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CM'S Ace is showcase for safety in road transport

7th April 1984, Page 67
7th April 1984
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 67, 7th April 1984 — CM'S Ace is showcase for safety in road transport
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THE 1984 Commercial Motor Accessories and Components Exhibition at Wembley last week was even more successful than our show last year. The change of venue to the Wembley Conference Centre gained enthusiastic approval from exhibitors and visitors alike, and in spite of London Transport strikes and rainy weather, by 11am on the first day visitors — some buying, all looking — were streaming around the 108 trade stands.

By the time the doors closed at 4pm on Friday more than 2,250 people had seen Ace. Many of those who came also took the opportunity to see the New Motor Trader Show next door to Ace run by CM's sister magazine Motor Trader.

Our visitors were judged by the exhibitors to be a knowledgeable lot, mainly with potential transport purchasing power; many of them had attended Ace at its inauguration last year.

All those who have recently critised the road haulage industry would certainly have benefited from a visit to Ace, for safety equipment played a prominent part in the displays which included not only equipment currently required by law such as side and rear underrun guards, but also spray-suppression devices, reversing alarms, tyrepressure safety indicators, anti-jack-knife units, anti-lock braking systems, road-speed limiters and brake-wear indi 1 Intended for light vans, pickups and light commercials, Lucas Service's Swinglift and Foldaway electrically operated vehicle-mounted cranes are produced by Penny Hydraulics, and can be run off either a 12 or 24 volt power supply. Available in 363, 545, and 725kg (800, 1,200 and 1,600Ib) lifting capacities, both cranes provide a good answer to the latest Health and Safety recommendations of 15.8kg (351b) per man lifting weight.

Maximum boom extension on the Swinglift is 914mm (361n) while the Foldaway can be extended to 1,574mm (62in). Price for a 12v 363kg (8001b) capacity van-mounted Swinglift is £662 while a 24v 726kg (1,6001b) capacity Foldaway costs £1,115.

2 Shown for the first time at Ace (CM March 24) the Davies Magnet air-operated remote control fifth-wheel coupling is seen here fitted to the company's TJ3A fifth-wheel unit, and will be offered as an option on all its standard 2in kingpin fifth-wheels or as a separate conversion. Davies Magnet believes this device will be particularly applicable in food transport, because drivers will be able to avoid getting their clothes dirty when uncoupling trailers.

In order to release the coupl

ing, an extra female air connector suspended from the rear gantry is pressed on to the vehicle's emergency (red) air supply. The connector cannot be left attached to the air supply and the coupling jaws close up normally when another trailer is coupled. The air-operated conversion adds 14kg (30.861b) to the fifth-wheel weight and £85 on the price of a manually operated unit.

3 F & S equipment now offers an Ettco-tyre pressure monitor for tractive unit and rigid steering single tyres and super-single trailer tyres in addition to its twin-wheeled equalisation unit seen at last year's Ace.

Price for a set of two single tyre-pressure indicators is £51 while a set of two indicator/equallisers for twin wheels costs £120. The gauges are available in pre-set calibrated pressures from 7 0-140psi, and use a simple, visible green indicator to show air loss. 4 As an addition to its existing range of German-made Engler trailer Hubodometers, Jost has produced its own recording unit designed to overcome the width clearance problems on conventional 52mm (2.04in) wide hubodo meters when fitted to shallow, offset super-single wheels.

Available for all single, tandem, and tri-axle trailers in either mile or kilometre graduations through trailer manufacturers, the 20mm (0.78in) wide Jost hubodometer consists of a ballbearing bob weight, located in the unit by springs, which drives the recording gear mechanism. A ratchet design ensures that mileage cannot be rewound, even when reversing the trailer. List price is approximately £50.

5 Better known for its range of vehicle marker signs, Stemfast also assembles trailer axles, using components sourced from EEC countries. New products for Ace include its Eurocoil highspecification trailer air-coupling which retails at £2.75 as well as new trailer brake linings and chambers sold with built-in mounting brackets. 6 Econocruise is planning to extend its speed-limiter product range with an electronic control unit for light vans and trucks, and pre-production models are already in use with a light vehicle operator.

