Bodies that Meet . iL
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he Builders' Needs
THE vehicle used by the builders' merchant carries a wide range of goods, comprising stoves and sanitary and domestic fittings of various kinds. The load often includes lengths of gas barrel, water piping, and similar items. The van has hoops and a sheet or a boarded tilt to protect the load from the weather. Piping may be carried on the floor, but this may necessitate running the van with the tailboard open, which is seldom advisable.
To provide better accommodation for these lengthy items, which will seldom amount to more than a few lengths of material per journey, the front of the loading portion has open. ings at the top, so that, by sloping the piping, it may project over the roof of the cab.
Piping is Out of. the way of other items of the load carried on the floor if it can be laid horizontallY. tind6r the roof. Then the back of the van has a deep top boaxd, with openings similar . to those...,, in. front, and, to support the load in the centre, there is a cross-bar which; if likely to form an obstruction at any time, is made removable.
This top load is kept in position by tying it to cleats, or hooks, which are fixed conveniently at each side of the front and back openings. A flap of waterproof material may be fitted to close the openings. This idea may be adapted to a Luton van.
If occasional loads of piping he carried and access from ground level be preferred, the upper part of the van projects a few inches on each side beyond the lower portion and a box or tunnel, open at each end, is built into the side of the body at the waist. The piping projects at B& the back, clear of the tailboard, whilst in front it lies at the side of the cab.
Objection may be raised to this method of loading, because the piping, projecting in front, prevents the opening of the door, or if the door may be partly opened, the panelwork may be damaged, or the glass broken. This difficulty may be obviated if the cab has a sliding 'door, and, in some instances, it will be pos;sible to enter or leave the cab with
ciut shifting the load.
Good. Use of the Overhang.
The overhanging part of the body .at the waist forms a ledge, which may be utilized as a support for a shelf. This shelf is of loose boards, so that any width required may be assembled, according to the exigencies of the load.
The builder's lorry has drop sides and a front gantry for carrying timber, poles and ladders. To ensure the safety of the load, the uprights and cross-bar of the gantry must be well supported. • Rigidity of the uprights is provided by bolting the lower half to the front boarding of the body. As the bolt holes will be near the end of the boards and liable to split out, the fixing is made more secure if the ends of the boards be fitted with flat or angle plates, through which pass the bolts holding the gantry uprights.
To take the thrust of the load, the upright has a diagonal stay. If this be of flat iron, it should be arranged edgewise. The bracings of the crossbar are designed in a similar manner.
An effective gantry can be con' structed entirely of metal. The standards and cross-bar are of angle iron, with the cross-bar reinforced with flat iron bracings.
Opinions differ as to the correct method of supporting the back end of a load of timber. The tailboard may be dropped, so that the load rests on the back bar of the bottont framework, or the tailboard may be chained in position, its slope being similar to that of the load.
Wear on the back bar may be lessened by plating it on top, but the use of the tailboard in the manner described is apt to throw too much stress on the chains and their fastenings. The tailboard is seldom constructed to carry what amounts to at least half the load.
All lorries used to carry a full load of timber should have at least a rear bolster or cross-bar which can be laid on the floor. This, when worn, can be repaired or replaced, and the vehicle itself has suffered no injury.
As an alternative to the removable bolster, the lorry has a rear gantry or trestle. The height of the crossbar should be sufficient to allow the tailboard to be closed. A reartrestle alsOhas the advantage that a portion of the load may be laid on the floor.: Dealing With Loose Loads.
Builders' lorries often carry loose loads, such as sand, so that a dropsided tipping body is a distinct advantage. The tipping lorry, should have a tailboard swung from the top, but as this style of tailboard is unsuitable for general purposes, it should be designed to hinge from either the top or the bottom.
When hung from the top, it is suspended from a removable cross-bar, which has pins dropping into sockets. When hung from the bottom, the cross-bar is removed and the tailboard is reversed, the rear bar at the floor level having another set of itud plates to carry the hinge irons, which have double arms for fastening either at the top or the bottom of the body.
A lorry specially designed for the transport of joinery, shopfront material and sectional buildings may be of the conventional type, or have deep
sides, with the standards extended upwards to form convenient points for tying the load. When the deep sides include paddlebox panels, there is .a large area available for an effec five colour scheme and writing display.
Problems of Sheet-glass Transport.
Sheets of glass are carried in an approximately upright position, although some of the vehicles of the glass beveller and mirror manufacturer are designed to carry the sheets flat on a platform built over the sides of the body. The vertical loading rack may be confined to the near side and, being outside the rear wheel, the bottom is below the floor of the lorry, which may be used for smaller racks, or for glass packed in crates.
The usual type of glass-carrying lorry has a loading rack on each sine facing inwards. The space between the side of the body and the sloping front of the rack may be used for small sheets of glass, or the shop. fitter's tackle, if there be a shelfextending for the full length of the body and raised sufficiently to clear the wheel-arch.