Special Bodies with Time-saving Fittings
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TLIE purchase of a chassis carrying a body specially built for a certain class of work is not an economic proposition unless enough work of that particular nature is obtainable. If not, the best•plan is to employ some system of body interchangeability, and to use a chassis or platform lorry upon which a special body can readily be mounted when required.
John Gibson and Son, Ltd., of Jameson Place, Leith, Edinburgh, has evolved a system in which four stands enable the body to be lifted with little effort and securely supported while the chassis is run out from below it, provided, if necessary, with another body, by similar means, and used for another job.
These stands are operated by levers, either directly or through the medium of a rack. Fittings are provided for the attachment to the body of the ends of the lifting levers, and the tops of the stands bear against steel channels on the body sides. We are informed that a large body mounted on four of these stands is absolutely safe, even in a gale of wind.
The Leyland Cub refuse wagon shown in an accompanying illustration is built for use in small towns, and serves as a platform-lorry for general purposes when the top portion is removed. It is equipped with tipping gear, roller shutters are provided for the windows, and the rear doors can be swung right round and fastened against the sides. By means of the stands one mall can easily remove and replace the top portion in a few minutes.
Another picture shows a double-deck cattle-float body, on stands, and two more a similar body for cattle and sheep on a Leyland Cub. Both are standard Gibson bodies and each is provided with an ingenious folding gangway or ramp.
This is constructed to fold up against the rear of the body when out of use, the main joint being midway along its length. The rear parts of the sides are hinged to the ramp, whilst the front .portions slide into the rear.
A pin locks the centre hinge when the ramp is extended, and the front end of the gangway can be raised to the upper-deck level by a cable and winch, which are also used to bring the ramp into the closed or folded position. A roller is provided at the end, where the ramp rests on the ground, upon which it runs while the ramp is being raised or lowered.
An example of the rapidity and ease with which these ramps can he operated is given by a recent_ incident of which we were told concerning a vehicle that caught fire. The doubledeck cattle wagon was fully loaded at the time, but the animals were extricated from the body without suffering the least harm. The work of removing the necessary pins, lowering the ramp, fixing the sides, etc., one minute. Another special Gibson body is an insulated fish van—a recent design intended mainly for long-distance work. This body has 14 doors—three each side, six in the top, and two at the rear, the object being to give access to any part of the contents without disturbing any other. They are 24 ins. thick and insulated.
Two ice boxes are fitted at the front of the body, air being allowed to pass around the ice and through holes in the partition between the body and the ice box. Its flow can be regulated by folding cowls. So effective is this cooling system that ice placed inside the body itself is said to remain unchanged for a week.