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By H. SCOTT HALL, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.R.T.E.

5th September 1947
Page 36
Page 37
Page 36, 5th September 1947 — By H. SCOTT HALL, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.R.T.E.
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EXPERIENC

the Quid to Chassis Selection

IT has often occurred to me that to be a successful haulage contractor it 's necessary to learn a good deal about the business of those for whom goods are carried. The same thought came into my mind again recently when having a chat with Mr. S. N. Slawson, haulier, of Rothley, Leicestershire.

Mr. Slawson's beginnings in his business had to do with the cartage of ashes. Among the purposes for which those ashes were used was that of laying bowling greens and tennis courts, and he learned much about the subject, over many years.

Other useful information has been acquired in the same way, as the business developed and as traffic other than ashes began to be carried. For example,' he has discovered that stone chippings from the Leicester area are particularly valuable as road-making material and are carried long distances to be used for that purpose. A considerable bulk of his traffic is carrying tarmacadam chipping, from Bradgate quarry, Leicestershire to as far' away as Essex and the Home Counties.

Learning the Hard Way

Something else which Mr. Slawson learned, in the hard way, was how to select the type of vehicle best suited for the traffic which he carries.

He commenced business in January, 1933, with a Fordson 2-tonner, and bought a second after two years. It was while operating these vehicles that he was almost entirely concerned with the conveyance of ash, which he purchased from generating stations, factories, and the like, and sold to county councils and corporations in the area for roadmaking purposes, also to those concerns which specialized in the laying of tennis courts and bowling greens.

The second of Mr. Slawson's vehicles met with an extraordinary fate. It was tipping into a deep quarry hole when it fell backwards over the tip (the driver, fortunately, was able to jump clear), and it has never been recovered. Incidentally, he received no compensation from the insurance company, which claimed that thiwas " an Act of God 4!

From then until the end of the war, Mr. Slawson's progress was, as has to be admitted, not too rapid, and the maximum number of vehicles at any one time, I gather, was three. During that time he had a Bedford 5-tonner

converted to oil by the incorporation of Perkins P6 engine. The performance of that vehicle determined that in the future oil and not petrol would be the source of power for his vehicles.

This converted Bedfold was purchased in November, 1944, and sold during the week when I visited Mr. Slawson—that is, the week ending August 9 During those two-and-a-half years it had been worked very hard, 1 was told, gave little trouble, and cost very little to -traintain.

The next step towards the building up of a fleet was the purchase of another small haulier's business immediately after the war. Concurrently, Mr. Slawson took over on trial a prototype of the current Vulcan petrol-engined 5-6-tonner, and gave it a thorough test. He checked its general design and decided that he would standardize on that mike of vehicle, provided he could obtain it with an oil instead of a petrol' unit.

That was the foundation of his fleet as it is to-day, consisting of 11 vehicles, of which eight are Vulcan oilers. It is intended that the all-Vulcan fleet will comprise 18 or 20 vehicles as soon as delivery can be taken.

Of the Ii vehicles at present in use, two are on A licences, four on B licences, and the remainder on Contract-A licences. Ashes are still carried but the principal traffics are coal, bricks and tarmacadam chippings. The ashes are for local distribution, coal for mediumto long-distance haulage, with bricks as return loads, and tarmacadam chippings as one-way traffic to the Home Counties.

All the vehicles are tippers and all are equipped with 36-in. by 8-in. tyres. The average mileage of each vehicle is upwards of 1,000 per week and the fuel consumption of the vehicle engaged on the normal haulage of the above-named materials averages 17 m.p.g., the loads being at all times about 6 tons. Mr. Slawson tells me that he gets an average of 40,000 miles per set of tyres, and has recently noted a tendency for even that mileage to increase.

Most of the maintenance is carried out by a mechanic, who operates under somewhat difficult conditions, as the business has outtrown the premises. These conditions will be improved as soon as the necessary steel and other materials can be obtained for building new shops, plans for which are already in existence.

Attractive Colouring

Something of the good appearance of the vehicles may be gathered from the accompanying illustrations, but it should be added that the colouring is a deep blue,, with lettering and lining in gold. The vehicle, are painted and varnished and lettered annually in Mr. Slawson's own shops.

One of the most recent vehicles, all of which have been supplied by Ford and Slater, Ltd.. is aluminium bodied and is similar to that described in "The Commercial Motor" dated May 23. It may be worth while to record that, by the use of these lightweight materials, it has been made possible to fit 36-in. by 8-in. tyres, and at the same time keep within the limit of 3 tons unladen weight.

' The actual saving is at least half a ton in dead weight and an increase in payload from 6 to 61 tons is obtained without over-stressing the chassis or

overloading the tyres. Considerable economy is likely to result from the adoption of this construction, although in this particular case the vehicle has not been sufficiently long in service for any actual figures to be available. It was purchased on June 20.

Most unexpectedly, I found that Mr. Slawson uses one of his tipping vehic* as a horsebox. Without further explanation this would seem to be absurd; or almost impossible, but he has devised a method of converting one of his tippers so that it becomes a comfortable and convenient horsebox, which regu oarries four ponies. The bodywork comprises sides and headboard, with vertical stanchions which fit into prepared slots in the bodywork of the tipper and are bolted in place. The roof is separate and is similarly attached to the sides of the horsebox. Twin springbalanced ramps are attached at the rear. The vehicle is adequately ventilated and lighted.

In the comfortable and commodious vehicle thus constructed, four ponies are regularly carried to meetings and gymkhanas as far away from Leicester as Blackpool and Preston in the north (a round journey of 265 miles), London in the south (230 miles), Nottingham (244 miles) and again to places as near as

Uppingham, involving a round journey of only 54 miles. Altogether in the 1946 season this vehicle covered 3,680 miles as a horsebox, in addition to its normal 800 to 1,000 miles per week carrying ashes, stones, bricks, coal, etc.

The four ponies carried include one belonging to Mr. Slawson's six-year-old daughter June (who already has several blue and red rosettes to her credit) and three belonging to a friend of Mr. Slawson.

In the 1946 season from April 22 to October 5, 27 meetings were attended, with outstanding success. The prizes included 17 firsts, 13 seconds, 10 thirds, and five fourths.

Incidentally, the use of this vehicle for the purpose indicated is a private one and is not for hire and reward.

It so happened that separate figures had been kept for the fuel consumption of the vehicle when engaged as a horsebox. For the 3,680 miles, 193 gallons of fuel oil were consumed, which is equivalent to a fraction more than 19 m.p.g. This is interesting as going again to prove the fuel economy of the oil-engined vehicle on light loads, as this 19 m.p.g. compares with 17 m.p.g. when the vehicles are carrying 6 to 61 tons.


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