Trailers
Page 61
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to aid salesmen
r,BVIOUSLY, private motorcars or travellers' broughams IL/have a limited capacity for goods carrying, and there is always the question that legal difficulties may arise in connection with the use for goods transport of the former, unless special taxation rates be paid.
To increase the load-carrying capacity of any vehicle, the use of a trailer is probably the most economical and most -effective method possible. This fact has been recognized by various concerns. For example, Ensign, Ltd., the wellknown photographic manufacturer, has put into service 12 D.B. super trailers of the type shown in an illustration on this page.
Each of these machines is towed by a salesman's car. The body is built on a standard 12-cwt. chassis made by B. Dixon-Bate, Bridge Works, Tarvin Road, Chester. The corner posts are of angle steel, and centre posts are carried right up to the top. The body is 7ft. long, 3 ft. 8 ins, wide and 4 ft. 6 ins, in height, measuring to the crown of the roof from the load-carrying floor. On the near side are two roller shutters. When in the open position, these occupy no useful space and leave the maximum openings for inspection of the traveller's samples. As the chassis is of the standard 12-cwt. type, it is capable of carrying a useful load and, if desired, its employment enables delivery to be made from the traveller's stock, instead of having to wait for supplies to be sent from a depot.
In another case, the D.B. 12-cwt. chassis has been adopted as th,e basis of a van which has doors at both ends and is 5 ft. .9 ins. high. This is used by another concern for the transport, demonstration and sale of gas cookers.
These examples provide instances of the versatility of the trailer and sefve to show that British salesmanship is not lacking in enterprise.
As regards this type of D.B. trailer, this has a 3-in. by 2-in, by fin. welded-steel frame with tubular cross-members and a tubular drawbar through which passes the brakeoperating rod. The towing dale is, in effect, double. The outer tube takes the load of the machine, and the inner one, which is pushed back when the trailer over-runs the car, operates the brake cross-shaft, which, in turn, tightens the two external contracting bands on to their drums. When the wheels are rotated forwards, these bands give a servo action, but when the vehicle and its trailer are reversed the bands tend to unwrap, so that the braking effort is not effectively applied. The brakes can be left in the " on " position when the trailer is detached from the car. Semielliptic springs, a 65-ton-steel axle, 27-in. by 4A0-in. tyres and ball-bearing hubs are other interesting points in the chassis specification.