Home and overseas removal van
Page 21
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• A furniture-removal pantechnicon, known as the Saffron Continental has been produced by R. W. Osborne and Son Ltd, Saffron Walden, Essex that is designed for operations at home and overseas. It has been mounted on a Bedford KFL diesel-engined chassis having a wheelbase extended to 221in. and supplied to Martell's of Sutton Ltd, Sutton, Surrey, a member of the Ceti international consortium of removers.
The body is a compromise in that it caters for UK operators who require a vehicle that will carry from two to six porters and for Continental operators who run vehicles manned by a driver or by a driver and driver /porter for whom sleeping accommodation is required. The body is expected to have a 10-year life.
The crew cab is built integral with the main body and has a depth from bulkhead to bulkhead of 4ft 3M., its height being 4ft 9in. Access is through a single door on the nearside having a width of 3ft. The two bunks each have a length of 6ft 9in. and a width of 2ft 6in. and they are based on 3M. of Latex. When the top and bottom bunks are lowered they act as a seat and back rest respectively. One or both bunks can be folded back against the bulkhead to enable equipment to be carried in the extra 135 cu ft of space provided. And equipment can be carried on the floor when one bunk is in use. The crew cab does not comply with TIR requirements.
Having a capacity of 1550 cu ft, the body has a length, width and height of 19ft 7in., 7ft 3in. and 8f1 3M. respectively. The underframe and rear wall are of aluminium section while the sides and roof are hardwood framed and are panelled with plywood-faced aluminium sheet. Access if provided by a 3ft deep tailboard and by double doors at the rear and a pair of 3ft wide double doors near the front on the near side. The rear wall is 9in. deep which allows the rear end to be sloped up behind the wheels to give a 2ft 2in, ground clearance. An unladen weight of 4 tons Newt lqr enables a payload of 6 tons 4cwt 3qr to be carried. Existing vehicles can be modified to accept the crew cab.