Light Delivery Wagons.
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By Henry Sturmey.
For the past decade a very large' amount of serious attention has been given by manufacturers to the development of the commercial ,vehicle, but with very few exceptions practically the whole of this attention has been devoted to the production of vehicles capable of dealing successfully with large loads—from 3 to 6 tons. Undoubtedly, this was the most natural development because, although the conveyance of lighter loads appeared to be the easier problem, it was the users of horses for the conveyance of heavy loads, who had the insufficiency of the horse brought most forcibly home to them, and who were, therefore, much more ready to welcome mechanical traction than others upon Whose horses the really terrible strains of exceedingly heavy, loads were not thrown, in addition to which those firms and men whose businesses called for the transportation of these heavy loads had, as a rule, more capital available for the purpose of experimenting in this direction, and could better afford to risk failure, or but partial success, than their smaller rivals. It must also be remembered that the organisers of large businesses are, usually, much more ready to investigate and to appreciate the merits of labour-saving appliances. Hence, that serious development of the commercial motor vehicle problem which has hitherto taken place has been almost entirely in relation to the heavy lorry. The success, however, which has attended these efforts has led to the development of lighter forms of wagons, more nearly suitable for the requirements of the retail tradesman than of the manufacturer and wholesaler of heavy goods, and here, again, as might have been expected, for exactly the same reasons, the lievelopment has commenced with the larger houses and, as with the cars for the heavier trades, the period of experiment has largely passed, and such success has been reached that companies like Harrod's, Shoolbred's, Barker's, CarterPaterson's, and others, after an extended period of trial, are now rapidly replacing their horsed outfits with motor vehicles.
The loads required to be shifted by these firms, whilst not so heavy as those calling for the heavy lorries, are still large : they range from 25 to 50 cwt., and, as with the heavier type of wagon, a special type of vehicle, with characteristics of its own, has been developed to meet the requirements. But what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, and, if mechanical traction can be shown to be financially advantageous to the "big " man, it is manifest that it must also be a good thing for those whose businesses call for lesser loads : considerable development in this direction has already taken place, and the movement is steadily extending downwards. It is more particularly concerning this downward extension that I now speak, viz., the produetion and use of motor wagons carrying loads from 200wt. downwards. At first Sight, this problem would appear to be quite the easiest of all, and it is because this view appears to be taken by many who are attempting to solve it that I write. With very few exceptions, the firms which are now putting forward vehicles to deal with this class of trade are doing little more—some of them no more—than mounting upon one of their ordinary pleasure-car chassis an orthodox body of the closed-van type, as used for horse-drawn vehicles, in place of a standard type of body usually attached. Doubtless, for a firm already catering for the pleasure-car track, with current patterns and models of cars, this is quite the easiest way of entering the commercial motor branch of the industry, but a little consideration will, I think, show that such vehicles are scarcely likely to prove successful, and that it is quite as important, as for the heavier vehicle, that special and distinct types should be developed to meet the peculiar needs of the case.
The requirements in a commercial vehicle are quite different from those in a pleasure car, even if the nett loads are the same, and it will not be found satisfactory practice to -use one type of chassis commonly for the two. In the absence of careful consideration, it would appear that, with equal load capabilities, a chassis would suit equally well for either purpose, and it is doubtless this argument, as well as its attractiveness to the possible customer, which has led several firms to put forward a chassis with interchangeable
bodies, so that the tradesman accustomed to work his horse in a delivery cart all the week, and to put it into a trap to take his " missus " out in on Sundays, could do the same with his motor vehicle. This sort of thing always reminds me of that quaint piece of furniture of our ancestors, which the immortal Goldsmith described in these words : "The chest, contrived a double debt to pay, A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day."
—a very uncomfortable bed, and not much use as a chest of drawers, except for ornament.
In the early days of cycling, a quarter of a century ago, there prevailed much the same sort of notion, and we had many " convertible" machines, upon the single half of which the cyclist could ride during the week, whilst he could take hi; best girl out for week-ends with it in its double form. I had several 'ofthem and, although they would "do" in that one could use them in both forms, they were either
passable as a single, and rather terrible as a i
double, or viceversa. I never found one which was equally good n either form, and it is pretty much the same thing with a motorcar. About the only type in which a car of a duplex character can be expected to be a success is in quite the smallest type, in which not more than 3ewt. of "load " is carried, and for such a vehicle as this it is quite a mistake to have interchangeable bodies, or a van body at all, the right equipment for a double-purpose car of this character being a detachable tonneau, interchangeable with a sample box. It may be said that my limit of 3cwt.-load for such a vehicle is too low, because, with a two-seated body in occupation on the back, and a second person on the front seat by the side of the driver, together with an odd bag or two, close on scwt. would be carried ; but it must be remembered that, if the chassis has been calculated for the carrying, all told, of a scwt. live load, in addition to the driver, it by no means goes without saying that it will carry the same amount of dead load with equally satisfactory results.
