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More cube can sweeten your operation

EFORE you make any major desion it's often a good idea to aye a chat with someone who's lade the same choice before )u. It's all very well saying you am n through experience, but )metimes you can learn rather lore quickly and cheaply irough someone else's expernce.

The decision to buy your first rawber is an ideal example of is philosophy; the chance to ilk to operators who are already sing drawbars is valuable.

With interest in drawbars runing high at the moment (start )unting the number you see on le motorway) due to the 'eight/volume ratio implicaens of the Armitage Report, the me is obviously ripe to take a rok at some of the operators 'ho run them.

We talked to two own-account Derators and two hauliers. hey have chosen drawbars for ifferent reasons, their operaens are diverse and just to )mplicate things, three of the )ur use demountsystems on leir outfits. It's not difficult to uess what Silentnight needs am its vehicles — volume. Allough we may struggle to love a mattress or Sven it's liefly because it's cumber)me, not heavy. The average 12.2m {40ft) boxvan semi-trailer fully-loaded with beds would have a payload of only four tons or so.

All the transport is based at the Silentnight factory in Barnoldswick near Colne in Lancashire, and deliveries are made from here to furniture stores all over the country. Beds are also delivered direct to houses in the case of sales made through mail-order catalogues.

Two-thirds of the 100-strong fleet are Dodge G20 tractive units, plated at 20 tons gcw. These pull 11.3m (37ft) box semi-trailers which give a usable cube of 69.4cum (2,450cuft). The rigids in the Silentnight fleet are maximum length 12.5-tonne gvw Bedford TKs with 9.1m (30ft) Vanplan box bodies giving a usable cube (allowing for the intrusion of rails, and so on) of 52.4cum (1,850cuft).

So neither the artics nor the rigids were small vehicles, but Silentnight still wanted yet more cube. It was transport consultant Trevor Windle from Halifax who approached the company and suggested drawbars. This was nearly two years ago and Silentnight commissioned him to carry out a feasibility study and then, having got the go-ahead, co-ordinate the prototype drawbar project.

Silentnight's transport and distribution manager Fred Short told me that he wanted an independent assessment of drawbars — he didn't want to rely on a package put together by a dealer.

Trevor Windle formed a committee with Fred Short and representatives from the company's technical and financial departments. Despite the poor reputation that committees have, the final drawbar design they arrived at is far from a misconceived compromise.

Much of the design's success

stems from Trevor's refusal accept manufacturers' esta lished specifications and st6. dards; he told them what wanted and left them to deci whether or not they could do The main effort was centr around getting the chassis de height down to the absoli minimum, giving that extra cu for the same overall height.

This involved a lot of an twisting and took time — t prototype drawbar took ni months to materialise and h been on the road for a year no Another five identical drawbz were subsequently ordered a arrived in December.

The recipe Silentnight settl on is based on the Dodge 013 rigid chassis with the Perkins 540 engine producing a healt 128kW (172bhp). The Dodge plated at 20 tons gtw in drawL form and Silentnight has t longest wheelbase option 5,210mm (205in) which giv room for a 7.3m (24ft) demot, table box body.

Primrose of Blackburn w responsible for the drawb trailer which also accepts t same demountable bodir Cartwright of Altrincham bu all the demountable box! and there are 24 in all for t six drawbars. The demou equipment finally chosen by Chesterfield-based AL Demountable Systems al was specially develop, by Trevor Windle ar

Abel for the pro je Abel is now marketing as its low-profile syste

The deck height on both the eller and the drawbar rigid is nly 940mm (37in) compared rith a more usual 1,070mm )2in). Dodge managed to trim 3verat inches off the height of le G1313 chassis and this was ppiemented by fitting lowrofile Michelin tyres.

The low profiles save height in vo ways; because of their smal:r radius which is compensated y a different rear axle ratio, and ecause low profiles cause less )1I and sway, which means rheel clearances can be reuced.