Speed signals are taken from the vehicle's speedometer by magnetic induction and transmitted to an electric motor actuator/controller. When the accelerator pedal is fully depressed, a collapsible link on the carburettor adjusts the throttle till the correct speed setting is reached. Econocruise claims that when the unit is fitted to a swb 2.0-litre Transit, substantial reductions are achieved in fuel consumption. With a throttle set for a maximum 88.5km/h (55mph) up to 9.19 lit/100km (31mpg) can be returned.

7 For those traditional operators who still prefer cast steel fifthwheels, Dayton-Walther has launched a high-grade cast steel SJ-IV unit using the same Trulok mechanism as in its pressedsteel fifth-wheel couplings. At present the cast units will be shipped in from America, but Dayton-Walther hopes to begin production of cast couplings in the UK soon.

The weight of the unit is 144kg (3171b) compared to 114kg (251Ib) for a non-sliding pressed steel coupling. The cost of buying a cast fifth-wheel new is approximately £340.

Fifth-wheel sub-frame downplating kits for Volvo, Scania and Mercedes-Benz can also be supplied by Dayton Walther.

8 Dayton-Walther's lightweight aluminium cat-walk and steps costs £126 and comes complete with fitting brackets, although the rear air coupling gantry shown is not included. The walkway has an open tread, antislip surface and embodies additional strengthening bars to eliminate the problems of sideoverhang bending. Overall weight for the catwalk and steps is 13kg (28.81b).

9 Another twin-wheel tyrepressure indicator gauge and equaliser, this time from valve specialist Schrader. The gauges are available in four pressure standard settings of 60, 90, 100, and 110psi; it displays a red motif for under inflation, green for correct pressure and yellow for over inflation. Cost for a pair of twin-wheeled gauges will be around £150.

10 The Karrier Motors Industrial Sales Division sells the company's production-line components to external customers such as specialist vehicle manufacturers Shelvoke Dempster, Dennis and Avia-Lift, and is making its first appearance at Ace. Since its inauguration two years ago the division has gained sales in excess of rim.

As well as power-train components such as axles and gearboxes, Karrier supplies steering, suspension and wheel equipment. Shown on its stand was a AX2 5,850kg (12,8961b) design weight rear axle and a 3,566kg {7,8611b) design weight front axle along with a five-speed synchromesh gearbox with a torque rating of 542N m (4001bft).

11 and 12 Stronghold Trading Services has taken the tyrepressure warning-gauge concept one stage further. Its tyre risk advisor kit (TRAK) records any pressure loss on a battery-powered micro transmitter fitted to the vehicle wheel and transmits a radio signal at 40.68MHz to an in-cab receiver which sounds an alarm.

Midlands haulage and tanker operator S. Jones (Aldridge) has been carrying out development trials on super-single trailer tyres with the Italian TRAK equipment, which detects any tyre-pressure-drop below 80psi. Each wheel transmitter costs £16.50 and includes a small red light which indicates which wheel has lost pressure. The incab control centre retails at £52.50.

13 The latest bench-mounted diesel injector tester was shown by Kent-Moore. Capable of testing injectors for cracking pressure, seat condition and spray pattern, the 270 Universal tester comes with 12 and 14mm adaptors and has a dual bar/psi pressure scale. Cost for the 270 tester, which is equipped with a test fluid reservoir with filter element, is £95.

For prolonged injector testing in a confined space, Kent-Moore also supplies an aspirator unit in conjunction with the bench tester.

14 As well as its collapsible cartridge-operated Rearguard underrun bumper, T1 Tube Products also supplies vehicle and trailer sideguard kits for welded or clamped fitment. Conforming to C & U Regulations 46C and 0, the sideguards are available in three, four, five and six-metre rail lengths which

add 70, 90, 110 and 130kg (154, 198, 242 and 2861b) respectively to a vehicle's unladen weight.

Fitting time for a tri-axle trailer is approximately four hours and TI supplies a full range suitable for rigid, platform/skeletal trailers and demount vehicles.

15 The Kew industry range of Dutch high-pressure vehicle washers should meet most operators' needs. The Kew 1502V-66 unit on the left gives cold or hot pressure washing as well as steam cleaning and works off a single-phase 240v power supply. All KEW washers carry a two-year parts supply and are sold through 48 UK distributors.


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