Down to earth demountable
Page 21
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A DEVELOPMENT of the Ray Smith demountable system has meant that bodies can be lowered to ground level after they have been taken off the vehicle chassis.
Similar hydraulics are employed to raise and lower the body as on ordinary demountables, but in this case they are contained in the body itself and not on the vehicle chassis.
Slim columns incorporating hydraulic rams are set in the side of the van, and the four support legs retract into these.
To raise the body, first the front, then the rear pair of legs are extended. When the chassis has been driven out, the legs are retracted simultaneously until the body is lowered to the ground. The final floor height is just under 300mm (12in).
To ensure that the legs retract and extend at the same rate, a flow-equalising valve is incorporated which compensates even if the load is unevenly distributed.
One of the new systems is currently in use with 13 and I Nathan at its Worcester furniture factory, where no loading banks are available. In this application the demountable body is fitted with normal guide rails and rollers and when lowered small ramps are used to make loading easier.