Travelling Stand Cuts Display Costs
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AT the Oxfordshire Agricultural Show last week, four mobile exhibition stands were grouped together to present a complete display of 15 different types of refrigerator, and provided facilities for demonstration which would have been difficult to surpass with the most costly stand equipment of the conventional kind.
The vehicles were built by the Pressed Steel Co., Ltd., Cowley, Oxford, to exhibit the concern's range of Prestcold automatic refrigerators at agricultural shows throughout the country. At Kidlington, the first ground visited, the stands were ready within four hours of arrival at the site. Not only is a very considerable saving in expense effected by the use of these vehicles, but risk of damage to the exhibits is virtually eliminated.
The showrooms are built on standard Bedford Scammell 6 ton drop frame trailers, and arc hauled by Bedford tractors with redesigned wings and valances. The average trailer weight, complete with exhibits, is about 6 tons, 18 cwt.
All-steel welded construction is employed throughout, and the pillars are of the three-column type which tie-up with the bulkhead. Both the fore and aft frames, and the roof, have girder construction, and to overcome drumming, metalcovered ply skinning is used for the sides. The roof is panelled in aluminium and is double skinned with a minimum of 4 ins, of glass-wool insulation.
The panels are riveted on the aircraft principle, and butt-straps over the joints are used in conjunction with waterproofing compound to prevent leaks.
The hinged sides, the initial movement of which is spring loaded, are con trolled by winch and cable to relieve weight, and are designed to support one person per sq. ft. when in position. Five 8-ton jacks are provided for the platforms, and two 12-ton jacks carry the vehicle weight at the front. Rear spring movement is prevented by stabilizers. The chromiumplated hand-rails are folded flat on the platforms for travel ling, a n d folding banner-poles are also fitted. The pennantpole is spring loaded for checking bridge heights.
Two., vehicles can be placed side by side, or four vehicles end to end to form one exhibition unit. At the show, the trailers were arranged separately, and No. 4 stand housed an office panelled in sycamore and walnut, with hide trimming. A folding aluminium shutter took the place of a door.
Each refrigerator has a floor plug, and a transformer is provided to take ac. mains-current of 110-260 volts. The mains-lead is plugged to one of the switchboards and connections are looped-out to the other vehicles. All connections are interchangeable.
Stainless-steel skirting at the front screens the under-gear, and the use of stainless-steel side-skirting is also planned. Both tractors and trailers are finished in I.C.T. 300-tone synthetic paint.