Primrose achieved the same eck height on the drawbar .ailer by using a very shallow hassis frame which is made rider than normal to keep the trength satisfactory.

Finally, Abel and Trevor Vindle developed the demount 'stem to fit in between the hassis longitudinals rather than eing part of the chassis rails so at the body can locate directly ) the chassis as in a fixed body ehicle. This eliminates the light height penalty normally ssociated with demounts.

All these height saving dodges How the Silentnight drawbars have 2.89m (9ft Gin) of internal eight.

The company has been even lore crafty at maximising the ....ngth limit. Trevor Windle and Tom Pickles of Primrose checked the Construction and Use Regulations 1978 and found that a demount body can be defined as part of the load and so can overhang the chassis slightly to a maximum overall length of 18.3m. So the Silentnight drawbar chassis is 18m long, but with the demount bodies in place the outfit totals 18.3m.

The A-bar coupling pin on the drawbar rigid is recessed or underslung beneath the chassis by 0.6m (2ft) so the A-bar itself is long, although the gap between the bodies is minimised. This has the effect of maximising the body length but keeping the trailer and truck further apart during tight manoeuvring because of the larger arc prescribed by the long A-bar.

Clever stuff.

Originally, Silentnight ran the outfit with a 1.4m (4ft Gin) gap between the bodies which proved not quite large enough for tight shunting, so the easily adjustable A-bar was extended to give 1.5m (5ft) spacing.

A final innovation on the Silentnight drawbars is the roofmounted sleeper. Because the vehicles cover the whole country from Barnoldswick, sleepers are essential, but Silentnight didn't want to reduce the body space by having the sleeper behind the cab, so on top it went.

It's built by Cartwright and serves as a kind of wind deflector function though not the ideal size or angle. It is, of course, equipped with a Silentnig mattress!

Cost of each drawbar, inch. ing four demount boxes £36,000.

As a complete outfit the Silo night drawbars are very impro sive, each offering a volumino 102cum (3,600cuft). This is most twice the capacity of t Bedford TK rigids and 47 r cent more than the old artics.

Translated into operatior terms, this means that Site night can move more beds once in one vehicle. The co pany estimates that tl drawbars save over 30 per cc of the trunk mileage and 30 r cent of the trunk time. And sir trunk mileage is nearly 90 r cent of the total mileage Silentnight, that's substant saving.

Fully laden, it has a gross tn weight of about 17.5 tonnes, the Perkins V8 is nicely on top the job without being wastefu over-specified. But with such big outfit there's a lot of air displace and fuel consumpti averages out at 28.25 lit/1001 (10mpg).

Although all six dravvbE have performed well, Silentnir has not yet decided whether not to go 100 per cent drawbar will decide one way or the off in nine months time. Why th and not now?

Because later this month t company will be putting its Or mised Trailer on the road. This another super-cube that Sile ght and Primrose have been Drking on, based on a 12.2m Mt) artic semi-trailer and incor)rating more height-saving atures a stepped axle, a shalw chassis frame, and inimum clearances on the leel boxes.

Primrose has even built the air reks into the tubular trailer lassis cross-members. The inplan body on the Optimised ailer is smooth-sided inside id out and is equipped with a escopic ladder for reaching a top of the load.

This combination of features ves the Optimised Trailer the assive cube of 1 0 5cum .700cuft), directly comparable the drawbars.

Depending on trials over the ming months, Silentnight will oose between this Optimised ailer or the drawbars. At the oment there are two schools thought within the company. One believes that the combiIlion of Optimised Trailers for inking and rigids for local Drk is the best answer, operaanally and financially. The her — notably Trevor Windle advocates a 100 per cent awbar fleet.

"The drawbars can do everying; coupled up they do the inking and running solo they n do local work. Plus they've It the advantages of the deaunts with bodies being pre

low: Silentnight has a ratio of Jr demount boxes to one drawbar tfit and feels this is about right.

loaded. With drawbars you run a completely standardised fleet which must be more sensible. Why run different vehicles for different jobs?"

