DEAR
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Ratecutters are to blame
lEGARDING the article on rate :utting (CM, September 20), vhere British haulage firms ex)ress concern at foreigners :utting rates to an uneconomical evel, I say "good for them". "hey are only doing in the UK vhat British firms are doing in rel and.
As I am involved in Continenal haulage I know something of hese "foreigners" cutting rates. )ur firm transports hanging met and where we load I have )ften been driving the only Irish:egistered truck loading there.
The haulage industry in this :ountry suffers from heavy taxes 37 per cent duty on new tehicles) imposed by our own 3overnment, thus our overheads Ire enormous compared with 3ritish operators who are loadng out of Ireland.
Another thorn in the side of Dur industry is the British firms tvho buy one vehicle in the coun:ry (usually a very tired secondland unit) and registers it here or the sole purpose of obtaining 3ermits for haulage within the EEC thus getting permits Driginally intended for an Irish company.
On the question of Hinos and Dther imported trucks selling in the UK, I think your own industry is to blame. For too long it has been selling outdated and under powered units, eg no sleeper cab yet for the Leyland T45. Who wants to spend the night on a 15in wide bench? British drivers have accepted discomfort for years.
IVAN SHEANE Wicklow Ireland
Axle overloads a real problem
IN HIS REPLY to my earlier letter about tyre sizes on front axles of heavies, P. W. Ross of Dunlop (CM October 11) clarifies a
number of points. But on other points he appears to confuse the issue even further.
What kind of "load compensating device" is he referring to, which allows 9 tons to be imposed on a single steering axle?
Of the alternative tyre sizes quoted by Mr Ross as qualifying for a 7-ton front-axle rating, 11.00-24 would obviously present under-wing clearance problems on the grounds of diameter alone. I suspect that 12.00-20 tyres (why did Mr Ross not quote a ply rating?) could well be dimensionally accommodated on the front axles of many 16-tonners. Vehicles like Mercedes' 1632 V10-powered tractor unit have 12.00-20, 18 plies as standard equipment; and I note that the 1632's front axle is indeed plated at 7 tons. (Let's stick to Imperial measures for the sake of clarity).
Is the roiling radius of Mr Ross' low-profile E22.5 as little as that of a typical "6.5-ton tyre" like the tubeless 12-22.5? If so, then the way is open for the truck makers to design a 16 tons gvw chassis with front and rear axles plated at 7 and 10 tons respectively which, with a uniformly distributed load on the platform, would have 6.5/9.5-ton front/rear axle loadings.
This would allow forward and rearward tolerance of load positioning, especially at the beginning of a multi-drop delivery run, where removal of weight from the rear overhang part of the deck puts up the front axle load. The risk of prosecution for individual axle overloads on 16tanners (whose gross weight is within the legal limit) is a real headache for many operators.
Tyres rated highly enough to carry 7 tons on the front axle need not be fitted on the rear as well. The number of 16-tonners which carry spare wheels in these days of hotly competitive roadside tyre services is small. If an operator did decide to go out on a limb and have, say, E22.5 covers fitted, he could well find availability problems when he needed replacements in an emergency.
ALAN BUNTING Harrow Middlesex
Choo-choo road train
ACCORDING to The Hawk (CM, October 4), CO2 is contained in alcohol fuels, as also apparently is water, H20. Possibly Perkins and any other interested parties should concentrate on developing this fuel for use in road trains, for, given the right mixture from so many C's, H's and O's it must be possible to produce a choo-choo.
Seriously, the whole idea is downright dangerous — what sort of stupid antics would a drunken engine get up to?
R. H. EARL Rugeley Staffs
Disabled transport
THE Thames Valley Owner Drivers' Association is planning to use its profits again to buy electric hobcarts for spina bifida victims.
I wonder whether any of your readers could let me know of suitable three to 12-year-olds who might benefit from these machines.
KEITH HENDERSON 156 Lowfield Road Caversham Park Village Reading Berkshire
Flower Power
I HAVE JUST read the article in CM, September 20 about lpg. While people are going mad over the fuel prices of diesel and petrol, there is a new form of fuel; it is called "sunflower power". This idea is from the BBC's TV series Tomorrow's World, where some scientist: are doing research into sunf lower oil, which is the residue o cattle cake.
The scientists say that ; 115bhp farm tractor ploughing ; field will work between 5-15 pe cent less efficiently than diesel and has better engine efficienc, and less air pollution.
It takes millions of years t( make oil, whereas it takes season's growing to make goo( power for our vehicles.
MARK R. ANNISON (aged 16) Hull, Yorks
Ask us another
WITH REFERENCE to your exce lent magazine, it seems to hay had little to say on the currer CB debate. The assistance an enjoyment CB offers to the pt.( fessional lorry driver should, w think, put your magazine on th forefront of the battleline for sensible ruling on CB by th Government.
Breakdowns, road hold-up finding your way, all are so ea: ily dealt with by the instant con munication of a two-way radio i the cab. The truckers started it America and still are among i main users, though the craze hi spread to every type of persc there.
Some say there are over quarter of a million users in th country already many of the truckers, and at about 00 for decent rig many more trucke are joining the ranks of breake everyday.
Can I implore Commerc, Motor to join the ranks of tho: pressurising the Government legalise CB on a sensible intc national wavelength — 27MI AM.
R. B. KENDALL Guildford Surrey Where have you been fl Kendall? We've had more abu over our anti-CB position th over anything elsel — Editor