York plans car transporter at £3700
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• The prototype of a York car transporter demonstrated at Cannock last week stems partly from pressure by the users of York equipment to produce such a machine, and partly from the belief of the company's technicians that they could evolve a better vehicle than is currently available, setting themselves the criteria of robust construction, the utilization of standard parts and the capability of building and servicing at any of the 10 York factory branches.
Having a top deck with a length of 49ft 2iin, and bottom deck of 29ft fin., the transporter can carry seven medium-size cars and, if required, can accommodate two light vans on the rear section of the lower deck (the step height between the sections is I ft 51n.) as well as a car on the front section.
When the top deck is lowered it rests firmly on the folded support arm and can be used to carry two goods vehicles in the 5-ton category. A load of eight small cars should be possible with some models.
The between-decks clearance of the production model will be 5ft 41n. at the front and 6ft 9in. at the rear.
By using a standard type of York TS2 tandem bogie suspension, underslung springs and 750-15 (Michelin X) tyres, the height of the bottom deck has been reduced to 2ft tOindispensing with wheel arches. Moreover, a peripheral frame has enabled the width between the double acting rams to be increased to 7ft 2+in., the overall deck width being 8ft 24in. Loaded with cars on the top deck with a maximum height of 5ft 4in., the overall height of the laden vehicle would be about 15ft 10in., depending on the height of the fifth-wheel coupling; with some tractive units, notably the Leyland Lynx, the overall height would be reduced to 15ft Sin.
Having two axles rated at 6.75 tons, the plated weight of the semi-trailer is 21.5 tons, and the gross weight of the outfit is up to 28 tons, depending on the tractive units. Unladen weight of the transporter is tons.
An elevating deck, used to bridge the two sections of the .lower deck when cars are being carried, is manually operated by means of a scissored action mechanism. Pull-out platforms can be used to increase the effective length of the front section from 10ft to 12ft. Slide out ramps in the beaver tail of the lower deck give a loading height of lft 10in. The main 1-beam chassis members are of 12in. rolled steel and the cross-members are of rectangular hollow sections, Other features include standard York single-speed landing legs and a midship mounted battery box. The braking system is of the three-line type.
List price of the transporter is £3 700.