Answers to Queries.
Page 18
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Points for (Drivers and) Owners.
[2978] (Notts.).—You might possibly be interested in the handbook which is published by the Commercial Motor Users Association, price is. 9d., post free, although it is primarily addressed to drivers. The contents of the book are very informative, and we believe it contains a specimen log.
Their Petrol Supplies.
[2979] (North East).—We are glad to hear that your difficulties re petrol supplies are not so acute. If you are doing any work in the nature of conveying munitions, munition workers, or soldiers, we recommend you to write to the Ministry of Munitions, Armament Buildings, London, S.W., and to apply for an authority from them for priority of supply for whatever weekly quantity you feel justified in specifying.
Booking Their Fleet.
[2980] (Twenty-one).—We recommend an account , for each lorry in the impersonal ledger, and the debiting to that account of the items under at least the separate headings which are shown on our free sheet of average working costs. It is desirable, also, if possible, to arrange the book-keeping so that the earnings of each lorry may be brought to the credit of its account, as that course discloses at sight the degree of efficiency of the traffic side.
Van Using Headlights.
[2981] (Salop).—Your ignorance of the law is no excuse except that if you have to appear at the police court, either yourself or through your driver, it will enable you to assure the magistrates that your neglect was not wilful. We dealt at full length with the Lighting Regulations in our issue of the 6th January.
subsequent regulation extended the area, following a particular Zeppelin raid. You are wrong in thinking that headlights are allowed at all in any of the prescribed areas.
Converting a Touring Car to Carry Two Tons.
[2982] (Saving).—We think you will without any doubt have trofible with a converted touring car if you intend to carry anything like two tons on it—that is the invariable experience. The only advice we can .give you on the actual question you put with regard to tires, is that Rubberine filling has been found to be very useful indeed on war work, where it is absolutely essential that the machines, to which tires are at-.Cached, should not be put out of action on account of puncture. We also have had a number of cases brought to our notice which reveal satisfactory service for light commercial purposes. You certainly will not be able to use pneumatics on a two-tonner with anything like economy. If you use solids, you will break up your touring-car chassis more quickly than ever.
"Snowball" Resolution by County Councils.
[2983] (Owner).—We have returned the agendapaper which was covered with your letter. It will, we trust, be possible for,,you to speak, as an owner and a county councillor, against reactionary views. Resolutions of this kind are being commonly passed by various County Councils. They appear almost entirely to overlook the fact that heavy petrol-driven vehicles are taxed, through the net petrol tax of 3d. per gallon, at the rate of practically id. per mile run. This is more than enough to pay for the road wear, and the fact that the proceeds are not immediately available for road maintenance is no valid excuse or reason for seeking to tax owners of such vehicles twice over. Efforts by local authorities should rather be directed to securing the proceeds. A reasonable annual tax on steam vehicles is another matter, and itis much harder to defend the present exemption of those vehicles than to support a reasonable tax upon them—with certain exceptions.
a56 Wants to Hire a Single-deck Omnibus.
[2984] (London).—You can hire vehicles of the kind which you mention from Thomas Tilling, Ltd., of Winchester House, Peckham, S.E. It was possible, before the war, similarly to hire from the Daimler Co., Ltd.,' Store Street, Tottenham Court Road,W.C., but that• company's special saloon bus was impressed Charges for American-lorry Repairs.
[2985] (Brewers),—With regard to the query as to charges in respect of your American two-tonner, we think, having regard to all present conditions of labour, and the labour of expert mechanics more especially, the charges which you mention are not unreasonible. The retention of a man at headquarters would undoubtedly be worth anything between 23 to 210 per day to his employers. You have to consider the earning capacity of the man at his employer's depot in relation to the charges put forward-2s. 6d. an hour, third-class fare, and 5s. 6d, a day expenses.
The Best Article on Motor-hiring Businesses.
[2986] (Brum).—You will find a general and comprehensive article on motor-hiring work in our issue of the 15th October, 1908. This, of course, is out of print, but you might be able to find it amongst the files in the' University Library of Birmingham. Broadly speaking, in order nowadays to see a profit on a haulage undertaking, you must earn a revenue per mile run, adding both light and loaded mileage together, of about double the inclusive working cost of the vehicle. For example, for a five-ton machine, the inclusive cost of which at the present time may be taken as is. 2c1. per mile run on the basis of not less. than 300 miles per week, you should endeavour to see a revenue of 2s. 4d. per mile Horse-Power Formula. [2987] (Sergeant).—The usual formula by which the horse-power of -petrol engines is calculated is D2N --'-where D is the diameter of the, cylinder in 2.5 inches, and N the number of cylinders of the engine. For example, if you have a four-cylinder engine of 5 in. bore, then D squared equals 5 x 6 = 25, multiply that by 4 (the number of cylinders) and that equals 100, and divide by 2.5; the result, 40, is the horsepower. In order to reckon the cubic contents of a cylinder, multiply the diameter squared by 11 over 14, and multiply again by the stroke. If you wish for the volume in cubic inches, your measurements of the cylinder must be in inches; if you prefer the volume in cubic centimetres, then you must use centimetre measurements for the bore and stroke.
With regard to the horse-power formula which we have given, this is used by the Treasury for calculating; the horse-power on which to base taxation. Perhaps a better way for modern engines to give a result more in conformity with actual power would D2N D2N be —.instead of 2 2.5