TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADESMEN.
Page 15
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Particularly Addressed to those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
0 NIX millionaires can afford to look shabby. This is, I believe, a recognized fact, and, put in other words, means that the keeping up of appearances has its commercial value. A man whose business gives the impression that he is "on the rooks" will probably soon be there.
_ Like Van, Like Business.
rl he converse is not always true. The very showy business is not necessarily the very prosperous one, but, on the principle that birds of a feather flock together, smart people who want smart goods and smart service will go to traders whose premises, whose stock, and whose delivery vehicles give a reasonable impression of smartness. This does not necessarily mean that a trader, desirous of attracting a good. -class of custom, must inevitably pay fancy prices for his delivery vehicles, but it does mean that it is worth his while to get vehicles at least of such quality that they will not take on a ramshackle appearance in the course of a few months. It is worth while to spend a few pounds extra on a wellmade body and to have it well finished. One may not wish to give the impression of lavish expenditure, which probably means that our goods are very highly priced, but the impression of inability to raise a few pounds to ensure a neat turn-out is nearly always fatal.
The Van Must Be an Advertisement.
In general, the appearance of delivery vehicles should reflect the class of business done, or, at any rate, the class of custom sought. In a few oases, ostentatious display may be advisable. In sonse instances considerable expenditure is justified to make the van into a very effective advertisement. We must remember; however, that the van is an advertisement of some sort, whether we strive to make it so or not. Our customers will see it and draw inferences from its appearance. A slipshodlooking conveyance gives the impression of slipshod methods, which, in turn, invariably mean bad service.
In some trades., also, scrupulous cleanliness in externals is essential as indicating a similar state of affairs internally. Business might well he lost, for instance, by delivering foodstuffs in a van admirably equipped inside, but giving a first impression of dirt and neglect.
Curiously enough, it seems to be the privilege of, repairers of motor vehicle's themselves to employ vehicles which 'look as if they would need repair at any moment. I often wonder whether this is wise policy.
Overloading and its Consequences.
Overloading may be either occasional or habitual. The latter is, of course, the more certainly fatal, but even the former may have consequences detrimental to a degree altogether out of proportion to the momentary benefit secured.
A metal structure of any kind can be subjected to stresses up to certain limits wihout any permanent injury resulting. When a load is placed upon a structure, the structure gives to some extent but, if the load is not excessive, then when it is removed the structure goes back to its original shape. The designer of a motor vehicle endeavours to give every part sufficient strength to ensure that the stresses connected with the carriage of the full load for which the vehicle is designed will not result in permanent strains. A permanent strain is almost always accom panied by an actual internal change in the material strained, which becomes more brittle and, consequently, more liable to a sudden serious breakdown later on, even if not again overloaded. Thus, for instance, if a 2 ton vehicle has once been used to carry a 3 ton load, the makers cannot fairly be blamed if subsequently it gives trouble directly it is asked to carry more than, say, 25 cwt.
Obviously, the permanent straining of any portion of a chassis is liable to affect the alignment of the mechanism or of the wheels, with the result that power is loBt in friction and mechanical or tyre wear is increased.
"The work of sustaining the load is not, of course, the only duty imposed on a motor chassis. Additional stresses are encountered almost continuously, because no road surface is absolutely smooth. The shocks experienced when the speethis considerable and the road surface is bad are very heavy. The designer must also take into account the possibility of special stresses being imposed through, let us say, slight collision, bumping up against a pavement, or getting bogged on a soft road.
No sane manufacturer would produce a vehicle which is certain to be injured permanently by being occasionally overloaded because, if he did so, that vehicle would equally certainly be injured permanently by the slightest abnormal occurrence. Consespiently, the manufacturer allows what is called a
factor of safety," and it is because he does so that some users come to the conclusion that they can overload occasionally or habitually without any damage resulting. This is a serious mistake. The manufacturer allows the right factor of safety to cover all reasonable contingencies, assuming. the load to be no more than that for which the vehicle is designed. If the vehicle is asked to carry a heavier load and one of these contingencies then arises, the factor of safety is inadequate, and either something breaks, or else the structure is permanently strained and the vehicle is never as good again.
On the whole, British manufacturers allow a larger factor of safety than is customary in some other countries. One has heard them blamed for so doing, on the grounds that their policy rather encourages the user to overload. The right cembination is, however, a very adequate factor of safety coupled with a rigid avoidance of 'overloading.
How to Prevent Overloading.
In many trades ovenloading can best be prevented by limiting the capacity of the vehicle body. The weight of a given volume of the goods carried is more or less constant, and we can provide only enough space to carry a load which is not in excess of that on which the makers have reckoned. If miscellaneous goods are carried—sometimes heavy and sometimes lights--the problem is a more difficult one, and the only way of preventing overloading for certain is by means of very careful supervision. It has already been pointed out that the useful load is not the only cause of stress on the vehicle. If, for example, a driver rushes an empty vehicle down a steep hill over a bumpy road at a speed at which it was never intended to travel, the shocks experienced have just the same effect as the imposition of a grossly excessive weight. So far as Ise can the manufacturer takes into account the inevitable fact that his vehicle will be ill-used sooner or later, buthe cannot be expected to reckon upon a combination of ill-usage, such as excessive speeds coupled with excessive loads over exceptionally bad road surfaces.