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CATERING FOR CAR CARRIER COMPLEXITIES
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by Paul Brockington
PROFITABILITY in the operation of car transporters can be relatively high if the right kind of vehicle is regularly employed on appropriate jobs, but this typically requires a highly efficient organization, a lot of depot space and in some cases the availability of a number of vehicle types, not to mention an up-to-date workshop in which overhauls are performed by skilled fitters.
The proliferation of car models, a requirement in some cases to carry light commercial vehicles (or the chassis of heavier vehicles) and the need to keep the overall height down creates problems that are made worse by the body superstructures being vulnerable to fatigue failures produced by continual bouncing when the vehicle is running light.
The pattern of deliveries is frequently such that back-loading would not be a practical proposition, given that it were possible, but in other cases the facility can be a valuable asset. Back-loading can, however, create its own problems with regard to the design of the superstructure and suspension. A full load of cars is a relatively light one and normally well below the rated capacity of the vehicle; for the carriage of a heavier load on outward or return runs the structure or suspension may be unsuitable unless adequate provision has been made for the changeover.
In this country, the limitation on overall height imposed by bridge clearances may be as low as 14ft 6in. and UK transporters have in the main been built with this limitation in mind, the normal maximum height of a popular car being about 4ft 6in. The prospect of an overall height limitation of 4m (13ft 1+in.) in 1980 to line up with European practice and the immediate advantages of complying with this limitation is a challenge that should produce some interesting developments.
A recent increase in demand for transporters that can carry light vans as well
as cars is reported by Redment Engineering Ltd, manufacturer of Hoynor trailers, of Springwood Industrial Estate, Rayne Road, Braintree, Essex, which is exemplified by the growing popularity of the Hoynor Mk VII step-frame type.
Equipped with Hands Neway air suspension and costing £500 more than the Mk II standard seven-car transporter, the Mk VII can carry five vans, such as Bedford CFs or comparable Ford Transits, in addition to two cars, which has been made possible by a top-deck height of 9ft and a height between the main decks of 7ft 3in„ the between7clecks height over the swan-neck being 4ft 9in. The height between deNts over the axles is 5ft l0--in., while the width between the elevating arms is 7ft 4+in.
A version of the Mk II model, the Mk III dual-purpose model has a special top deck that enables the vehicle to be converted to a flat platform type to carry general goods. It has a platform length of 37ft and a payload capacity of 13 tons.
A very recent addition to the Hoynor range is a drawbar outfit with a steppedframe trailer designed to carry eight Audi 100LS saloon cars. It can be based on typical makes of rigid chassis with a wheelbase of approximately 18ft and has the maximum legal length of 18m, the superstructure of the motive unit being similar to that of the Mk II semi-trailer.
The deck of the trailer's swan-neck is raised by hydraulic rams after a car has been loaded on to it which allows a second car to be loaded on the bottom deck sloping downwards towards the front with its fore section under the end of the car on the raised lower deck.
Useful return load Providing a means of carrying a useful return load, including containers, was the objective of Anthony Carrimore (Sales) Ltd, North Road, Harelaw, County Durham, in the design of the company's car /cargo /container artic transporter. It is a 15m tandem-axle vehicle and current applications include the transport of steel by W. A. Glendinning Ltd from Shotley Bridge to the Birmingham area and a return run carrying cars, while Henry Peacock of Middlesbrough collects imported cars from Middlesbrough docks and returns with containers.
The forward extension of the top deck of this carrier remains fixed, the main section of the deck (of about 38ft depending on the tractive unit) being pivoted at the front and lowered by hydraulic rams to lie on top of the lower deck. Both
decks are of peripheral construction and overall dimensions include a length of 15m and a width of 2.45m.
Cited as a simple basic design suitable for car-only loads the company's Saco transporter is a 15m single-axle six-car type with upper and lower deck lengths of 49ft 2in. and 40ft respectively and a payload capacity of 10 tons. Built to transport all types of car including models of very low ground clearance, the Mk6 tandem-axle 15m transporter can carry up to nine minis or seven family saloons, the payload being 12 tons.
