Air-sprung Tanker for Earls Court A N articulated 4,000-gal. tanker to
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be shown by the Steel Barrel Co., Ltd., at the Commercial Motor Show, Earls Court, London, from September 23October 1, will have a special tank with a dropped centre section, and a Carrimore side-by-side-axle bogie with a new airsuspension system.
The frameless six-compartment semitrailer will be produced for the Mobil Oil Co., Ltd., who have already taken delivery of a 3.600-gal. tanker incorporating these features.
The semi-trailer now in service, which is coupled to a Guy Invincible tractor, carries insulating and lubricating oils. It has three 1,200-gal. lined steel compart ments lagged with in. of glass fibre covered by aluminium cladding.
The underside of the tank slopes downwards behind the turntable, returning to a shallow elliptical section in a sharp step just ahead of the axles. This configuration provides a lower centre of gravity than tanks of constant section and improves stability, particularly under part-laden conditions.
The bogie stub-axles are welded to longitudinal beams located at each end by large rubber bushes. The forward bushes are attached to rigid brackets, whilst the rear bushes engage transverse swinging links.
Two Andre 12-in.-diameter rollinglobe-type air springs are mounted between the underside of the two rear cross-members and the platforms formed by the upper surfaces of the box-section transverse links. Air is supplied to the springs from a large reservoir through Clayton Dewandre height-control valves set to give direct response without delay.
The valves are mounted on triangular brackets at the rear, the lower ends of their actuating linkages being attached to the centres of transverse links. Check wires are fitted behind the air springs, and Woodhead telescopic dampers are interposed between the axle-carrying beams and the rear cross-member assembly.