• Home
• Used vehicles
• Product news
• Dealer news
• Compliance
• Buying advice
• Archive

FUTURE DESIGN REQUIREMENTS IN GOODS VEHICLES

N0 DOUBT any operator will say that the future goods vehicle should be 100 per cent reliable, be almost weightless, require no maintenance, carry he heaviest loads, use little or no fuel, be reasonable in )rice, last for ever, and satisfy all the requirements of the Iriver. We all know that even if this could be achieved 1 will not be so in the foreseeable future.

However, that is no reason why the manufacturers' ;fforts should not be aimed with this object in view; in :ertain directions great improvements can be achieved now, ttany of which are old sores that operators have had to :ontend with for as long as commercial motor vehicles have leen produced.

In most walks of life the customer is always right and he supplier will meet his requirements, but this is not so in he commercial vehicle field. The customer must have vhat is available—that is, take it or leave it. With this in nind I intend in this piper to point out the deficiencies n existing vehicles which I know can be speedily rectified f the manufacturer can be induced to co-operate.

Before I get to the vehicle, a word about selling. We 'ant a vehicle capable of carrying or pulling the designated ;ross weight. Now, let me be fair on this point. We do lot want the manufacturers to offer for sale a vehicle :ailed a "7 tonner " and for the salesman to tell us we an overload it 50 per cent, and then to find the vehicle s not man enough for the job when carrying this promised oad. What we need is for the manufacturer and the alesrnan to be absolutely frank and let us know exactly Oat we are getting.

BRAKES AFTER the conclusion of the discussion on this paper, you will hear a considerable amount about brakes from 4r. Hubert Perrinv but as a commercial vehicle operator vhose association has been campaigning so long (and ecently very vigorously) for improved braking on cornnercial vehicles, I must say that this is my number one iriority.

I think it has now become necessary for regulations to ie introduced to force manufacturers to provide efficient wakes to combat the modern conditions of heavier loads, nore powerful engines and consequential higher speeds. ['hese modern conditions have arisen without the manuacturers improving the design of their braking equipment, nstead relying on increasing brake shoe pressures without hie regard to brake lining area and lining characteristics_ "he result is that the incidence of brake fade is more &el-tient than in the past. I must say, however, that many nanufacturers have at last made improvements in their atest vehicles with regard to the main braking system (i.e. ootbrake). But still, in my opinion, there are far too many manufacturers who have made little or no improvement in their systems for stopping vehicles when a failure Occurs in the main braking system.

The older and more experienced drivers can operate vehicles quite safely within the limits of their braking systems: but the modern young driver tends to take full advantage of the higher speeds now permitted, and which can now be attained due to improved road construction and alignment (including motorways), without realizing that many vehicles do not have adequate brakes for such speeds.

I feel most strongly that if standards of braking are laid down in any regulations for use on the road then the manufacturer should be compelled to construct the brakes to a standard which is at least IO per cent more efficient to allow a reasonable tolerance for decline in efficiency resulting from normal wear and tear when the vehicle is in use.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT MY second priority is the inadequacy of the electrical "I equipment. In my father's day a good-class vehicle would be fitted with the best available electrical equipment, whereas a volume-produced, less-costly type would have correspondingly cheaper and therefore inferior electrical equipment—which seems logical enough. But today, whether a vehicle is costly or not, it is fitted in the majority of cases with the same electrical equipment. This equipment is, in the main, inadequate for the work it is expected to perform.

The amount of working time, and consequently earnings lost, by commercial vehicle operators through the fitting of inadequate electrical equipment in the past five years must be enormous. Some manufacturers will supply superior starter motors at extra cost. This to my mind admits that the standard starter is not satisfactory for its job. Surely the manufacturer would be better advised to fit the more expensive starter as standard and perhaps offer a cheaper starter as non-standard, thereby shifting the onus of frequent starter motor failures on to the operator. In such a case, how many operators would purchase the cheaper or non-standard starter? I suspect few, if any.

Before leaving starter motors I must mention the method of manufacture which prohibits their repair by competent electricians and necessitates their return for service exchange starters. This, of course, is considerably more expensive for the operator.

With the increase in the number of electrical and lighting accessories it is found that the drain on the battery is greater than the charging rate of the dynamo on some volume-produced vehicles. The answer to this problem has been found, so far as public service vehicles are concerned, in the fitting of alternators. I believe that some goods

vehicle manufacturers have alternators available as optional extras. I feel that, having regard to the essential need to have a fairly fully-charged battery available at all times, particularly to provide power for the temperamental starters, all heavy commercial vehicles should be fitted with alternators on a 24-volt circuit.

