Vans plus dropsides
Page 34
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• Special hybrid bodywork, comprising a van structure for the front half of the load space and a dropside platform for the rear; with a central underfloor tunnel for carrying lengths of pipe, has been specified by the Eastern Gas Board for a fleet of Ford D400 maintenance trucks which it is putting into service. The unladen weight of each has to be under 3 tons, so that it is not classed as a heavy goods vehicle.
The first of an order for 30 such bodies, being constructed at the Finsbury Park, London N4, works of H. Tidd and Sons, has just been delivered to the Tottenham depot of the Board. In this particular instance, the body, 14ft long and 7ft 6in. wide overall, was built on a chassis /cab that had already been in use by the Board for three years with another body.
Of Tidd Litebox construction, utilizing Clark aluminium extrusions, high-tensile steel rear frame, and 16-gauge aluminium panelling with horizotal ribs, the van section of the body serves both as a shelter for the repair crew and as a store for tools and other equipment. Tools are carried in a 611 5in.-wide chest, which can be removed, when required, after releasing its floor fixings. This chest, which fits across the front bulkhead, has a padded top so that it may be used as a seat. A corresponding back rest is fastened to the bulkhead.
Internally, the van section of the body is
711 long, 5ft 6in. high and 7ft 2in. wide. At the rear, it is closed in with flat aluminium panels except for a central doorway 211 8in. wide, provided with a roller .shutter. The roof incorporates a 211-wide panel of translucent glass-reinforced plastics.
The entire body is supported by 3in. by 1+in. fight-alloy channel bearers, bolted to Ford-recommended outrigger brackets and pedestals. Some of these pedestals, in turn, act as mountings for the five 2in. diameter rollers fitted across the bottom of the tube tunnel.