HINTS FOR HAULIERS.
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An Analysis of Maintenance Costs and of the Best Method of Making Provision for Them.
IHAVE now, in a brief series of special contributions, touched on all the five items of running costs, namely : fuel, lubricants, maintenance, tyres and depreciation. I have not, however, finished with them, nor brought the investigation of all of them to the same level. Fuel and lubricants are the only ones with which I have finished, for the time being. With regard to them I have indicated how complete records of expenditure may be kept, with a view to ascertaining, accurately, how much the vehicle is costing for those two items. Maintenance has merely been dealt -with in part, for I have only suggested a means of keeping check en the sundries which are bought from day to day, sundries such as odd sparking plugs, cleaning rags, paraffin, lamp requisites and the like. But maintenance also covers a big annual item—the cost of an overhaul—and I have as yet made no reference to that.
Now, as the small owner will expect to wait at least a year before he has any expenditure to face under the head of overhaul, it follows that we must, at first, treat the possibility of expenditure on that account in the same way As we have that in connection with tyres and with depreciation ; that is to say, we must set apart a small sum each week or each month, according to the mileage which has been run in the period considered. The great question is, of course, how much must we reckon? Naturally, the amount will vary according to the size and capacity of the vehicle ; we all know that, but it will also vary very considerably according to the care and foresight of the driver ; only some of us know that, or, at least, there are those who will not. admit it. It is, however, very true. The least expensive lorry to maintain is that which is driven by its owner, he being at the same time a man with a more or less " mechanical " mind. It is but rarely that a paid driver takes so much care of his machine, although there certainly are cases where the driver treats his machine as if it were human. In such eases, the annual overhaul is little more than a nominal affair. It is vehicles which are looked after in this fashion that provide the makers with such splendid testimonials as to the extensive mileages which they cover at phenomenally low costs for repairs.
Method in Reducing the Cost of Overhaul.
At the other end of the scale there are machines which are driven all out from one week's end to week's end, from one year's end to another, without a thought for their constitutions ; without a thought, in many eases, even for the essential lubrication of many of their parts, for the occasional tightening of nuts, or for essential adjustments. The engine gets its daily dose of oil, at the same time that the petrol tank gets its daily dose of petrol, and that is almost all.
Now, a medium-sized lorry, treated in accordance with the latter method, may easily cost 2100 to
overhaul. It will have to be stripped right down by the makers, and have innumerable new bushes and parts, all of which have failed, mainly through lack of lubrication, and also on account of the excessive vibration due to hard driving and the indirect effect of loose bolts and fittings. On a mileage of 24,000 per annum, 2100 for an annual overhaul is equivalent to a penny a mile, which penny must be added to the expenditure already incurred during the year for marling replacements. It is the prevalence of these drivers which brings the average maintenance cost of a heavy lorry up to twopence a mile.
By way of contrast let us look at the other man, who will have kept all his bushes, even the pins of his brake gear, well lubricated, and he will not have forgotten to oil the steering pivots or the spring shackles and pins. He will have driven carefully over the rough roads, and had an occasional eye to the bolts and nuts on the chassis, which nee-d the touch of a spanner from time to time. His gear-changing will have been done with circumspection, as also will his engagement of the clutch. He will 'almost invariably have brought his vehicle to a stop gradually, by closing the throttle in good time, needing only to touch the brakes over the last yard or so. His annual overhaul will be carried out piecemeal, by himself and not by the makers. He will have a look at the engine orie month, decarbonizing the cylinders, putting the piston rings right, grinding-in the valves, setting up the tappets, looking to the bearings, and so on. The next month he will have the gearbox down, making any little adjustments which may be required. The following week it may be the rear axle, and so on, each component part of the chassis having fair attention in its turn. His bill for an annual overhaul will be covered—and well covered—by a ten-pound note. He may not do such a big mileage during the year as his harum-scarum colleague ; probably about 18,000 will he his limit, which means that his maintenance charge per mile, on account of the annual overhaul, will be little more than an eighth of a penny, and the total, including all the sundries of which he has kept record, will not be a penny a mile.