Silentnight will answer that question when its Optimised Trailer has had a fair trial. May the best configuration win.

In complete contrast to Silentnight, Sandoz Products of Horsforth near Leeds is not at all obsessed with cube. This Swissbased international company uses a drawbar to carry its chemical products such as dyes, detergents and softening agents for the textile industry all round the country. It was group distribution manager Sidney Donaldson who bought the drawbar in early 1979. The towing vehicle is a Ford D2817 with the Special Vehicle Option designed specifically for drawbar use with a plate gross train weight of 28 tons. This has the Ford 8.8-litre V8 engine, developing net 125kW (168bhp).

The drawbar trailer itself is a 6.7m (22ft) Crane Fruehauf skeletal with air suspension and the CF Pengco demount system. Coupling is by VBG. Swop bodies for the outfit are 6.7m (22ft) long, either flat or boxvan.

"Ideally I would have liked 7.3m (24ff) bodies so that IA could make the full 18m limit Sidney Donaldson told me. "Be we have had 22ft demounts hei for about ten years so we wei tied to that length."

Last year Sandoz bou9t another drawbar rigid, a Perkin! engined Leyland Mastiff als plated at 28 tons gtw. Howev( the company still has just th one drawbar trailer so either th Ford or the Mastiff is operatin as a rigid for half the time.

Though not needing a lot ( volume on the vehicles, Sanck Products decided to try th drawbar because of the open tional flexibility it offers. This flexibility in the type of load th4 can be carried and in the move ments it can perform.

Sandoz has the problem the its products come in a variety ( different forms — 45 gallo drums, large plastic containei called polytanks and in a five tonne tank. To mix these type of loads —and in the right ord( of drop — was difficult. With th drawbar, the tank can go on th flat body on the drawbar traile while the drums go in the bc body on the towing vehicle.

A non-delivery doesn't caus problems since both loads ar equally accessible. So th drawbar/demount combinatio gives Sandoz two vehicles i one.

The drawbar also has journe planning benefits. Sandoz Pr( ducts' drawbars are usuall making just three or four drov but with many miles in betweer For example, after leavin Horsforth the first drop may b in Leicester with-the other two ( three in London.

So the first drop goes on the ailer and having delivered it le Sandoz driver will leave the eller in Leicester, making the ther deliveries with the rawbar rigid alone and picking p the trailer on the return jouray.

This saves hauling the trailer eedlessly, reducing fuel conimption, time, effort and wear id tear on the trailer. Sidney onaldson's records show that he Mastiff returns 1.4511t/100km (8.2mpg) on averge while coupled, but this is cely to be nearer .25.681it/km lmpg) when running solo, so ropping the trailer where posble is a worthwhile exercise on ie drawbar and one where it ;ores over the artic.

The Mastiff's regular driver at Divers told me that the conguration and geometry of the rawbar seems to be right be)use he can detect no suspicion I snaking or instability and iunting is OK once you've got ie knack.

Sidney Donaldson can see orn his office window the wiss drawbar outfits pulling rto the yard and reversing onto ie bank, spot on at the first at!mpt.

"I'm sure that an experienced river can put a drawbar into lore places than an artic. We ist lag behind a little in this ountry when it comes to rawbars which is why people 'ink they're so unwieldy!:

On non-motorway roads rawbar outfits are generally istricted to 30mph, rather than se 40mph of artics and rigids ver 11/2 tons unladen weight. Ithough the Government has greed in principle to raising the rawbar limit to 40mph, the ecessary legislation has never een passed.

Is this a real deterrent for rawbar operators?

"Not to us", replied Sidney onaldson, "most of our runing is on the motorway so 'e're not unduly affected. But iorally I think drawbars ought be allowed to do the same Deed as artics on all roads."

