TRANSPORT TIPS FOR TRADE S MEN.
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Particularly Addressed to Those Who are Replacing Horsed Vehicles by Motors, or Contemplating So Doing.
S0 FAR as is passible, a driver who has proved competent and has been on a vehicle long enough to get to know it, should be kept on that vehicle regularly. It is a. bad plan to be constantly changing drivers from one machine to another. Every machine has individuality, even though superficially all the machines in a fleet may be identical.
Changing Drivers.
Most engines have tricks of their own, -which a driver gets to know. Most vehicles, somewhere or other, develop little tendencies which the man who -knows them cau correct, or else watch so that serious trouble will not occur. One could, of course, write at some length on " The individuality of ina,nimate objects." On the face ()Pit, the thing looks ridiculous, but, in practice, we know that a sportsman will do best with the clubs or other weapons to which he is accustomed. Apparently, identical duplicateg are not at all the same to him.
If one's fleet consists of more than one make and type of vehicle it is still more important to keep each driver upon his own machine. The vehicle has something of individuality bestowed by its maker ; something more appears to he bestowed by its driver.
• It is, so to speak, the result of heredity and of environment. At the moment, the only good reason that we canthink of for swopping drivers over is that a doubt exists as to the competince of one man, while the competence of the other is known. Under such circumstances, by changing over it may tbe possible to prove the doubtful case one way or the other, but, if the result is to show that the first driver is really incompetent, the cost of obtaining
• that result may be considerable injury to the vehicle that has previously behaved consistently well under the handling of a good man.
Mixed but Standardized Fleets.
Traders are frequently, and in general quite correctly, advised to form their motor fleets, if possible, of vehicles of one make, even though• these vehicles are not all of one type. As a rule, if a. manufacturer builds a range of vehicles, a large number of parts and accessories are common to all vehicles in the range, whatever may be their load capacity. Thus, in some cases, the small vehicle may have a twocylinder engine while the engine of a larger vehicle in the range °consists of four cylinders in every way identical. Ia that case, spare engine parts will provide equally against contingencies in respect of either size of vehicle. Thus, the number of spares that it is necessary to 'keep may be somewhat reduced.
Nowadays, makers, however, often prefer to specialize in a single model, producing this in large
quantities and at the lowest possible emit. Supposing a trader must have both• one-tonners and twotonners, he may thus have the option of purchasing all his vehicles from one manufacturer or, alternae lively, of purchasing the one-tonners from one source and the two-tonners from another. The latter system gives him the larger field for selection and, though it may involve keeping rather more spare parts, the principle may be justified as providing the very best vehicle for each purpose. If the vehicles of different sizes are of different makes, it is, however, all the more important to keep each driver regularly on his own vehicle withthe ipeculiarities of which heis familiar.
Transport Costs.
In estimating the costs of motor transport, iil allowance must, of course, be made for depreciation, and it is only fair to allow, also, for the loss of interest on. the capital sum invested in. the vehicle, Strictly speaking, however, these two amounts should not be based on the same figure of first-cost. Somewhere in our list of expenses we shall find the item of tyre maintenance, and this is, in fact; a special depreciation allowance, separately stated because the depreciation of tyres is much more rapid than the,depreciation of chassis or body. If we make proper allowance for tyre maintenance under a separate heading, our main allowance for depreciation should be based, net on the total first cost of the vehicle, but on • its first cost less the 'price of jts tyres. On the other hand, when we are allowing for the loss of interest, the allowance should be basted on the total first cost, including that of the tyres.
' Steel Tyres.
The use of metal tyres on self-contained motor vehicles is becoming more and more unusual. The one outstanding exception is the steam tractor. Here we find a few rubber tyred examples, but the metal tyre is still in the majority. The reason is, partly, the large diameter of the driving wheels and, partly, that the fitting of rubber tyres results in no advantage-in respect of legal speed, because, when the trailer is drawn, the legal speed is five miles an hour, whatever the material of the tyres may be. These speed limits may be altered in the near future, but, for the moment, theirtinfluence is considerable.
In respect of lorries and other self-contained, vehicles, the -metal-tyred machine is only to be preferred under certain clearly defined conditions, because its use means smaller legal speed and -also be-cause the metal tyre does not afford the same protection for the mechanism against shock and vibration. This latter point is sufficient to make the use of rubber tyres. on petrol vehicles practically universal. It is only when circumstances lead to a decision in favour of the steam lorrythat the metal tyre needs to be .seriously considered. Then it depends on the nature of the work to be done. If there is no real limit to the quantity of goods to be carried and, if running time represents a fair proportion of the' day's work, the rubber tyre should be chosen, because it, enables the, vehicle, owing to its higher speed, to do many more ton miles of work in a given time. If the job is a specific one, such as the cartage of goods from one fixed point to another, and, if the daily Mileage in these circumstances is never to exceed about 30 or 25 miles, the steel tyre should beleonsidered. Supposing the 'distance to be 30imiles, this means six, hours running .at five miles an hour. An eight-hour day leaves. two heirs for loading and unloading. The rubber etyred vehicle could n-ot-clo,rnore than one such journey in the day without working excessively long hours. If-theenileage is short and delays for loading and unloading and delivery are-,long, -the legal speed on the road makes very little difference to what can be done in the day and the metal tyre may be considered. If it is proposed' to draw a trailer behind the lorry the use of metal tyres means no reduction of legal speed.