The Scope of the Extensible Body
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Further Development of a Simple Principle Which Has Unlimited Applications for Expanding Bodies SIMPLICITY of design and a wide field of application have led to the adoption of Deplirex body bearers in extensible bodies forming mobile exhibition stands, shops, offices, workshops, canteens, cind projection units and so on. Whilst the idea is particularly applicable to low-loading semitrailers, there is no practical limit to the type of chassis to which it can be applied.
Box girders form the main crossmembers of the body structure. Within these boxes are housed channel-section girders supported on rollers and fitted with racks. The pinions engaging these racks are mounted on a shaft which can be turned manually or by power.
When the gear is operated, the girders are caused to travel in or out of the boxsection cross-members. It is to these girders that the extensible portions of the body are attached, so that within a matter of seconds the capacity of a body can be at least doubled.
Deplirex girder boxes are at present being made in this country by E. W. Campion and Sons, Ltd.. Braunstone Gate, Leicester, which makes extensible bodies and supplies the girder boxes to other bodybuilders.
J. H. Sparshatt and Sons (Portsmouth), Ltd., London Road, Portsmouth. has completed two bodies embodying the Deplirex gear, one for Stewarts and Lloyds, Ltd.. and the other for Imperial Chemicals (Pharmaceuticals), Ltd. The vehicle supplied to Stewarts and Lloyds. Ltd., comprises a Dennis Pax longwheelbase chassis on which is mounted a van body set out as a reception lounge and office.
This tractive unit tows a four-wheeled trailer of 20-ft. wheelbase having an extensible exhibition body, the floor of which, when opened out, measures 15 ft. by 19 ft. IQ ins. The Dennis is designed so that when it is beside the B6 trailer, a hinged platform can be lowered from it to form a communicating floor between the two units.
Side and roof sections are swung out from the towing vehicle to make a complete connecting passage, so that the display section becomes linked up with the reception lounge and office. In the trailer section, the display material is carried in showcases mounted in the centre of the floor and on the surrounding walls. The display material need not be disturbed when the body sides are retracted. Strip lighting provides for effective illumination.
In the trailer supplied to Imperial Chemicals (Pharmaceuticals), Ltd., three Deplirex girder boxes are employed. In this case, the extensible portion does not cover the entire length of the body, as at the forward end there is a bulkhead with a sliding door, the compartment thus partitioned off forming a small reception-room and office.
The sides of the section which extend are hinged at the top and bottom so that they can be swung out to form an addition to the roof and floor spacing. The total floor area of this trailer in the fully extended position is 300 sq. ft.
Light-alloy steps form a permanent fixture and these can be swung down to the ground when the sides are opened. All display material remains fixed in both the closed and open positions.
In both these Sparshatt bodies, the frames of which are built up on the bodybuilder's patented steel tube and block principle, provision is made for the production of sub-standard eine' films.
A most imposing vehicle embodying the Deplirex gear was built in France for Pernod Fits. This outfit is a mobile saloon bar with accommodation for 80 customers at a time. There are, in effect, two separate bars with a total length of 21 ft. 3 ins. Also inbuilt with the semi-trailer body are a roof and floor which open out to form a stage, having a floor measuring 19 ft. 8 ins. by 6 ft. 6 ins. The stage is complete with footlights, microphones and cind projectors.
'Neon lighting is installed in the two bars, the total length of deon _tube employed being no less than 109 yards. A control room is built in the 'forward cupola. In it are installed all the controls for the tape recorder, I6-mm. sound projector, two-way radio for communicating with other vehicles in the Pernod fleet, lighting, 10 kVA generator, and 10 main, five monitoring and two mobile speakers.
The generator and batteries, which are carried on the prime mover, a Panhard IE.45, powered by a 110 b.h.p. engine, have a total capacity of 10 kW-hrs. The length of the electrical wiring, all of which is enclosed in steel tubes, is 1,094 yds. In this body four electrically operated Deplirex extensible bearers are employed and the sides remain extended without the need for auxiliary jacks.
Another ambitious application of the principle is to be found in an E.C.A. display unit which was also built in France. This body employs four electrically operated bearers but in this case they are of the double-extension type. The Titan semi-trailer body has a normal measurement of 32 ft. 9 ins. by 8 ft. 3 ins., but only 25 ft. 6 ins, of the length is extensible. When opened out the body measures 25 ft. 6 ins. by 22 ft., the headroom in the centre being 7 ft. 6 ins, and along the sides, 6 ft. 9 ins. The total width, counting the raised side panels, is 36 ft. 5 ins.
The non-extensible portion at the forward end of the trailer measures 7 ft. 3 ins. by 8 ft. 3 ins., and is fitted out as a control room. Both sides of the body are made of plate glass to give an unobstructed view of the interior. The total weight of the semi-trailer is 12 tons.
A more modest effort from France is the Totaliment display unit mounted on a Renault 25-cwt. chassis. In this case the extensible bearers are manually operated, the handle for turning the pinions of the ram gear being inserted through a holein the rear skirt plate. Dimensions of the body when closed are 6 ft. 3 ins, wide by 9 ft. 4 ins. long. The length of the expandable portion is 8 ft. 8 ins, and the body sides extend to give a total width of 12 ft. 5 ins., affording a total floor area of over 107 sq. ft.
It is easy to appreciate the value of the system as applied to a mobile shop on a chassis of moderate dimensions, such as the Renault. In such a case, the whole floor space of the vehicle could be given over to the storage of goods and a serving counter, as customers could make use of the fully protected passageways formed by the extended portions of the. body.
In a body of such a size, power operation, whilst convenient, is not strictly necessary, as the gear, being mounted on rollers which are fully protected, runs particularly freely. The standard No. 4 expanding bodybearer is capable of extending a static load of 10-cwt. on each side of a body The weight of such a bearer complete, for a 7-ft. 6-in.-wide body to give an extension to 14 ft. 4 ins., is 375 11-i. Further information in respect of Deplirex extensible body bearers can be obtained from Mr. I. H. E. Duke, 15, Rue Raynauard, Paris XVI. :