Answers to Queries.
Page 16
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Our readers will be informed by the Editor on any points connected with the construction or use of commercial motors. Where a direct reply is desired, a stamped and addressed enveloPe should be enclosed : if a request for privacy is not specially made, any query and answer may be published.
London Addresses.
" BIRMINGHAM FITTER," 11,34 asks for the addresses of the London United Motor Cab Company, Limited, and the General Motor Cab Company, Limited, together with the names of the managers. These are, respectively : Mr. W. M. Hodges, Farm Lane, Walham Green, S.W., and Mr. Horace Bell, i and 3, Brixton Road, SW.
Secondhand or New?
" W.C." [1,329] asks information in these terms :—" As a reader of 'THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR,' I am about to speculate in a motorvan. Should be glad of a little advice. I don't feel that I can go and lay out about A;500 on a van, and then find out that it will not suit my work. People advise me to try a good secondhand one for 12 months or so. A friend of mine has a chassis (16 to 24h.p.), and he contends that it would make a splendid van to carry about 30 cwt. It has only done 18 months' work, and four years ago it cost : he offers it to me cheap. In reading your valuable paper, I constantly see people advising others to use only vehirles constructed for the work; yet my friend has been in t:.e_trade all his life, .and he says --'s chassis are good, and it's a bargain. Before deciding, I should like to hear from you, and what good makers you recommend for 3o-cwt. van work. Would a -van suit? The distance per week would be about 200 miles."
ANSWER.—We strongly recommend you not to waste time by having a secondhand car. For the loads you name, you cannot do better than purchase a --, which has been proved in so many parts of the oountry to stand up to its work. If you intend to put on a van body of more than usual weight, you should give them warning, so that they may give a little extra strength to the springs.
Two Roadside Difficulties.
" 'LG." [1,33o] puts two conundrums :—"I Fun a driver of a steam wagon, and I would like you to answer this through your valuable paper. If I am sent off on a journey of, say, 20 miles, and my tank will only run to miles, I have to take water out of a ditch ; but, to get the water, I have to go and stand on the right-hand side of road, or in other words on the wrong side. While I am taking water, a restive horse comes along, shies at the wagon, and causes some damage to itself and the trap. Can the owner of the trap sue me for damages because J was standing on the wrong side of the road at the time of the accident? "
"My second question is, supposing I had a pipe broken on the right-hand side of the wagon, and there is a lot of traffic on the road at the time, so that, instead of stopping on my own side, I draw well down on the wrong side of the road, in order that I may not be standing repairing the pipe in the middle of the road, and running any risk of injury to myself, if a horse comes up and bolts, and knocks down a telephone pole, can they hold me responsible for the damage? "
ANSWER.—If you explain the first set of circumstances, in which your wagon was standing on the right-hand side of the road, you should satisfy any reasonable Bench of magistrates, provided the vehicle was really at rest, and not travelling forward when off side. Your action in the second matter was clearly with a view to minimising the risk to other people, and, here again, provided your vehicle was at rest when the accident happened, your procedure was of a pre'cautionary nature, and should help you in your defence rather than make your position worse. Both the foregoing situations, of course, will be settled on questions of fact, which they are, and you will require to be able to satisfy the Bench as to what you say. So far as the estimation of damages is concerned, k is impossible for us to decide, merely on a letter, whether there was contributory negligence on the part of any Of those concerned.
Estimates for a Mail Service.
" C.I." 11,3311 addresses us thus :--" As a reader of your paper, it has struck me that you would not object to give me an unprejudiced opinion as to the cost of running a motorvan. At the present time, I have to keep six horses to carry out a contract under the post-office authorities. The contract consists. of running once each way daily, between two towns Is miles apart. The P.O. people want a quicker service, and want me to quote them a price to do it with a motorvan. The heaviest weight we carry is one ton, but, as a rule, it is considerably under. I propose to use an I8-2oh.p. vehicle which, from quotations I have, will cost, say, L600. All the makers I asked to quote I also asked to give me the total cost per annum for running, such a van, and you will scarcely believe it but they varied to the extent of above ,4-too. Naturally, I don't want to get the contract, and then to lose money on it; neither do I want to quote an excessive price and lose the contract, hence my appeal to you to assist me in the matter.
" I should be very much obligedif you could give me_ any information on the subject, as per items on enclosed list. I may add the roadsare good, but there are one or two nasty hills ; otherwise, I suppose a van of less h.p. would suffice. About 30 miles daily is not far for such a van to run (seven .days weekly), but time is of great importance, and it means a motor or a special train. If it costs anything to get me this information, I should be pleased to meet any reasonable charge."
ANSWER.—We return the sheet covered by your letter, and we have inserted the figures which we consider are on the liberal side. Most people who run a mail service of this kind generally ask is. per mile on the basis of so miles a day. As you mention only 30 miles a day, you might .need to get more. [This is reproduced.—En.l
" P.S.—Would it cost much more to run it a further TO miles daily, as the P.O. people may want it to run to a more distant town if the extra cost would not be excessive ?---Only id. per mile for tires, and about 111d. for petrol. The standing charges would not, of course, be increased."
* Twelve and a half per cent. on first cost, with residnal value at the end of five years, should he smp'e 101 a sinking fund