Light and heavy-duty versions of the company's Mk9 15m tandem-axle transporter are available with rated payload capacities of 10 tons and 12 tons respectively. A cranked lower deck provides overlap loading and typical loads include three Land-Rover Safari models of 109in. wheelbase and a Safari 88in.-wheelbase model on the top deck and three LandRovers on the bottom deck comprising an open truck of 109in.-wheelbase and two Safaris of the same wheelbase. Loaded with cars with a height of 4ft 6in, the overall height is 14ft 6in.
Built to the maximum length of I8m, a tractor /trailer outfit comprises a prime mover with an hydraulically operated top deck and a trailer with a top deck that may be of the fixed type or one that is hydraulically elevated. It is capable of carrying eight large cars such as Ford Granadas, Vauxhall Victors and so on compared with a load of seven smaller cars of Ford Cortina dimensions that can be transported on a 15m articulated outfit.
Announced in June last year, the transporter built by the York Trailer Co Ltd of Northallerton, Yorks, is notable for its robust construction and the availability of servicing at any of the 10 York factory branches. Designed to carry seven mediumsized cars or eight smaller vehicles, it can if necessary accommodate two light vans on the rear section of the lower deck as well as a car on the front section. When the top deck is lowered it rests firmly on folded support arms and can be used to carry two goods vehicles in the 5-ton category.
By employing a standard type of York TS2 tandem-bogie suspension, underslung springs and 750 x 15 (Michelin X) tyres the height of the bottom deck has been reduced to 2ft 10in., while the height of the top deck is 10ft 6in.
Special York features include an elevating deck which bridges the two sections of the lower deck and is manually operated by means of a scissored action mechanism. A peripheral frame has enabled the width between the double-acting rams to be increased to 7ft 2+in. The ample side clearance provided is cited by an operator as an all-important feature in that it reduces the risk of damage.
An all-purpose tandem-axle articulated outfit produced by Stanbridge (MCB) Ltd, 40 Tulsworth Road, Stan bridge, Leighton Buzzard, Beds, a 26-ton-gvw transporter, is capable of carrying seven cars, a combined load of cars and vans or four commercial vehicle chassis. The running gear is based on York 8-ton axles which are equipped with 825-15 18-ply tyres. A very recent Stanbridge development, a three-car carrier superstructure can be mounted on a suitable long-wheelbase rigid vehicle with a minimum gvw rating of 6 tons, one car being carried on a top deck. It can be employed to haul a close-coupled two-car trailer.
DoE approval wanted Planning for a future in Europe is made difficult according to Carveyor Ltd, Tamworth, Staffs, by the non-approval of the DoE of an increase in trailer length to 9m (from 7m) for use with a prime mover of 9m in place of an 1 lm prive mover and 7m trailer. A 50/50 outfit would, says Carveyor, enable an extra vehicle or bigger vehicles to be carried within the same overall length and the overall height to be reduced to 4m (when carrying 4ft 6in. cars) which will be obligatory in 1980. Such a vehicle has been designed by the company but building a prototype is not considered to be practical on economic grounds pending approval by the DoE. It would have a gvw of 26 tons and an unladen weight of 11 tons.
The largest production transporter produced by the company, the Model 600 is specifically designed for European operators and can carry eight cars or a mixed load of vans and agricultural tractors. Having a stepped frame the Model 700 articulated outfit is plated at 14 or 17 tons gvw and is described as the basic model for British operators. It is available with automatic deck locks and concealed hydraulics.
Built to carry heavy commercial vehicles, vans and agricultural tractors, the Model 800 draw-bar type is hauled by a prime mover with an hydraulically operated top deck, while the trailer is of the single deck type. Two heavy vehicles can be loaded on the prime mover and two smaller types (for example two agricultural tractors) on the trailer.
The smallest vehicle in the Carveyor range, the Model 400, is a low-cost rigid machine with a single deck designed to carry three cars or two commercial vehicles.
The suspension of the Carveyor tandemaxle transporter has negative-camber underslung springs and a central compensating trunnion which incorporates a bonded rubber bush and is preloaded to accommodate wind-up of the axle and load transfer. It is claimed that the suspension enables bouncing with an empty vehicle to be reduced to a minimum and a level ride to be maintained.