-bearers and can be arranged in a flush or raised position.
Main frames are braced by two 4in.diameter heavy-gauge seamless steel tubes, one situated at the position of the landing legs and one slightly forward of the main running gear cross-members. The latter are three in number and are Sin, by 2in. channel pressed from 0.25in. material and situated at the points of running-gear bracket mountings. The running-gear brackets are heavily gusseted to both the main frame lower flanges and to the cross-members. In the lower outside corner of the main frame at these points, the web is boxed to the outer edge to a point 4in. from the bottom.
Intertruk two-speed landing gear is standard equipment, as is a 2ft steel-reinforced timber headboard. On this latter point I was compelled to comment that the stanchions intruded into the load space and insufficient protection had been given to the brake and light-service couplings.
One of the features to be built into these semi-trailers is that on tandem-axle models the parking brake will operate on both axles and will be fully compensated to ensure equal braking at each wheel.
Rubery Owen M Series suspension with 22,5001b axle gear carrying I 6.5in. by 7in. brake units operated through Clayton Dewandre dual-diaphragm chambers, and slack adjusted S-type cams, are standard equipment on all units. Lighting is carried to a central waterproof junction box on the rear cross-member of the fifth-wheel rubbing-plate assembly and thence via two separate cable runs to the nearside and offside lighting panels.
The company intends to produce tank vehicles at a later stage and these will follow the sante formula as that mentioned in my opening paragraph.
The model I inspected was a 30ft-long tandem-axle unit plated for a gross trailer weight of 27 tons, which will be marketed at a retail list price of £1,187.