Another bone of contention on electrical equipment is windscreen wipers. In rhodern driving conditions it is most essential that they should be robust to give long, trouble-free service and they should be more easily accessible for repair than they are on most vehicles today.

Finally, cannot the manufacturers design a method of fixing a dynamo which allows easy adjustment of the fan beltwithout incessant manipulation of adjusting straps and/or brackets?

CABS I N the private car field the changes in styling and design have been phenomenal over the past ten years; but the same cannot be said for the commercial vehicle. This may. be difficult from the body design point of view; but there is immense scope on the mechanical side, especially in cab design There are many cabs which are still not designed with sufficient regard to the driver. Some cabs require almost a trained mountaineer to gain access to the driver's seat, and this can become very exhausting where a man has multiple deliveries to contend with and may enter or leave his cab some 40 (or even 100) times a day.

sometimes wonder whether the designers are of small stature and do not realize that many drivers are of a fine and large physique. In my experience it is not uncommon to have to change a driver of a vehicle because there is either insufficient, or even no, adjustment of the driving position. A man on long-distance driving must have a comfortable driving position, There are far too many cabs that do not comply with this essential. In addition a cab should have a heater as standard, incorporating cold air ventilation.

ENGINES

WHAT do we require in an engine? Trouble-free running, of course, that it should be reasonably silent and vibrationless,,accessible for maintenance, easily removable for exchange, and injector pipes so designed as not to be continually breaking. The power of the engine should be such that on the motorways, where gradients are kept to a reasonable maximum, the vehicle should be capable of hauling its maximum gross train weight at a minimum speed of 20 m.p.h. Under such power/weight conditions the engine should be capable of running 150,000 miles or more before a major overhaul is required. The introduction of plating for commercial vehicles will make it easy for manufacturers to design engines with this in view,

1 would like to enlarge a little on the question . of accessibility of the engine and accessories. The more glaring cases of designers endeavouring to confound the user are well known, such as an instance where the radiator had to be removed to fit ,a new fan belt. I would like to sec an engine and its essential accessories fitted in such a way that the fitter does not have to be an acrobat.

How about fitting the starter motor in a better position to stop it getting smothered in oil and muck? I could go on mentioning each of the many parts of the engine to which access has made maintenance a problem. Let each manufacturer ask one of his engineers to undertake the normal preventive maintenance work necessary to keep the vehicle in good running order, to see if some of the essential tasks are not made almost impossible by design and see if some relatively small alteration to positioning or design would facilitate some important maintenance task. Whilst on the subject of engines, I would like to ask manufacturers if they could not look into the matter of • nr.C. noise. Some engines are good in this respect, but other; are really noisy brutes and are real rousers in the morn. ings when starting up, particularly where a garage i: located in a residential area--garages sound like miniatur( London Airports? It will be recalled that the Ministra of. Transport have been considering the question of nois( regulations; but fortunately nothing has been heard o them for some time. If and when they do produce regula tions, you can be sure Ihat the user will be the one ir danger—not the manufacturer.

From noise to smoke. I do not need to say much abou this subject which has been so well publicized. Due 1( the fact that many of our vehicles are under-engine( when laden, the engine is under pressure frequently an emits black smoke, Some engines are inherent smoker: and no amount of maintenance in the world will slot them emitting smoke. It is hoped that, as manufacturer: do not seem prepared to do much in this respect, the nev British Standard being designed by the British Standard: Institution at the request of the users' organizations together with plating regulations, may lead to an end o this troublesome matter of annoyance to other road user by the emission of smoke.

CHASSIS

THE chassis of vehicles should be sturdy, able to with

stand the twisting action of operation over bad grount without permanent distortion, and should be fitted with strong braced rear member. How often has an operato had the rear member of his chassis pulled out by a well meaning driver helping a comrade in trouble? For tb. same reason all vehicles should be fitted with a sturd: towing eye at the front of the chassis as a standard feature On all vehicles, and particularly the larger vehicles, auto matie lubrication should be a built-in feature by the manu facturer and not an extra supplied by an outsid organization with individual fitting on each vehicle—ani subsequent loss of standardization as regards spare path feel strongly that there is great room for improvemen in standardization in vehicles and components. This applie particularly to threads on bolts, studs and set screws Some vehicle even have three different threads which corn plicate maintenance and can cause damage through th use of incorrect tools.. Component parts on some vehicle are identical except for the threads. This, of course, is ; ridiculous situation. Surely manufacturers can standardiz within their own organization? This should, of coursc be so within the British industry as a whole.

I have already spoken of accessibility on engines; bu this should be extended to the whole vehicle, so that ; gearbox can be removed without taking the body off.

