THE TRAILER BOE JILT FOR THE JOB"
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A:FOUR-WHEELED trailer which may be used for several purposes is that type which has a body with a fixed roof and front boarding, also an intermediate floor. In addition to the corner pillars, there is a central standard on each side. The lower part of the body has drop sides and a tailboard, and the upper part, that is between the intermediate floor and roof, has hinged doors. There is a pair of doors between the central standard and each corner pillar, and a pair of doors at the hack,
This type of trailer may be used for moderate-size packages, in which case the intermediate floor is retained in position. If the items of the load be bulky, then this upper floor may be removed entirely, or one or more sections as required.
The floor is made in four sections, each one consisting of an assembly of boards, battened on the underside. It is supported on cross-bars which have a peg at each end and register with a slot in the base of a bracket which is bolted to the side rail. This is bolted on the inside of the pillars and standard. The battens of the floor sections are so arranged that they lie closely on each side of a cross-bar and thus keep the section in 'place.
When the upper floor is not wanted, and the floor sections and cross-bars have been removed, the side rails with their brackets may be left in position, if the protection of the upper doors be required. Otherwise, the side rails are unbolted and the doors lifted off their hinges. In other instances the drop sides are removed, also the tailboard if necessary. The roof has a boarded surround so that it is available for additional loading.
The Ambulance Trailer.
More attention has been given, recently, to the construction of the ambulance as a two or four-wheeled
trailer. If it be of the latter type, then it may be designed to have two or four stretchers and accommodation for attendants or sitting patients.
ambulance has a door on each side with a drop light, also a fixed window between the door and the front of the trailer. This part of the trailer may also be reached by a single step from the interior. Here there is a front cross-wise seat facing the rear. The stretcher compartment has twc half-drop windows on each side.
A four-wheeled trailer with small wheels has certain advantages as a travelling shop. In this instance, the wheels are only 1 ft. 9 ins, in diameter. The main portion of the floor, behind the turntable mounting, is made as low as possible, thus allowing the serving counter to be a convenient height for customers, and the counter is restricted to this part The front part, which may be used for cooking and for the preparation of food, is reached by a single step and has panelled sides with louvres at the top, also a small window. On the off side there are shelves above the waist level, with cupboards below. These cupboards have sliding doors, so that no obstruction of the gangway is caused by open doors. There is a back door with a drop light and access is facilitated by the incorporation of a sunken step inside the body.
If the roof be a plain domed one and not of the clerestory pattern, then it is fitted with three flap-type
ventilators. Louvres may be inserted in the front, in addition to the side ones already mentioned. Natural lighting may be increased by the insertion of curved cant-rail windows of toughened glass.
As the articulated six-wheeler may be built up to an overall length of 33 ft., this type of vehicle offers good scope for the mounting of a semitrailer attachment of maximum size. As a rule, the front of the body is
rounded so that it may be mounted closely to the rear of the cab.
When a van body has 9 ft. or more of headroom and the body is about 7 ft. wide, the Luton-type front may have a cubic capacity of at least 80 ft. It is suggested that this extra accommodation might be made available with advantage on the articulated six-wheeler.
Any such structure, having to move independently of the cab roof; would require a clearance of 8 ins. or 9 ins, in order to allow for the relative position taken up by tractor and tra,iler when negotiating humobacked bridges and similar road ....on tours. '
There has been an increase, 7.-ecently, in the number of light twowheeled trailers used by tradesmen for house-to-house deliveries. A useful design for a baker and confer. tioner consists of a box body with a roller shutter on each side, towards the front. This compartment is fitted with runners for sliding trays, and each pair of runners accommodates two trays.
The rear and larger portion of the trailer has a roller shutter opening above a dwarf tailboard. The lower part is for bread and the upper part has cross-bars which support central stanchions, so that runners may be fitted for trays, thus providing a ready means for separating brown and fancy bread from the other part of the load.