EASY LOADING IN MAR] T GARDENERS' LORRIES
Page 32
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
FOR the transport of marketgarden produce in bulk, in boxes or other . containers, the operator requires a vehicle with large loading capacity. In view of the narrow thoroughfares and the crowded condition of markets encountered in this class of work, a moderate turning circle is desirable, so that the forward-control type of chassis is often favoured.
A. large loading area is made available by mounting detachable loading racks on the lorry sides, thus doubling the height of the body. Usually, the lorry has a floor unobstructed by wheel-arches ; loading is effected from the rear and some of the unloading may be done from the side by removing one or more loading racks.
Increasing the Loading Capacity.
In order to increase the capacity of the vehicle, also to facilitate loading and unloading, it is suggested that wheel-arches should be introduced, so that the floor height, being close to the chassis, will be reduced by 6-10 ins., according to the chassis concerned.
If the lorry has a large opening on each side, as well as the usual one at the back, it should be unnecessary to have removable loading racks. Therefore, the sides of the body may be fixed and as high as the racks, and, with outside pillars of metal angle or channel, there should be no increase of weight. The body is closeboarded to the waist, whilst, above this level, the sides consist chiefly of spaced slats.
A 2-ton forward-control chassis with a wheelbase of 10 ft. has 4 ft. 6 ins. to 5 ft. available between the back of the cab and the rear wing ,,. B26
for a side opening. All or part of this space may be utilized according to the requirements of the operator concerned.
With regard • to the type of protection for the side opening, this may consist of a drop side, which, being close-boarded, forms, when open, a useful platform. Above this is a pair of doors of skeleton construction, which matches the upper part of the body. These doors are fitted with stays to hold them open, or, when folded right back, are fastened against the lorry sides. On the other hand, they are easily removed if they be hung on lift-off hinges. The body sides may extend a few inches above the cab roof, and the front of the loading portion may be increased in height, so that it is about 24 ins, above the cab roof.
Instead of a maximum height for only the front of the body, it is proposed to increase the height of the body sides to this level. Assuming that the body sides are now 7 ft. above the floor, an upper floor may be introduced 2 ft. below the top of the body side, so that there is about 5 ft. headroom between the two floors. This measurement, although not full standing headroom, will be sufficient for loaders to work easily inside the van.
Additional loading space is pro-. vided by extending this upper floor for the full length of the cab roof and a few inches beyond it, whilst the front is sloped to harmonize with the slope of the windscreen. This upper floor is actessible at the back, also at the sides by swans of a drop side of the same wi.46th as the opening to the main floor.
A ladder, which is always carried with the vehicle, is used to afford access to the upper deck. If the upper floorboards be removable, some loading may be carried out from inside the vehicle. In any case, the floor of the portion over the cab is fixed.
With the. floorboards at the side opening removed, the cab portion and then the rear section of the upper deck may be loaded either from the centre or back of the vehicle. Lastly, the floorboards at the opening are inserted and the loading completed. Otherwise, the upper deck is loaded from back to front with the aid of the ladder.
Stump hoopsticks are provided for supporting a loose sheet. These metal hoopsticks also act as spreaders to tie the two sides of the body together.
At the back of the lorry there is a pair of skeleton doors to the upper deck, with doors and a tailboard for the lower deck, similar to the style of protection provided on each side of the body. If a floor without wheel-arches be preferred, the same height of body above the chassis will not have as great a capacity as that already described. To compensate for this deficiency, the length of the structure above the cab may be increased. Further space is provided if a wellfloor be built in at the back.
As an alternative to a drop side and a pair of .hinged doors, the side opening has a sliding door, which moves outside the body. The door requires no casing, which is neces. sary when it slides inside the body. More than half this door is of spaced slats, and it gives access to an opening with 5 ft. 9 ins. headroom.
Providing a Full-width Shelf.
No shelving or upper floor is placed between the two side openings, but the level of the floor of the portion over the cab is repeated for the rear section of the lorry, so that a fullwidth shelf is provided about midway between the main floor and the top of the body.
The front of this shelf or the back of the cab portion may be enclosed by a removable gate or skeleton partition. With suitable fastenings these partitions may be placed in any of two or three positions and a corresponding portion of the midway shelf removed_ In this manner the lorry may be loaded in sections and that part of the load which is to be removed first is placed last in the lorry between the side openings. Similar arrangements may be adopted for the lorry first described.