With the question of maintaining reasonable minimun speeds, close ratio gearboxes are essential and this wil create a need for six speeds to make the necessary range o gears available. Particularly on motorways, which will w hope become far more numerous and lengthy in the year to come, a close ratio gearbox is more useful than a four speed gearbox coupled to a two-speed axle.' The sixti speed should be an overdrive, so that when the vehicle i being used on normal roads and in towns it can operate oi a direct fifth speed.

It has always been a mystery to me that despite th continual -requests of operators. manufacturers do tic supply as an alternative a fuel tank of sufficient capacit for the long-distance haulier. Both on the grounds o economy (since fuel is cheaper at depot) and from al accountancy point of view, bunkering is undesirablE Many operators purchase large tanks from outside source --4.o meet this need. A vehicle employed on long distance needs a fuel tank of at least 60-gallon capacity, and in som

:ases even larger. They should be fitted with anti-syphontge necks, remembering that provision must be made for he taking of samples l?y the Customs and Excise officials. One of the faults frequently found by vehicle examiners tt road checks is that fuel tanks are insecure in their mountings or fixings. Manufacturers should bear in mind when designing the fixings for fuel tanks that not only be weight of the tank but also the contents have to be dlowed for, and also the surge of the liquid in the tank. here is a need for a good and substantial mounting for hese fuel tanks, and I should like to see all manufacturers ook carefully into this matter.

Before leaving the mechanical side of the vehicle I would ike to suggest that all manufacturers should include a iecurity device in order to make it more difficult for thieves .o steal the vehicle. J would suggest that possibly some ;oil of lock could be incorporated in the gearbox. Whilst appreciate that the thieves would quickly get to know A this security device, the very fact that they had to nake allowance for being able to release the device, which would take time, could in some instances act as a deterrent o the thieves.

Other forms of security on vehicles could be greatly mproved. Windows in cabs could be made so that they ;annot easily be forced down, and locks on cab doors ;ould be made a little more thief-proof. I feel there is ;cope on the question of security for some ingenious ideas which should be incorporated in vehicles and not offered Ls an extra.

BODYWORK

MOW I come to the bodywork and, due to the vast .1 number of different types, this could become a subject m its own. Therefore I will confine my thoughts to a tandard general haulage vehicle which may be either flat ndrop-sided.

The framing should be of metal, whether it be steel or t lighter material to reduce weight. In the interests of afety both of the men who load vehicles and to prevent oad movement during transit, the floor should be of wooden construction. This permits the men to get a grip with their feet, and the load to have greater frictional • esistance to movement. Although some loss of carrying !opacity is unavoidable, a double floor with the two skins aid at right angles to each other increases the strength fourold and practically eliminates accidents due to floors givng way, and reduces maintenance almost to nil, a very mportant feature today.

The side rave should protrude vertically unless specially equired to be flush. This prevents loads from slipping ideways, particularly as the use of pallets increases. The [eight of protruding raves should also be standardized at in. to allow fork trucks'easy access to pallets.

This will also be acceptable for containers which are ifted on and off platform lorries by cradles when the lift applied to the bottom of the container. This enables ontainers to be of more slender construction than when • top lift is applied, thereby increasing the payload of the ontainer.

With the increased speeds, and we hope improved braksg (once again with the accent on safety), all vehicles hould be provided with a substantial headboard to eliminte all possibility of the load shifting forward and going Ito the cab. Where bolsters are employed, it will be ssential to ensure that they are not only strong enough or the vertically applied loads but also to be able to resist he overturning movement caused by the inertia of the load /hen the vehicle stops suddenly, either due to an accident r to violent braking.

As already mentioned, increased speeds require that the sods should be securely roped to prevent any movement. A way in which the manufacturers could assist in this respect is the provision of an adequate number of hooks. Vehicle platforms and trailers are generally equipped with hooks every 3 ft. but it would be of great assistance if strong substantial hooks were fixed at 2 ft. intervals, also hooks at the front of trailers and low down on the sides of headboards.

Before leaving bodywork generally, with present vehicles (and even more so with the new larger vehicles) it is inevitable that buildings and gate posts will be " brushed " by the sides of vehicles, having regard to some of the restricted entrances to factories and the like, particularly in London and other older towns. If a vehicle has a perfectly flush side to the body and nothing, such as mudguards, protrudes beyond the body then little or no damage is done either to the building or the vehicle. This is easily achieved with a platform lorry; but I have yet to see a drop-sided lorry without projections of hinges, bolts or securing pins. Any body designer who can overcome this defect in drop-sided bodies will, I am sure, corner the market with those operators who must use drop sides for the products they carry.