He also made a valuable point ten he said that drawbars are atter than artics during a receson. Because the outfit can run two sizes — coupled or solo — 's easily tailored to the level of ,ork. So when loads are lighter ou can run the drawbar solo ■ hich is more economical (and !se embarrassing) than using n artic and 40ft trailer with ?Nen pallets tucked away at the

If the economy picks up and Sidney Donaldson is in the fortunate position of needing another vehicle, he plans on buying another drawbar trailer as a first priority so that both the Ford D2817 and the Mastiff are taking maximum advantage of the drawbar configuration.

Although there are relatively few own-account operators in this country with drawbars, there are even fewer hauliers that use them. But leaving Sandoz and heading back down the M1 I visited a haulage company that is very much tuned into the drawbar wavelength and has been so for some time.

Tuffnells of Sheffield is involved in distribution and also operates a general parcels service throughout the Midlands and the North. Its fleet numbers 70, spread over six depots.

Director and general manager Ian Lindsay told me that Tuffnells were among the first parcels carriers to experiment with drawbars, getting their first one way back in 1973.

The company has never run artics. There are now eight drawbar vehicles in the fleet — two Guy Big ...Ks, two Seddon Atkinson 400s and four Dodge G16s. All are used on parcels work. They are fitted with Dobson demount equipment and 7.3m 24ft) box bodies, and pull York or Crane Fruehauf trailers which are also fitted with the same demount box bodies.

Despite having eight drawbar trucks, Tuffnells have only five drawbar trailers. This apparent shortage of trailers is deliberate and is designed to allow for trucks being VOR for servicing, repairs and breakdowns.

Tuffnells' managing director David Allen made the original decision to go for drawbars; quite a brave move back in 1973.

"Their flexibility attracted me. -We could run them coupled up for the parcels night trunking and then run them as rigids for collection and delivery work. One vehicle, two jobs."

Their use as solo rigids on parcel collection and delivery work lead to a switch from the heavier Seddon Atkinson 400 as a base for the drawbar to the Dod G16. Like most parcels carrii Tufnells are transporting a lot fresh air and found that the Si don Atkinson with the drawl trailers coped with the trunki almost too easily but were rail unwieldy on local collection a delivery work.

So the newest drawbar outt are on Dodge G16 chassis plal at 26 tons gtw which is enou for trunking. Operating as a gid, the Dodges revert to eaE manageable 16-tonners a handle the collection and dis bution side of the parcels ope tion equally well.

The other major advantage the drawbar/demount recipe the ability to pre-load. The spi demount box body can loaded through the day the vehicle is on the road ea ing a living. This can spc turnround times and reduce 1 inevitable "rush hour" wl^ most drivers make their v. back to the depot and are reloi ing for the next day.

Although this is primarily feature of the demount, its USE conjunction with the drawl enables the same principle to extended to the trunkers, In sheer volume terms, T fnells' drawbars are not parti larly large, offering 25ct (883cuft) in each of the t' boxes. This underlines wl David Allen said about the fie bility advantage of drawbi over artics — he could he.

ated for an artic that offered ore cube.

Emphasised David Allen: Ve've never had an artic and I in't see us getting one. The 'awbars are ideal. I'm sure her parcels carriers would use em but for the fact that they've ane too far down the artic path Id can't turn back."

All three drawbar operators entioned so far are using deountable bodies on the !hides. But drawbars can still

viable as a straightforward J ck and trailer.

CWP of Greenwich operates st such an outfit. It's a small )ulage company specialising in ternational work to Germany, rance and the Benelux )untries.

Until recently CWP had been a 10 per cent artic fleet with four !.anias, three Ford Transconti:Ma's, and a Volvo F89 plus 11 Tni-trailers. But in August last ler the company took delivery its first drawbar outfit and it's site some vehicle.

It's on a Ford Transcontinental 135 6x4 chassis which has the immins NTE 370 engine de!loping a net 259kW (345bhp). jilt onto this chassis is a 7.5m 4ft 8in) tilt body by Collin 'ansport Design of Gillingham. le Crane Fruehauf trailer chass has a slightly shorter tilt body 6.5m (21ft 4in).

