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"Field" Tests Prove the Endurance of Trailers, Land-Rover Tractors and Two English Effendis By a Special Correspondent
TWO small trailers, one of them with Cary Laminaire variable-rate suspension, have recently undergone "roadtests in the Libyan desert, where the conditions, as Eighth Army men will recall, vary from the just possible to the frankly frightful. The object of the exercise was to demonstrate the suitability of Scottorn trailers for desert work. The trials were carried out under the supervision of Mr. Guy Scottorn, of Scottorn, Ltd., New Malden, Surrey.
One of the trailers was a plasticsbodied two-wheeled caravan and the other, with the Laminaire suspension, was a heavy-duty version of the standard Scottorn 250 tanker. The trials were conducted with the co-operation of the Geophysical Prospecting Co., 20 Albert Embankment, London, S.E.11, who supplied the Land-Rovers wed in the desert.
On a previous visit to Libya, Mr. Scottorn had been struck by the poor condition of vehicles he had seen there. It was clear to him that only rigorous testing of representative vehicles over ground familiar to the oil companies could demonstrate that his trailers met the requirements of the area.
The intention was to drive from Tripoli southwards to Sebha, capital of the southern province of Libya. Complete lack of food, fuel and water supply points between the two cities demanded that five days' rations and fuel for 750 miles be taken with the party.
This meant carrying three 40-gal. barrels of petrol in the Land-Rovers and 250-gal. of water was loaded into the trailer tanker. These quantities proved to be more than sufficient for the needs of Mr. Scottorn and his companion, Mr. P. Miles, of the Geophysical Prospecting Co,
Good Tartoacadam
The first day of travelling brought the little convoy to the top of the plateau which is the beginning of the desert south of Tripoli. The first 80 to 100 miles was good tarmaeaclam road, but thereafter the course branched off on to a rough track until that petered out in the sand.
On the second day, an ill-defined track beckoned them upwards to an escarpment which led up to a plateau: and that was the last track they saw for 24 hours. On the plateau itself the going was reasonable. The sand was firm, littered with stones and outcrops of limestone that shook up the drivers, and there were patches of softer sand that called for careful treatment.
By the afternoon of the third day the party had reached the edge of the plateau and began the descent towards the A30 depression forming the sand sea of the southern province. Here it was necessary to keep to a track which wound round the foothills of the escarpment. This provided some of the most uncomfortable motoring of the entire trip, its leading features being sumpand suspensionsmashing rock outcrop, interspersed with irregular washboarding.
So punishing was the going here that it seemed reasonable to get off the track wherever possible, but this drill was apt to bring the vehicles and trailers to a bait, axle-deep in soft sand. The discomfort of the track proved to he less exhausting than digging.
That evening the two men suffered the hot, dry wind of the desert. They spent the night in the caravan which, although affording ample protection against the stinging, stifling particles of flying sand, denied them much rest because it was full of spare parts of uncomfortable shape.
In the morning, they pressed on along the same track. It appeared to be without end and was distinguished by a remarkable variety of unpleasant surfaces. At the end of a nine-hour spell of driving, they had covered 97 miles and were brought to a halt by sheer exhaustion.
Throughout the fifth day, the surface steadily deteriorated. The patches of soft sand became more frequent and on one occasion the caravan was nearly inverted while tackling such an area at high speed. Although this is the correct drill to employ, the manoeuvre was enlivened by the presence of loose rock hidden by the sand.
Scottorn and Miles had hoped to reach Sebha that night. For two hours they drove in darkness and almost impossible .conditions before they decided to call it a day, unable to guess just how far they were from their goal. In the first light of dawn they saw the oasis, within five miles of their laager.
It was nece'ssary to be back in Tripoli within the next five days. Little time was lost in refuelling and taking in stocks of fresh food, and it was decided to use a more direct route for the return journey.
It was unfortunate that the track they chose was in even worse shape than the outward route. The painfully familar washboarding, pounded by heavy oilfields vehicles supplying the camps south of Sebha, gave them an appalling ride.
On the second night of the return journey they came upon a vehicle in trouble. It was on its side, almost completely wrecked and the driver and passenger needed urgent medical attention. This was arranged by unhooking the caravan and sending on the LandRover with the injured men to a police post 50 miles farther north.
a Slog North
The caravan was then hitched up behind the tanker and the remaining Land-Rover began the slog north, towing two trailers. It is a tribute to its willing heart that it met the solo machine on its return journey only six miles from the police post.
The party reached the coast road between Benghazi and Tripoli on the afternoon of the third day. The remaining 140 miles into Tripoli occupied eight hours, including a delay for police and Customs checks.
On their return to base the trailers were carefully examined. The tanker had suffered a broken brake rod and a jockey wheel in a fracas with a rock. The caravan had developed a 12-in. crack in the interior lining, where a packing case had been flung forward off its seating. Structurally, neither trailer nor Land-Rovers showed any effect.