LAMPS LTHOUGH electrical equipment has been mentioned generally, I would like to consider lamps and signalling equipment on their own. Once again, there is a need for greater standardization of equipment including the types of bulbs used. The lamps, now that they are fitted into the bodywork, are often difficult to remove as the fixings tend to rust in, partly due in some cases to the rear of the lamp unit being completely unprotected from the mud and water thrown up by the wheels. Some side lamps have very poor fixings and, due to the necessity of fairly constant replacement of bulbs, there is great room for improvement here.

This naturally leads me, once again, to complain about the poor life of side and tail lamps. I realize that the tail lamps especially are subject to great vibration when the vehicle is empty. I feel, however, that the lighting engineers must find a method to stop the high rate of failure on tail light bulbs, which is especially high on light articulated vehicles.

Most of the points I have raised so far are in respect of improvements; I would now like to just touch on the question of headlamps on commercial vehicles. The latest gimmick by the lighting equipment manufacturers is the sealed beam unit; frankly, as commercial vehicle operators, we do not see any particular merit in having to replace a whole unit due to failure of a bulb. I think that vehicle manufacturers should tell the electrical equipment providers that they are not interested in fitting sealed beam units on their vehicles and wish to revert to the old type of fitment whereby, when a bulb failed, all you needed to do was to replace it.

TYRES AND WHEELS

PROBABLY the most costly replacement item on vehicles

is tyres. I must say that tyres, in my opinion, show the greatest improvement of any item of equipment used in commercial vehicles. The improvements over the past 1015 years have been remarkable. Provided the proper grade of tyre is used for the load -carried, tyre failure, other than through external sources is practically non-existent. There are, of course, manufacturers who issue vehicles with tyres of a lower ply rating than should be, having regard to the gross laden weight.

I would go further and say that the load ratings of giant tyres, which have not been altered for many years now, are lower than the actual safe load of the tyre. This is especially so where certain types of material such as nylon are used in the carcass rather than the traditional rayon. With the possible advent of increased axle and wheel loadings, it is time the tyre manufacturers were more realistic and upgraded the load ratings of tyres where the stronger materials are used.

Wheels on all commercial vehicles should be of welded :onstruction, as these give far greater strength and less failure and should be of the three-piece variety to avoid damage to the bead of the tyre.

It is common practice for vehicles to carry spare wheels; out in general the spare wheel carrier and the method of -emoving or replacing the spare wheel leaves much to be desired. One either needs to be a Hercules to lift the tyre up or down, or a contortionist to get at the securing bolts. rhis is a point that manufacturers should give attention to and provision should be made for use of a locking device to prevent the unlawful removal of the spare wheel. In many cases the carrier could be better positioned so that it is not damaged and disturbed by being too close to the ground or to the rear of the vehicle.

ARTICULATED UNITS

IMY REMARKS so far have been general and applicable "1 to all vehicles. But I must now refer to special features of the atticulated vehicle whether they be of the light automatic coupling or with a king pin coupling. First is the electrical connection between the unit and the semi-trailer; except where automatic couplings are used the connection should be through a standardized seven pin plug and connected to standard wiring so that all units and trailers of whatever make can be interchanged. I am sure the S.M.M.T. could organize this without difficulty.

For use during ice and snow, an independent means of operating the trailer brakes can be most useful and prevent the worst evil of artics, that of jack-knifing. The trailer brakes on all heavy artics should be air pressure and of the two line system, whereby failure of the air pressure in the operating system automatically applies the trailer brakes, thereby stopping the vehicle and preventing further movement until the air pressure is restoi ed.

In the future there will be an increasing number of tandem-bogied semi-trailers; once again, as the result of increased braking power, it is absolutely essential that the bogie unit shall be non-reactive. Some very ingenious methods of achieving this have already been produced.

On trailers, 1 would urge some manufacturers of automatic couplings to increase the diameter of the turntables. There is no reason at all why a turntable of some 3 ft. 6 in. effective diameter cannot be used instead of the totally inadequate size of 1 ft. 6 in. that are still being produced. It must be obvious to all that the stability of the coupling will be greatly increased and the effects of wear greatly reduced.

JACKS

LASTLY, I would refer to the provision of a jack and bar and brace for the changing of punctured wheels. In most cases these are totally inadequate, the jack being incapable of safely lifting the maximum wheel weight and the bar usually finishes up in a twisted condition on being first used. Good quality jacks with wheel braces and bars are available and we are entitled to be supplied with them.

In conclusion I appreciate the opportunity afforded me in giving in this paper sonic of the improvements which I feel are necessary, If one or two are acted upon to the advantage of operators, then I shall feel that my effort has been worth while.