Why the Haulier Must Keep Records.
It is these differences between one man and his fellow which make it so essential that each should keep his own record of expenditure. It is these wide variations from the " average " which make it so unwise for anyone, making out his charges, to rely entirely on average figures as a basis. It is precisely for this reason that I am trying to show how costs may easily be kept, so that each man may know his outgoings, and thus be in a position to reckon how much his incomings must be if he is to make the profit which he thinks he is making.
However, even the most careful and painstaking of drivers or driver-owners will not be able to eliminate the need for an overhaul some time. Crank pins and cylinders wear oval in the best regulated of motor vehicles ; gears and bushes become worn, and so on. It is, therefore, necessary to make provision against the day when a big expenditure under the head of maintenance becomes unavoidable. There are thus three items of running cost which involve the owner in the need for setting aside a certain, amount for each mile run, against the time when he needs the funds. ir he three are : —Depreciation, maintenance, and tyres. He must setapart, regularly, small RUMS which, when the time comes, will be available (1) for buying a new vehicle (this is the depreciation item), (2) for an overhaul (this is maintenance), and (3) for renewing the tyres.
The best way to record these three amounts is for the owner to make use of his bank pass book. Take Out the pass book each month for examination. There will be a sum entered in pencil on the left-hand page of the book as standing to his credit. (At least, I hope that will he the case.) Now assume that I am a haulage contractor who has only been in the
business a month. I take out my pass book at the beginning of May,and ascertain that I have 230 standing to my credit. (What a hope !) During the month my lorry has run 600 miles, say. I calculate the depreciation, according to the method given in the last article of this series, and reckon that I must set on one side lid. a mile for that, which is 23 2s. 6d. Aly tyres cost me -id. a mile, so that for their renewal I must put 21 17s. 6d. an one side for the first month. I am a fairly careful driver, and so think that ed. will ,cover my future expenditure on overhauls. For 600 miles that amounts to 12s. 6d. In the left-hand bottom corner of the left-hand page of my pass book I make a little pencil note as follows :— That tells me that I have only, as a matter of fact, 224 7s. 6d. which I may spend, the remainder being earmarked for the purposes specified. When June 1st comes along, and my second month is completed, I shall have a little more figuring to do. Suppose have run 800 -miles with my lorry, and the bank which, of course, takes no notice whatever of my little hieroglyphs in the pass book—tells me that my credit now stands at 252 105. 6d. (I should like to make it quite clear that this is entirely supposititious!) Depreciation for SOO miles at lid, a mile is 24 3s. 4d. Tyres at id. amount to 22 10s., and maintenance at id. is El Os. 10d. For June and future months/the headings in my little account at the left-hand side of my pass book will be Bear in mind that. the 252 10s. 6d. is the amount-of the crediton,current account at the bank. Of that, the 213 6s. 8d. is allocated for depreciation, tyres, and maintenance. The balance, 239 3s. lad., is available for ordinary expenses of living, etc.
After a time a little more complication enters into this account, but, for the time being, if every haulier who reads-this page and who has not got a system of his own will do as is suggested here, he will be on the right track. In subsequent articles I will deal with these complications, as well as with other items of expenditure which need recording and remembering.
A Problem for Readers.
I have a letter from a haulier correspondent drawing attention to the ridiculously low rates which are now being offered for contracts. He quotes an actual example of a rate offered him for the cartage of clinker, up to 50 tons a day, from Poplar to Wembley. I will not publish the rate in this article, reserving that pleasure for a later date. What I want 13 readers' opinions as to a fair charge to make. for this work. For the benefit of provincial hauliers who are not conversant with the whereabouts of these London districts, I may say that the distance one way is about 18 miles over good roads, but much of it through heavy trade. The clinker wctuld be loaded by hand at Poplar and tipped at Wembley-.
tHE SKOTCH.