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Vehicle Life Prolongation Essential

27th July 1940, Page 13
27th July 1940
Page 13
Page 14
Page 13, 27th July 1940 — Vehicle Life Prolongation Essential
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

NOW that the acquisition and disposal of new (unregistered) commercial vehicles, both goods and passenger-carrying, are strictly controlled, it is more than ever necessary to maintain existing vehicles in the best possible condition. Some operators engaged in work of an essential nature may be able, occasionally, to purchase a new chassis, but, in any case, the supply of chassis is likely to be strictly limited, not only by law, but because of production difficulties.

War-time conditions of operation do not, in the ordinary course, lend. themselves to long vehicle life, except from one aspect, that is, in respect of the mileage, which is often curtailed by the strict rationing of fuel.

The main factors, however, which result in rapid wear are overloading ; higher speed, in the endeavour to cover the work with fewer machines; in some instances—and this is a point likely to become more important in future—reduced skill in driving; running on alternative fuels which may add to "coking up" and to wear and tear ; a steadily depreciating quality of road surfaces as reduced upkeep makes itself felt; greater liability to accident, resulting from black-out conditions; and the running of vehicles beyond the point at which they should 'have expert attention.

Road Transport Must Remain Efficient Despite the difficulties, however, it is of vital importance that road transport be kept at the peak of its efficiency, not only now, but until the war be won. At the same time, we must not fail to consider the period of reconstruction. It cannot be expected that vehicle-building concerns will be able immediately to revert to chassis construction on a large scale, or even, after war exhaustion, expect to receive sufficiently adequate stocks of constructional materials of suitable quality to enable them to carry on with anything like a full programme.

No doubt a considerable number of vehicles will be available from the fighting and defence Services; but, here again, their condition will depend largely upon the length of hostilities. Therefore, it all boils down to the fact that vehicle life must be prolonged, possibly, to a far greater extent than is normally considered to be economic. We have had nearly a year of war, during which comparatively few new vehicles have become available, so that the majority of those now in service has utilized a portion of the normal span of their life, the particular stage reached depending upon their age and condition when hostilities commenced.

We are of the opinion, therefore, that a committee of experts should be formed to consider ways and means by which vehicles may be retained longer in service, without an undue increase in cost or reduced reliability. Fortunately, the restrictions on new sales do not appear to apply to components or spare parts, but 'only to chassis and complete vehicles, but here, also, the supply is bound to be small.

Committee Suggested to Review Maintenance Such a committee might review maintenance and repair facilities as distinct from those required by the Services, the inter-exchange of available power and other units and spare parts amongst users, the opening of operators' private repair shops to other members of the industry (thus economizing in cost, skilled labour and overhead charges) and the general encouragement of a higher degree of maintenance, not only of chassis and bodies, but also of tyres.

A feature of modern operation is the limited time available for such attention, so that it may become necessary to do more of the repair work at night, particularly as drivers are, in general, working long hours and cannot themselves devote so much time to effecting running repairs, even where this has in the past been, a normal practice amongst the men concerned.

There is much to be said for co-operative maintenance; in fact, this is an idea which is steadily growing, as is also that of the pooling of vehicles, quite apart from the Government's grouping system. Such pooling, particularly amongst ancillary users, avoids a break in the continuity of service which is so difficult to prevent where the number of vehicles operated is few.

Specialist concerns in various forms of maintenance, welding and its allied processes, etc., are steadily increasing their facilities, mainly in order to tackle those tasks which may be beyond the powers of the ordinary maintenance shop, and to conserve for further use parts which might previously have been scrapped when worn beyond the normal limits of tolerance.

We must also not forget that there are accessories, such as oil and air filters, special materials including upper-cylinder and other lubricants, and chemical products to be dissolved in the fuel, which can assist materially in reducing wear, and in some instances, by improving the anti-knock value of the fuel, decrease stressing of the engine as well as the consumption of fuel.

There can be but little doubt that the effect of the new Order will be to increase the demand for used vehicles and, consequently, enhance their value. In this connection—and this applies also to the provision of units and other spares—the small-advertisement columns of this journal are well worth studying, as they constitute the largest market of this class in the road-transport industry.

Maintenance Costs of Electric Vehicles

AA N interesting communication on the subject .tof the costs of battery-electric vehicles has been sent to us by Mr. D. F. Pilkington, transport officer of Lancashire Associated Collieries. Accompanying it was a letter sent to the journal, Electric Vehicles, and referring to an article in the May issue of that journal, contributed by a Mr. Swale.

Mr. Pilkington agrees with that contributor that sometimes the electric-vehicle " story " is almost too perfect and is liable to exercise a boomerang effect upon the industry if results obtained be not quite in accordance with the claims. This would especially be so in the case of concerns buying electric vehicles for the first time.

He takes strong exception to the figures often published concerning the costs of operating this type of vehicle, particularly the absence of the important item covering maintenance and repairs. The figures given sometimes make out that where-. as maintenance is required on a petrol vehicle, on the electric type only battery renewals or depreciation, whichever term be eniployed, must receive consideration.

From his experience of actual operation in the case of two 30-cwt. machines, one four and the other five years old, the repair costs worked out at 1.15d. and 1.72d. per mile, the annual mileages being 6,100 and 4,300, respectively. In the case of five 2-tonners, of which four had been in operation two years and the othe.. one year, the repair costs were .27d., 1.3d. .19d., .35d., and .5d. per mile for distances varying between 4,650 and 6,890 miles per annum. Another, a 3-tonner with three years to its credit, gave the figure of .07d. per mile over 5,550 miles per annum.

He states that a much better way of calculating costs would be to take either the figures shown in The Commercial Motor Tables of Operating Costs or to write to our costing expert, " S.T.R., " as reliable sources.

We have pointed out on several occasions the importance of not overstating the• case. The battery-electric vehicle is a fine proposition and one of especial importance during this period of restrictions on liquid fuels. In the particular class of work for which it is best suited, i.e., short runs with many stops in congested areas, it is almost unrivalled, and there is no need unduly to boost its claims by omitting any particular item of expenditure. In the end, such a policy is bound to reflect upon those who make use of this method of primary attraction.

We know quite well that the maintenance of the average high-class electric vehicle is remarkably small in respect of the chassis, but no mechanism can work for long without at least some little attention. So far as the battery is concerned, definite figures can, of course, be given.

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