Delivery Van Bodies foi )ecial Purposes
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FOR house-to-house delivery vehicles, such as milk, bread and laundry vans, easy access to the driving compartment saves time when dozens of calls are made during a journey. Also speedy distribution of newspapers is facilitated if the cab be specially designed. To attain this object the cab may be doorless, or it may be fitted with sliding doors.
The cab may have the door omitted on one or both sides. If one door be retained then this is on the off side and affords full protection, or the door and panelling are only waist high similar to that of a taxicab, with a metal weather-shield fitted to the canopy rail of the roof on the off side of the van.
There is a single driving seat and a clear floor space on the near side where direct access is provided to the interior, of the body. A van so designed is particularly suitable for a roundsrnan who has no assistant, because he is able to arrange that the majority of the goods to be delivered shall be available through the front of the van and the back doors may remain locked. The aperture in the partition has a sliding door which is kept open during the greater part of the round.
When sliding doors take the place of the usual hinged ones for the cab, they need to be closed only during inclement weather and, when open, do not obstruct the footpath. The door may slide either inside or outside the body and may be fitted to almost any type of cab with ordinary, forward or semi-forward control If the front wheel-arch encroaches into the doorway, then the door is cut round the wing. Although the length of the bottom of the door is thus curtailed, this does not affect its smooth running because the length of the door at the top, where the ballrace runners are fitted, is unaffected.
In some instances, with a small van, the distance from the rear edge of the doorway to the front of the rear wheel-arch is less than the width of the cab door at the waist. In order that the door may have a full travel, the rear bottom corner of the door is curved so that it may register with the front of the wheel-arch enclosure.
Vans operated by metal merchims and electrical engineers often carry lengths of bar iron, tubing and so on. These may be carried on the roof, or may be placed inside the van and, if longer than the body, may be arranged slantwise and project through the front opening provided. A load thus carried at an angle has to be tied in position and if the metal be of small section it may be desirable to support it in the middle.
A device which saves time when loading lengthy material, such as already described, consists of a boarded runway on one or both sides of the van which extends from the floor at the back to the cab roof in front. The wheel-arch enclosure is built up so that it forms a support for the runway. If the van has a skirt panel, then the runway may extend below the floor and thus be of maximum length.
The load carried here is kept in position by a guard-board which is the full length of the runway, whilst at the back there is a short fixed panel and an extra pillar. Thus easy access is provided to this part of the load, also a simple means for retaining it.
If the van has a sloping runway on only one side, then the other side may be fitted with shelves for small packages, leaving the floor for heavy goods and large cases. The shelves are built so that they slope downwards towards the side of the body, also they are guarded with front and end fillets. They may be hung on jointed stays so as to fold against the side of the van when not required, or to provide more space for bulky goods.
The platform type of body is unrivalled if easy access be desired to any part of the load. Such advantages of the platform may be combined with the full protection of the boxvan by fitting roller shutters at the sides and back. The number of shutters and intermediate pillars will be determined according to the length of the van, also the size of the packages usually carried. The body may have a single unobstructed floor. If built with wheel-arch encloSures, then the floor may be lower and, without unduly increasing the headroom, an intermediate floor may be added to facilitate the arrangement of the load.
The publicity value of the van is increased if the class of goods carried lends itself to display in a showcase let into the side of the van. As a rule, the showcase does not take up more than 6 or 7 ins, of width on each side. The area given up to this kind of display may be varied from a number of cases almost filling the side of the vehicle to one case of
moderate size set out in the centre of the panelling.
A plain rectangular showcase forms an effective contrast to a bold display of streamlined mouldings.
Instead of calling attention to the vehicle by displays of samples of the goods concerned, the attention of the passer-by may be arrested because the van body itself is of unusual design. Often this publicity type of bodywork is an enlarged model •of the chief line of goods sold.
As an alternative to this method of publicity the body may be qesigned on the lines of a horse-drawn coach. A certain amount of elaboration may be introduced by the addition of decorative lamps at the corner pillarq, an arched doorway, also a central roof ornament. It is intended, however, that the coach shall be used as a delivery van and upper paneLs, painted a light colour, take the place of windows. The centre door provides means for access to the body on each side.