A New Light Tractor and Truck
Page 58
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AT the Royal Agricultural Show, to be held next month at Derby, a machine that has not been seen before will be exhibited by Petters, Ltd., 'Westland Works, Yeovil. This is a threewheeled petrol-driven unit available as a truck or as a tractor. In either case it may be fitted with solid-rubber tyres or agricultural:type wheels, thus giving it quite a wide range of usefulness.
The power unit is the well-known Petter horizontally opposed twincylindered 4 h.p, air-cooled petrol engine. Transmissibn is by means of a roller chain and a clutch to a three-speed-andreverse gearbox, from which the drive is conveyed by a further duplex roller chain through a -differential gear to a countershaft. This countershaft extends across the chassis and carries two pinions which engage with internally toothed gear rings on each of the two main wheels.
The frame is constructed of heavysection angle steel so that it is both strong and rigid, and in truck form the machine has a wooden platform bolted up inside the frame members and affording a pay-load space 6 ft. 8 ins, long by 3 ft. 6 ins. wide, with a load capacity of 1 ton.
The truck is provided with two independent brakes, the foot brake operating on 10-in. brake drums on the two &nein wheels, whilst the hand brake acts upon a 5-in. drum mounted on the difftrential gear. The tractor, of course, is not intended to carry any load, but is suitable for drawing trailers, etc., carrying Pay-loads of between one ton and two tons, according to the road surface and the gradient. When equipped as a tractor, the main driving wheels are at the rear, whilst when fitted up as 'a truck the control position is reversed so that the driving wheels are at the front and steering is by means of a single wheel at the rear.
The tractor, equipped with agricultural wheels, is suitable for drawing rakes, harrows, sowing machines, etc. The price of the truck with rubber-tyred wheels is £115, or with agricultural wheels, £110. The tractor with rubbertyred wheels sells at 1105, or with agricultural wheels at £100.
The bore and stroke of the engine, which has aluminium pistons, are re
spectively 65 mm. and 82 mm., giving a capacity of 545 e.e. and an It.A.C, rating of 5.3 b.h.p. Ignition is by a B.T.H. magneto and a Solex self-starting carburetter is fitted. There is an efficient exhaust silencer and cooling is assisted by a centrifugal-type fan that is cast integrally with the flywheel. Lubrication is by pressure feed, incorporating a filter system. The three forward gears give approximately 4 m.p.h., 8 m.p.h. and 14 m.p.h. The road wheels are of cast iron, the diameter of the driving wheels being 2 ft. 6 ins., whilst that of the single steering wheel is 10 ins. The suspension of both front and rear wheels is carried out by means of coil springs. The steering gear is of sectorand-pinion type, and operates through a long horizontal rod, controlling 'by this means the rigid turntable of the single steerine wheel.