This question of live and dead loads, indeed, has a very important bearing upon construction where the commercial vehicle is considered, and calls for a greater substantiality of design than is to be found in the average pleasure vehicle. Irrespective of whether the load is scwt. or 25cwt., the requirements of the commercial vehicle are so entirely different from those of the pleasure car that, it seems to me, it is imperative,. if permanent success is desired, that a car intended forgoods-delivery work should be specially designed and constructed for the purpose throughout. Let us look at the facts as they stand, and we shall see that the influence of conventionality, which ties the pleasure-car designer so
closely to a type, exists at present only to a very small extent amongst users, or rather prospective users, of .commercial vehicles. Instead of having to deal with men who have picked up a smattering of the subject, and who largely want to " cut a dash " and to drive a car which looks like their neighbour's, and who are swayed in their selection by the fashionable fancy of the moment, we have to deal with men who are for the most part looking at the matter from a purely business standpoint. Let us see what they want. First and foremost, a vehicle which is, above everything, reliable, which can be confidently looked to to do its work all day and every day with the absolute minimum of stoppages and trouble; in short, a vehicle which is strong enough to carry its -load without displaying weakness of any kind_ Second,. a vehicle which will be cheap to maintain and to run, which calls for :—Third, a wagon of the simplest possible construction, and with the fewest parts compatible with efficiency, for :—Fourth, a car which is simple to manage, to handle and to look after and which will not necessarily call for the engagement of a highly-skilled driver, and, with it all :—Fifth, a car with power enough and handiness enough to take its load anywhere and everywhere. Finally, a car at as low a first cost as possible. All this calls for quite different points in design than are called for in the-pleasure car.
The nett load, being so much greater and "dead" at that, requires very much greater strength in the frame, as well as in wheels, springs and transmission gear, than would be fitted to a pleasure car of equal. power. As actual financial economy in running is so important a point, it is essential that solid tires should be fitted, and this, quite apart from the different natureof the load, calls for very different springing to that employed when pneumatics are used. It must be remembered that, unlike the pleasure car, speed is Of little•importance compared with simplicity and reliability, and, hence, a very different ratio of gearing will be called for, 12 or 15 miles per hour being ample top speeds for iscwt. to newt. loads, whereas, with the same engine power for passenger use, the speeds would be doubled and even trebled. This point alone will show the impracticability of the interchangeable-bodied, double-purpose vehicle. Then, when the main requirements of low first cost, low fuel cost, and simplicity are considered, it will be readily seen that six.. cylindered engines will be the very antithesis of the type re-. qutred to fill the bill. Four cylinders will be at a discount where two will do the work, and general simplicity of design, with efficiency,will score, as against those " refinements 7 which delight the heart ofthe enthusiastic motorist. What matters it that -the beat of the engine is more perceptibly felt, or heard, if it will do the same work, with less fuel and with fewer parts to look after and to go wrong? The man Who buys the car is not he who will drive it, and the driver counts little if the desired economy is obtained. It is his job, and he has to drive it, whether it makes a little noise, or glides as smoothly as a river boat. As high speed is not desirable, high engine power will not count. So long as it will do the work required with a moderate gearing, and do`it efficiently, it will be all that will be necessary, and, as with the engine, so with control and arrangements generally—
simplicity and strength of parts rather than refinements are the desirable points.
General handiness and readiness in manceuvring in traffic and tight places will count even more strongly than with the pleasure car, whilst, as in the work of parcels delivery,. there will be more starting, stopping and gear changing than in touring, anything that will reduce the wear upon gears and simplify the work of changing them will be a point of moment. Further, important as is the need for powerful and efficient brakes on the passenger car, when the heavier loads dealt with by the commercial vehicle are considered, it will be seen that the stopping power must be greater, and at least proportionate to the load. Such considerations as side-entrances, necessitating a long chassis with the pleasure car, do not count with the delivery van, with which the long wheel-base becomes an undesirable rather than a desirable point, owing to the greater space occupied in garage, and the greater space occupied and less handiness in traffic, and the problem of the designer is rather to get the largest amount of effective load upon the smallest amount of wheel-base, all of which goes to show how very unsuitable—except perhaps for the very lightest loads—the. unaltered pleasure-car chassis is for the requirements of the commercial user.
To sum up the requirements of the pleasure car, we have lightness of construction ; light springing ; pneumatic tires,. and long wheel-base, to give ease of riding; the maximum of smoothness and quietness of running; general comfort, both. in sitting in the car and driving it ; and a comparatively high speed. With the commercial wagon, the chief considerations are : strength of construction ; absolute reliability; simplicity in 'design and control; solid tires and heavy springing; comparatively slow speeds; cheapness of running and upkeep ; and general compactness and handiness. The consideration of these features points to the need for a wide divergence in design and detail between the two classes of car, all calling for the need for special and entirely independent work, before the light commercial vehiclefinally takes that place in the commercial economy of the country which is. its ultimate destination.