In terms of cube the outfit oks deceptively small because the low mounting of the body comparison with the tall 'anscontinental cab. In fact it is irly voluminous with 45cum ,590cuft) in the truck body and lather 35cum (1,236cuft) in the ailer, giving roughly the same total cube as the average supercube step-frame tilt.

CWP director Derek Protheroe told me the company has. operated super-cubes in the past, but dislikes them because of recurrent tyre problems. This can happen with super-cubes because their small tyre size can lead to overheating if the pressures are not maintained at the recommended level, which is generally high and so requires patience to achieve with some airlines.

The drawbar is in the colours of European Feightbus, a daily groupage service offered by Clifton Sadler, one of CWP's customers. It normally operates on the German route, because, as Derek Protheroe pointed out, drawbars are particularly popular in Germany and many German agents prefer it if hauliers can offer this type of vehicle.

CWP also finds the drawbar is useful for onward deliveries, dropping the trailer at the first delivery and continuing with just the truck. It was for this reason that CWP specified the 6x4 chassis with the larger body so that the truck is still a sizeable vehicle for running solo.

At first CWP found that the truck and trailer could occasionally touch when manoeuvring but this was solved by fitting an A-bar 229mm (9in) longer than the original. This keeps the outfit just within the 18m overall limit, though Derek would ideally like to be able to go to Scandinavian lengths for maximum volume.

He says that the outfit shows no tendency to snake or sway, but the trailer is sometimes inclined to bounce on some surfaces, which Derek believes could be due to the trailer-axle spacing. CWP drivers like the drawbar outfit but find that it can at first be a little confusing switching from drawbar to artic or vice versa.

CWP is generally satisfied with its drawbar and Derek Protheroe commented that it has had the hidden benefit of actually generating business — "agents remember us because of it and if there's a particularly large load then we're the first people they think of".

Sadly, Derek Protheroe was another who expressed the opinion that this country lags behind in drawbars, both technically and operationally. "We ought to take a leaf out of the Germans' book," he said.

Summarising these operators' experiences a number of interesting points emerge.

• Drawbars don't just offer sheer volume — their flexibility is equally important.

• A drawbar can be two vehicles in one — the trailer doesn't have to have the same type of body as the truck.

• Drawbars are ideally suited to double-shifting, operating coupled-up during the night as trunkers and running the truck solo during the day on local distribution.

• It's often desirable to have nore drawbar trucks then drawbar trailers — the unit is

more likely to be off the road fl servicing. And a spare truck CE work as a rigid whereas a spa trailer lies idle.

• Drawbars and demounts E together like a horse and ca riage. Both systems work ind pendently but together thE benefits are multiplied rath, than added.

• If you're looking for maximo cube from your drawbar thE follow Silentnight's examp and utilise the 18.3m demou "loophole".

• Drawbars aren't as clumsy they look when it comes to m noeuvring, as long as the A-b. length is right and drivers a experienced.

• None of the operators r ported any stability problen with drawbars.

• If you're not near a motorm at both ends of the journey thE the 30mph drawbar speed lirr could be a real problem.

• It's difficult to assess acci rately the costs and economiE of drawbars in comparison wi' artics — none of the operato could be certain and it's ye much complicated by the d mounts. It's likely that tl-• drawbar will initially be more e pensive than the artic, but properly and fully utilised tf drawbar's operating economie seem to more than adequate compensate for this.

• Great Britain isn't as switch( on to the drawbar as are or Continental partners. Only la month the Greater Londo Council reiterated its intention 1 ban drawbars throughout tt GLC area. It's just waiting for tf completion of the round-Londc M25.

• Drawbars are not going eni rely unnoticed. The Armitac Report did briefly mention thei and concluded: "The Depar ment of Transport should mor tor the use of drawbar combin tions."